PUERTO AVENTURAS, Mexico – The No. 24 Arizona State women's basketball team gave a determined effort, but came up short of upsetting seventh-ranked Mississippi State, falling to the 2017 NCAA runner-up 65-57 on Thursday at the Cancun Challenge.
Kianna Ibis (13 points/nine in the second half) and Sabrina Haines (10 points/eight in the second half) combined to score 17 points over the final 20 minutes for the Sun Devils (4-1), who came back from a 13-point deficit to lead by one point at the half and two points after three quarters.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman added eight points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils, who will face another tough challenge in unbeaten Green Bay (4-0) on Friday. Ibis (6-8 FGs), Johnson-Chapman (4-6), Sophia Elenga (3-5 FGs) and Jamie Ruden (2-4 FGs) combined to connect on 65 percent (15-23) of their shots on Thursday.
The game's major turning point came at the outset of the fourth quarter when Mississippi State (4-0) went on an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Sun Devils, who led by as many as three points earlier, trailed the rest of the way as they could get no closer than three points.
"We were right there down the stretch to take it but we are a young team and I did not think we had quite the killer instinct that hopefully we'll have next time we are in this situation," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We got off to slow start and then settled down and went toe to toe with them for most of the game. We countered their pressure and forced more turnovers than them. We were basically even on the boards. It was a one-possession game and I thought that their experience won out. They came out in the fourth quarter as the more aggressive team and caused some turnovers we shouldn't have had and that is a great learning point for us.
"I thought we competed fantastically and it just shows this team how good they are and how good they are going to be. We just have to be more disciplined."
The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and maintained a double-digit lead after Morgan Williams' two free throws gave MSU a 27-16 lead with seven minutes left in the first half.
The Sun Devils would counter by outscoring the Bulldogs 13-1 over the last 6:26 of the half. Elenga, who led ASU with nine points in the first half, started the scoring blitz with a layup. Reili Richardson and Jamie Ruden hit triples sandwiched around a jumper by Haines to get ASU within a point, 27-26. The Bulldogs hit a free throw to stop ASU's run of 10 unanswered points, but the Sun Devils would score the last three points – a jumper by Richardson and a free throw by Elenga – of the second quarter to a take a 29-28 lead into the locker room.
"(Coming back from down 13 showed) that we're tough and I think I've seen that but we have not really been down like that," Turner Thorne said of ASU's ability to fight its way back into the game.
Neither team would let the other create too much distance in the third quarter as the largest lead both squads enjoyed was three points. Ibis was perfect from the floor (3-3 FGs/six points) and Haines was equally brilliant from the free throw line (4-4 FTs/1-2 FGs/six points) as the duo combined to score 12 points for the Sun Devils, who edged the Bulldogs 16-15 to take a 45-43 lead entering the final period.
Teaira McCowan, who had a game-high 14 rebounds, scored 13 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, including six points during an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs to start the final frame.
A jumper by Haines eventually pulled the Sun Devils to within three with under six minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs would score the next four points to take a 56-49 lead with 4:37 left.
ASU would twice get within four points, the last instance after a free throw by Kiara Russell brought the score to 61-57 with 1:55 to left to play. Unfortunately the Sun Devils could not generate any additional offense as the Bulldogs outscored ASU 4-0 the rest of the way.
"(This game) was a great experience for us," Turner Thorne said. "It was like a Pac-12 game in that this is the level of competition we play in our conference and so we are getting ready for it."
The Sun Devils continue play at the Cancun Challenge on Friday (1:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MT) when they take on Green Bay. The game can be seen via live stream at http://www.collegesportslive.com (paid subscription required) and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/TuneIn.
Kianna Ibis (13 points/nine in the second half) and Sabrina Haines (10 points/eight in the second half) combined to score 17 points over the final 20 minutes for the Sun Devils (4-1), who came back from a 13-point deficit to lead by one point at the half and two points after three quarters.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman added eight points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils, who will face another tough challenge in unbeaten Green Bay (4-0) on Friday. Ibis (6-8 FGs), Johnson-Chapman (4-6), Sophia Elenga (3-5 FGs) and Jamie Ruden (2-4 FGs) combined to connect on 65 percent (15-23) of their shots on Thursday.
The game's major turning point came at the outset of the fourth quarter when Mississippi State (4-0) went on an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Sun Devils, who led by as many as three points earlier, trailed the rest of the way as they could get no closer than three points.
"We were right there down the stretch to take it but we are a young team and I did not think we had quite the killer instinct that hopefully we'll have next time we are in this situation," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We got off to slow start and then settled down and went toe to toe with them for most of the game. We countered their pressure and forced more turnovers than them. We were basically even on the boards. It was a one-possession game and I thought that their experience won out. They came out in the fourth quarter as the more aggressive team and caused some turnovers we shouldn't have had and that is a great learning point for us.
"I thought we competed fantastically and it just shows this team how good they are and how good they are going to be. We just have to be more disciplined."
The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and maintained a double-digit lead after Morgan Williams' two free throws gave MSU a 27-16 lead with seven minutes left in the first half.
The Sun Devils would counter by outscoring the Bulldogs 13-1 over the last 6:26 of the half. Elenga, who led ASU with nine points in the first half, started the scoring blitz with a layup. Reili Richardson and Jamie Ruden hit triples sandwiched around a jumper by Haines to get ASU within a point, 27-26. The Bulldogs hit a free throw to stop ASU's run of 10 unanswered points, but the Sun Devils would score the last three points – a jumper by Richardson and a free throw by Elenga – of the second quarter to a take a 29-28 lead into the locker room.
"(Coming back from down 13 showed) that we're tough and I think I've seen that but we have not really been down like that," Turner Thorne said of ASU's ability to fight its way back into the game.
Neither team would let the other create too much distance in the third quarter as the largest lead both squads enjoyed was three points. Ibis was perfect from the floor (3-3 FGs/six points) and Haines was equally brilliant from the free throw line (4-4 FTs/1-2 FGs/six points) as the duo combined to score 12 points for the Sun Devils, who edged the Bulldogs 16-15 to take a 45-43 lead entering the final period.
Teaira McCowan, who had a game-high 14 rebounds, scored 13 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, including six points during an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs to start the final frame.
A jumper by Haines eventually pulled the Sun Devils to within three with under six minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs would score the next four points to take a 56-49 lead with 4:37 left.
ASU would twice get within four points, the last instance after a free throw by Kiara Russell brought the score to 61-57 with 1:55 to left to play. Unfortunately the Sun Devils could not generate any additional offense as the Bulldogs outscored ASU 4-0 the rest of the way.
"(This game) was a great experience for us," Turner Thorne said. "It was like a Pac-12 game in that this is the level of competition we play in our conference and so we are getting ready for it."
The Sun Devils continue play at the Cancun Challenge on Friday (1:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MT) when they take on Green Bay. The game can be seen via live stream at http://www.collegesportslive.com (paid subscription required) and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/TuneIn.