TEMPE, Ariz. – An outstanding, all-around team effort helped the No. 16 Arizona State women's basketball team produce a 68-59 win over USC on Sunday.
After getting beat by a 3-pointer in the final seconds of its game against UCLA on Friday, ASU came into Sunday's game needing a win to avoid falling below the .500 mark in conference play at the midpoint of the Pac-12 schedule.
Courtney Ekmark and Kianna Ibis scored 11 points each to lead the Sun Devils (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12), who had 10 different players account for points. Ekmark also tied Reili Richardson for the team lead in assists (4) .
Charnea Johnson-Chapman (four points, seven rebounds) and Robbi Ryan (eight points, season-high-tying six rebounds) combined for 13 rebounds and helped the Sun Devils edge USC, 39-38, in the battle of the boards.
ASU's bench contributed 31 points against USC, with five players – Jamie Ruden (seven points/3-5 FGs), Jayde Van Hyfte (career-high-tying seven points/1-2 FGs), Sophia Elenga (six points/2-2 FGs), Kiara Russell (six points/3-4 FGs), Iris Mbulito (five points/2-3 FGs) – scoring five or more points and combining to shoot 69 percent (11-16 FGs).
Mariya Moore (game-high 19 points) and Aliyah Mazyck (14 points) totaled 33 points for the Trojans (11-8, 1-7), who shot 34 percent for game (22 percent from long distance).
After falling behind by seven points early, the Sun Devils used a 16-2 run over the last 1:08 of the first quarter and the first 3:46 of the second quarter to take a seven-point lead of their own, 27-20, after Ryan's 3-pointer with 6:14 left in the first half.
Ryan (eight points) and Ibis (seven points) combined for 15 points over the first 20 minutes to help ASU take a 34-31 lead into the locker room.
USC would get within a single point three times in the third quarter, but the Sun Devils would respond each time and never allowed the Trojans to reclaim the lead. A layup by Elenga and a 3-point play by Mbulito helped ASU take a 44-38 lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans would not go away and once again cut ASU's lead to one after Mazyck's 3-pointer early in the final frame.
Once again ASU had an answer as Van Hyfte (two free throws), Ruden (jumper) and Mbulito (layup) scored the game's next six points to help the Sun Devils extend back out to a seven-point lead, 54-47 with six minutes left.
USC never got closer than four points the rest of the game as Elenga (2-2) and Ekmark (4-4) combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line in the last 44 seconds of the game to seal the win.
The Sun Devils return to action on Friday (6 p.m.) when they host Arizona at Wells Fargo Arena. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network/Arizona and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.
After getting beat by a 3-pointer in the final seconds of its game against UCLA on Friday, ASU came into Sunday's game needing a win to avoid falling below the .500 mark in conference play at the midpoint of the Pac-12 schedule.
Courtney Ekmark and Kianna Ibis scored 11 points each to lead the Sun Devils (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12), who had 10 different players account for points. Ekmark also tied Reili Richardson for the team lead in assists (4) .
Charnea Johnson-Chapman (four points, seven rebounds) and Robbi Ryan (eight points, season-high-tying six rebounds) combined for 13 rebounds and helped the Sun Devils edge USC, 39-38, in the battle of the boards.
ASU's bench contributed 31 points against USC, with five players – Jamie Ruden (seven points/3-5 FGs), Jayde Van Hyfte (career-high-tying seven points/1-2 FGs), Sophia Elenga (six points/2-2 FGs), Kiara Russell (six points/3-4 FGs), Iris Mbulito (five points/2-3 FGs) – scoring five or more points and combining to shoot 69 percent (11-16 FGs).
Mariya Moore (game-high 19 points) and Aliyah Mazyck (14 points) totaled 33 points for the Trojans (11-8, 1-7), who shot 34 percent for game (22 percent from long distance).
After falling behind by seven points early, the Sun Devils used a 16-2 run over the last 1:08 of the first quarter and the first 3:46 of the second quarter to take a seven-point lead of their own, 27-20, after Ryan's 3-pointer with 6:14 left in the first half.
Ryan (eight points) and Ibis (seven points) combined for 15 points over the first 20 minutes to help ASU take a 34-31 lead into the locker room.
USC would get within a single point three times in the third quarter, but the Sun Devils would respond each time and never allowed the Trojans to reclaim the lead. A layup by Elenga and a 3-point play by Mbulito helped ASU take a 44-38 lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans would not go away and once again cut ASU's lead to one after Mazyck's 3-pointer early in the final frame.
Once again ASU had an answer as Van Hyfte (two free throws), Ruden (jumper) and Mbulito (layup) scored the game's next six points to help the Sun Devils extend back out to a seven-point lead, 54-47 with six minutes left.
USC never got closer than four points the rest of the game as Elenga (2-2) and Ekmark (4-4) combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line in the last 44 seconds of the game to seal the win.
The Sun Devils return to action on Friday (6 p.m.) when they host Arizona at Wells Fargo Arena. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network/Arizona and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.