TEMPE – In a game featuring two of the Pac-12's top teams, the No. 19 Arizona State women's basketball team fell short of eighth-ranked Washington on Sunday as the Huskies used a strong second half on the offensive end to come away with a 65-54 win.
Freshman Reili Richardson led the Sun Devils in scoring as she tallied 11 points on 4-8 shooting to go with seven rebounds and seven assists while senior Sophie Brunner just missed her second consecutive double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. Sabrina Haines and Kianna Ibis added nine points each for the Sun Devils, (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Washington (18-2, 6-1 Pac-12) was led by Kelsey Plum, who scored 25 of her game-high 34 points in the second half to help the Huskies outscore the Sun Devils 41-29 over the final 20 minutes. Also playing a big role in the win was Chantel Osahor, who pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds to go with 10 points and six assists.
ASU had a slight 36-34 edge on the boards, but turned the ball over twice as many times as the Huskies (16-8). Washington would capitalize by scoring 17 points off those miscues.
The Huskies closed the game with a 17-6 run over the final seven-plus minutes of the game to separate themselves from the Sun Devils who tied the game at 48-48 after a jumper by Ibis. The start of Washington's final scoring burst coincided with the loss of Richardson, who was forced to leave the game with an apparent ankle injury with 7:37 remaining. By the time Richardson returned after being treated on the bench the Sun Devils were down 59-50 with 2:54 left.
"It was a critical juncture when Reili went down. I didn't quite see the play but that was tough," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "She's really doing such an amazing job running the team and running the show. That hurt us because we're at a 4-guard rotation right now so we got a little tired."
The Sun Devils held the Huskies – who came into the game with the nation's fourth-ranked scoring offense – 23 points below their scoring average (88.5 ppg). ASU also limited Washington to a fraction of its usual output from long range as the Huskies connected on only four 3-pointers (on 21 attempts), well below their average of 11.2 per game.
"I thought our guards did a pretty good job of holding down the fort," Turner Thorne said. "Washington is a great team and they got the better of us today but it was a great game. I figured it would go down to the wire and I'm pretty sure it would have it Reili hadn't gotten hurt."
It was a back-and-forth battle to begin the game as neither team took a lead of more than four points in the first quarter. Richardson had four points to help lead ASU to a 14-10 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
The Sun Devils stretched their lead out to six points, 16-10, after Haines' bucket to open the second quarter. The Huskies would battle back and trim ASU's lead to 25-24 at the half.
The Huskies carried momentum into the second half and built a six-point lead with 3:26 to go in the third, but the Sun Devils stormed back and created some momentum of their own after Kiara Russell made a critical three-pointer followed by a layup to bring ASU within three. Robbi Ryan shortly followed up with a three-pointer to tie the game at 44-44 with 32 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Huskies scored on the next possession and the game went into the fourth quarter with the score favoring the Huskies 46-44.
The Sun Devils will play their next four games on the road, starting on Friday (8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT) when they travel to Berkeley, California, to take on No. 24 Cal in a game that can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Bay Area.
Freshman Reili Richardson led the Sun Devils in scoring as she tallied 11 points on 4-8 shooting to go with seven rebounds and seven assists while senior Sophie Brunner just missed her second consecutive double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. Sabrina Haines and Kianna Ibis added nine points each for the Sun Devils, (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Washington (18-2, 6-1 Pac-12) was led by Kelsey Plum, who scored 25 of her game-high 34 points in the second half to help the Huskies outscore the Sun Devils 41-29 over the final 20 minutes. Also playing a big role in the win was Chantel Osahor, who pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds to go with 10 points and six assists.
ASU had a slight 36-34 edge on the boards, but turned the ball over twice as many times as the Huskies (16-8). Washington would capitalize by scoring 17 points off those miscues.
The Huskies closed the game with a 17-6 run over the final seven-plus minutes of the game to separate themselves from the Sun Devils who tied the game at 48-48 after a jumper by Ibis. The start of Washington's final scoring burst coincided with the loss of Richardson, who was forced to leave the game with an apparent ankle injury with 7:37 remaining. By the time Richardson returned after being treated on the bench the Sun Devils were down 59-50 with 2:54 left.
"It was a critical juncture when Reili went down. I didn't quite see the play but that was tough," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "She's really doing such an amazing job running the team and running the show. That hurt us because we're at a 4-guard rotation right now so we got a little tired."
The Sun Devils held the Huskies – who came into the game with the nation's fourth-ranked scoring offense – 23 points below their scoring average (88.5 ppg). ASU also limited Washington to a fraction of its usual output from long range as the Huskies connected on only four 3-pointers (on 21 attempts), well below their average of 11.2 per game.
"I thought our guards did a pretty good job of holding down the fort," Turner Thorne said. "Washington is a great team and they got the better of us today but it was a great game. I figured it would go down to the wire and I'm pretty sure it would have it Reili hadn't gotten hurt."
It was a back-and-forth battle to begin the game as neither team took a lead of more than four points in the first quarter. Richardson had four points to help lead ASU to a 14-10 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
The Sun Devils stretched their lead out to six points, 16-10, after Haines' bucket to open the second quarter. The Huskies would battle back and trim ASU's lead to 25-24 at the half.
The Huskies carried momentum into the second half and built a six-point lead with 3:26 to go in the third, but the Sun Devils stormed back and created some momentum of their own after Kiara Russell made a critical three-pointer followed by a layup to bring ASU within three. Robbi Ryan shortly followed up with a three-pointer to tie the game at 44-44 with 32 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Huskies scored on the next possession and the game went into the fourth quarter with the score favoring the Huskies 46-44.
The Sun Devils will play their next four games on the road, starting on Friday (8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT) when they travel to Berkeley, California, to take on No. 24 Cal in a game that can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Bay Area.