PORTLAND – The No. 22 Sun Devil women's basketball team (22-11) could not overcome a barrage of No. 4 Mississippi State free throws and a 22-point, 13-rebound performance from Teaira McCowan in falling to the fourth-ranked Bulldogs 76-53 in the NCAA round of 16 on Friday evening.
Senior Kianna Ibis (16 points – all in the second half) led the Sun Devils (22-11), who traveled to Coral Gables, Fla., last week and came out of the subregional with wins over No. 12 seed UCF (60-45 in the first round) and No. 4 seed and host school Miami (57-55 in the second round).
Mississippi State (32-2) made 25-of-35 free throws, while ASU made just 7-of-12.
Iris Mbulito came off the bench to score eight points, while Courtney Ekmark and Robbi Ryan added six points apiece for the Sun Devils, who shot 36 percent for the game. Ekmark led ASU with four rebounds.
Reili Richardson, who came into the game ranked No. 4 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, dished out nine assists, tying former Sun Devils Briann January and Kylan Loney for the second-highest assist total by a Sun Devil in an NCAA Tournament game.
After falling behind by 13 points late in the third quarter, the Sun Devils got Mississippi State's lead back to single digits after Ibis' four-point play.
The Bulldogs, national runner-up each of the last two seasons, started the final frame with a 9-2 run, putting the Sun Devils in a 16-point hole, 63-47, with under six minutes left.
The fouls accumulated by ASU's posts over the first three quarters had a pronounced effect on the Sun Devil front line as Sophia Elenga, Charnea Johnson Chapman and Jamie Ruden all fouled out in the last 5:23 of the game.
"I think at the end of the day we were doing a good job of holding them (through three quarters)," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We knew we needed to have a good offensive game tonight. We got good shots I thought for the most part… But we needed other people to step up offensively. We just didn't quite get shots to fall. I think if we would have had our clean looks fall, we would have been right there."
The Sun Devils started the game with a 6-3 lead before a 10-0 Bulldog run had ASU looking up at a 13-6 deficit.
The Bulldogs would maintain the same seven-point separation (17-10) after 10 minutes.
Ibis, a two-time All-Pac-12 selection and ASU's most consistent offensive performer throughout the season, did not play the rest of the first half after picking up her second personal foul with 4:20 left in the opening quarter.
Despite not having Ibis on the floor, the Sun Devils were able to stay within striking distance thanks to their usual tough defense. A 5-0 run – jumper by Ruden and 3-pointer by Mbulito – got the Sun Devils within three points, 25-22, with just over four minutes left in the first half.
The momentum the Sun Devils hope to take into the half quickly dissipated as the Bulldogs scored seven straight points to take their first double-digit lead, 32-22, with 39 seconds left.
Elenga's layup with 13 seconds remaining cut the Bulldogs' lead to 32-24 at the break.
After not scoring because of foul trouble in first half, Ibis scored 11 of her 16 points in the third quarter. The Sun Devils, who shot 50 percent and scored 21 points in the third quarter, cut the Bulldogs' lead to six points three different times, but failed to get any closer.
Mississippi State managed to shoot only 36 percent in the third quarter, but was able to edge ASU 22-21 in points, thanks to a 13-18 performance at the line.
SUN DEVIL WBB NCAA NOTES: The Arizona State women's basketball program made its 17th NCAA Tournament appearance (14th under the direction of head coach Charli Turner Thorne). ASU's overall NCAA record is 21-17 (19-14 record under Turner Thorne). ASU has advanced past the first two rounds five times during Turner Thorne's tenure ('05, '07, '09, '15, '19). It has advanced as far as the Elite Eight on two occasions (2007 and 2009). ASU has won at least one game in 12 of its last 13 NCAA appearances (2002, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '14, '15, '16, '17, 18, '19).
Senior Kianna Ibis (16 points – all in the second half) led the Sun Devils (22-11), who traveled to Coral Gables, Fla., last week and came out of the subregional with wins over No. 12 seed UCF (60-45 in the first round) and No. 4 seed and host school Miami (57-55 in the second round).
Mississippi State (32-2) made 25-of-35 free throws, while ASU made just 7-of-12.
Iris Mbulito came off the bench to score eight points, while Courtney Ekmark and Robbi Ryan added six points apiece for the Sun Devils, who shot 36 percent for the game. Ekmark led ASU with four rebounds.
Reili Richardson, who came into the game ranked No. 4 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, dished out nine assists, tying former Sun Devils Briann January and Kylan Loney for the second-highest assist total by a Sun Devil in an NCAA Tournament game.
After falling behind by 13 points late in the third quarter, the Sun Devils got Mississippi State's lead back to single digits after Ibis' four-point play.
The Bulldogs, national runner-up each of the last two seasons, started the final frame with a 9-2 run, putting the Sun Devils in a 16-point hole, 63-47, with under six minutes left.
The fouls accumulated by ASU's posts over the first three quarters had a pronounced effect on the Sun Devil front line as Sophia Elenga, Charnea Johnson Chapman and Jamie Ruden all fouled out in the last 5:23 of the game.
"I think at the end of the day we were doing a good job of holding them (through three quarters)," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We knew we needed to have a good offensive game tonight. We got good shots I thought for the most part… But we needed other people to step up offensively. We just didn't quite get shots to fall. I think if we would have had our clean looks fall, we would have been right there."
The Sun Devils started the game with a 6-3 lead before a 10-0 Bulldog run had ASU looking up at a 13-6 deficit.
The Bulldogs would maintain the same seven-point separation (17-10) after 10 minutes.
Ibis, a two-time All-Pac-12 selection and ASU's most consistent offensive performer throughout the season, did not play the rest of the first half after picking up her second personal foul with 4:20 left in the opening quarter.
Despite not having Ibis on the floor, the Sun Devils were able to stay within striking distance thanks to their usual tough defense. A 5-0 run – jumper by Ruden and 3-pointer by Mbulito – got the Sun Devils within three points, 25-22, with just over four minutes left in the first half.
The momentum the Sun Devils hope to take into the half quickly dissipated as the Bulldogs scored seven straight points to take their first double-digit lead, 32-22, with 39 seconds left.
Elenga's layup with 13 seconds remaining cut the Bulldogs' lead to 32-24 at the break.
After not scoring because of foul trouble in first half, Ibis scored 11 of her 16 points in the third quarter. The Sun Devils, who shot 50 percent and scored 21 points in the third quarter, cut the Bulldogs' lead to six points three different times, but failed to get any closer.
Mississippi State managed to shoot only 36 percent in the third quarter, but was able to edge ASU 22-21 in points, thanks to a 13-18 performance at the line.
SUN DEVIL WBB NCAA NOTES: The Arizona State women's basketball program made its 17th NCAA Tournament appearance (14th under the direction of head coach Charli Turner Thorne). ASU's overall NCAA record is 21-17 (19-14 record under Turner Thorne). ASU has advanced past the first two rounds five times during Turner Thorne's tenure ('05, '07, '09, '15, '19). It has advanced as far as the Elite Eight on two occasions (2007 and 2009). ASU has won at least one game in 12 of its last 13 NCAA appearances (2002, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '14, '15, '16, '17, 18, '19).