Jan. 11, 2013
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State women's basketball team garnered its first Pac-12 win of the season Friday evening, defeating the Oregon Ducks, 60-45, at Wells Fargo Arena.
Arizona State (9-6, 1-2 Pac-12) gained its offensive rhythm in the final 10 minutes of the game, outscoring the Ducks, 25-9 to pull away.
Two Sun Devils scored in double figures, led by Promise Amukamara and Haley Videckis added seven each.
Jillian Alleyne scored 12 points and had nine boards for Oregon (2-13, 0-3 Pac-12), while Liz Brenner recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Both Arizona State (34.3 percent) and Oregon (34 percent) had their share of difficulties on the offensive end. Despite being outrebounded, 47-43, ASU had many more offensive opportunities than the Ducks, as a result of forcing 28 turnovers. The Devils scored 27 points off of Oregon miscues.
The 15 steals by the Sun Devils is a season-high in the category, and 14 turnovers tie the season-low.
After Oregon scored on the first possession of the game, Arizona State responded with a 9-2 run, to take a lead, 9-4, at the first official timeout of the game. The Devils came out of the timeout hot, but Oregon forced a timeout following a 7-0 run that narrowed the ASU lead, 13-11, with 12:35 left in the half.
ASU was held scoreless for 4:25 in the middle of the half, and lost its early lead, as the Ducks continued their run and took the lead, 16-13, before Jada Blackwell tied the game, converting a layup and the ensuing foul shot to complete the three-point play.
The Ducks, however went on another run, extending their lead to six points, 22-16, but the Sun Devils would close the half strong, trailing by three, 26-23, at the break. The Sun Devils played strong defensively, forcing 15 turnovers in the first half and limited Oregon to 35.5 percent shooting, but had their own share of offensive struggles in the half.
Arizona State had a balanced attack offensively in the first half, with six players recording points. Burke led the Devils with six points heading to the locker room. ASU shot just 27.0 percent in the opening half on 10-37 shooting from the field.
ASU put together a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 31-30, forcing the Ducks to call a timeout with 13:13 remaining in the game. Oregon went 0-3 from the field and was held scoreless for more than three minutes, giving the lead back to the Sun Devils for the first time since early in the first half.
The key stretch for the Sun Devils occurred after taking the lead in the second half. Led by Fulcher, Arizona State used a 6-0 run to increase its lead to eight points, 44-36, heading into the final minutes of the game. ASU continued to pull away from the Ducks, and led 55-41 at the final official timeout of the game.
Arizona State returns to action on Sunday (1 p.m. MT) when it hosts Oregon State. The game can be seen live on Pac-12 Networks and heard live on The Fan AM 1060.