Jan. 4, 2013
SEATTLE - Despite a career-high 29 points from Jada Blackwell, the Arizona State women's basketball team fell to Washington 77-74 on Friday night in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Janae Fulcher (15 points) and Adrianne Thomas (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Sun Devils (8-5, 0-1 Pac-12), who lost despite a plus-22 advantage on the boards (52-30).
Talia Walton (19 points), Jazmine Davis (17 points), Aminah Williams (14 points), and Kristi Kingma (14 points) all tallied double-digit scoring totals for Washington (9-3, 1-0), which defeated ASU for only the second time in the last 17 meetings between the two schools.
The Huskies scored 21 points off 24 Sun Devil turnovers while connecting on 50 percent (7-14) of their three pointers.
Fulcher led ASU's rebounding effort (11) while Micaela Pickens and Elisha Davis tied for the team lead in assists with six each.
Five of the game's 11 ties and 12 of its 17 lead changes occurred in the second half as neither team led by more than three points during one stretch of more than nine minutes.
Promise Amukamara's jumper with 4:18 left tied the game at 67-67. Walton answered at the opposite end putting the Huskies back up by two.
The Sun Devils weren't able to respond and the Huskies would take advantage as Walton knocked down her second 3-pointer of the night to give Washington a 72-67 lead.
The Huskies would eventually extend to a six-point lead before a pair of free throws by Blackwell cut the lead to four.
However the Sun Devils would get no closer until the final buzzer as a layup by Kingma and two free throws by Davis helped seal the win.
Blackwell, who also tied her career highs for rebounds (8) and steals (3), played a big role in not letting the game get away right before halftime as she scored ASU's last six points of the first half to help cut an eight-point Washington advantage in half (36-32) at the break.
The momentum Blackwell helped ASU establish carried over into the second half as the Sun Devils used a 16-4 run over the last two minutes of the first half and the first five of the second half to take a 42-38 lead. Freshman Haley Videckis nearly extended the lead to seven, but her 3-pointer missed its mark.
The Sun Devils would lead by four on three other occasions in the second half, but each time the Huskies would answer on their ensuing possession.
The Sun Devils close out their trip to the state of Washington on Sunday when they face Washington State at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The game can be heard live on The Fan AM 1060.
Notes
Friday's loss snaps ASU's five-game winning streak. It was the fourth time this season ASU lost by six or fewer points.
The second half included five ties and 12 lead changes. With the game tied at 67-67 and 4:16 remaining, Washington used a 6-0 run to take control of the game. The Sun Devils got no closer than four points until the final buzzer.
The Sun Devils lost despite a plus-22 advantage (52-30) in rebounding.
Sophomore forward Jada Blackwell scored a career-high 29 points, the most points scored by a Sun Devil since Danielle Orsillo also scored 29 at Oregon on Feb. 13, 2010. Blackwell also tied her career high in rebounds (8) for the second straight game.
Senior forward Janae Fulcher (15 points) and junior guard Adrianne Thomas (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Sun Devils.
Fulcher also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds for her second career double-double. In addition, she made the second 3-pointer of her career.
Blackwell (12-17 FGs), Fulcher (6-12 FGs) and Thomas (5-6 FGs) combined to shoot 65.7 percent (23-35 FGs).
Freshman guard Micaela Pickens tied for the team lead in assists with six (career high for both players).