LAS VEGAS – The No. 20 Arizona State women's basketball team's comeback came up short on Friday as the Sun Devils fell to No. 25 UCLA 73-69 in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Kianna Ibis, who played only 21 minutes due to foul trouble, led ASU with 14 points to go along with six rebounds and one block. Sophia Elenga came off the bench and added 11 points while Reili Richardson accounted for 10 points for the Sun Devils, who shot 47 percent for the game.
Courtney Ekmark, who led ASU with 18 points in Thursday's win over Colorado, just missed another double-digit scoring effort ending with nine points. Also coming through with a strong performance on the offensive end was Jamie Ruden, who made all four of her shots and scored eight points.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman (eight rebounds), Ibis (six rebounds) and Elenga (five rebounds) helped the Sun Devils outrebound the Bruins 34-27.
Richardson also had a team-high seven assists to go with four rebounds.
The Sun Devils were undone by 17 turnovers, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. The Bruins cashed in ASU's miscues for 19 points, including six points in the fourth quarter.
"We're very disappointed" ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said after the game. "We're not a team that turns the ball over, which is very uncharacteristic of us today. And we're not a team that fouls, so we were just not the disciplined team that we normally are. So it's a little tough to swallow, but give UCLA credit. They're playing really well. Very aggressive team. They made some plays when we didn't, and they're going to do really well in the tournament, as will we."
Four UCLA players – Japreece Dean (24 points), Michaela Onyenwere (20 points), Kennedy Burke (15 points), Lajahna Drummer (10 points) – combined for 69 of the Bruins 73 points in the game. In addition to shooting 48 percent, UCLA was also aided by a 21-of-27 performance (78 percent) at the free throw line.
After making only 34 percent of their shots in the first half, the Sun Devils were on target in the second half, knocking down 63 percent of their shots. Their best offensive quarter of the game was the third when they shot 71 percent from the floor to cut UCLA's lead, which was as many as 15, to a single point on five different occasions.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, they were never able to claim the lead or pull even with the Bruins, who started the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to turn a slight 57-56 lead at the start of the quarter into a 67-58 advantage after two free throws by Drummer with 4:06 remaining.
Robbi Ryan's 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining capped a 6-0 run by the Sun Devils to get back within three points. However the Bruins scored the next four points to put the game out of reach.
The Bruins shot 55 percent in the first half and led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
"We just got off to a slow start," Turner Thorne said. "Really, our defense. We weren't locked in. We were switching screens we shouldn't have switched. We were playing soft. So we let them throw the first punch and kind of jump on us."
ASU's best stretch of the first half came over the last four-plus minutes of the second quarter when it outscored the Bruins 9-4 to cut UCLA's lead to 41-31 at the half. Seven different Sun Devils scored in the first half led by Ibis and Ruden who had six points each. Ibis did not play the last 5:24 of the half after picking up her second personal foul. Richardson and Sophia added five points each and Ekmark had four points.
The Sun Devils trailed 41-31 at the half. Their deficit increased to 14 after the Bruins came out and scored the first four points of the second half to take a 45-31 lead.
Just when it appeared the game was starting to get away from them, the Sun Devils responded with a 13-0 scoring run to get within one point, 45-44, after Ibis' jumper with 4:54 left in the quarter.
The Bruins answered with four straight points but ASU once again got within one point thanks to a layup by Ekmark and a jumper by Johnson-Chapman. The two teams traded scores several times over the last two minutes of the quarter leaving the Bruins with a 57-56 lead entering the final frame. Elenga (3-3 FGs, six points) and Ibis (2-2 FGs, four points) combined to make all five of their shots and account for 10 points in the third quarter.
The Sun Devils will now await word on their NCAA Tournament destination when the brackets are unveiled on Monday, March 18 (4 p.m. PT on ESPN). The Sun Devils will be setting a new school record with their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. They also set a school record this year for consecutive 20-win seasons (six).
Kianna Ibis, who played only 21 minutes due to foul trouble, led ASU with 14 points to go along with six rebounds and one block. Sophia Elenga came off the bench and added 11 points while Reili Richardson accounted for 10 points for the Sun Devils, who shot 47 percent for the game.
Courtney Ekmark, who led ASU with 18 points in Thursday's win over Colorado, just missed another double-digit scoring effort ending with nine points. Also coming through with a strong performance on the offensive end was Jamie Ruden, who made all four of her shots and scored eight points.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman (eight rebounds), Ibis (six rebounds) and Elenga (five rebounds) helped the Sun Devils outrebound the Bruins 34-27.
Richardson also had a team-high seven assists to go with four rebounds.
The Sun Devils were undone by 17 turnovers, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. The Bruins cashed in ASU's miscues for 19 points, including six points in the fourth quarter.
"We're very disappointed" ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said after the game. "We're not a team that turns the ball over, which is very uncharacteristic of us today. And we're not a team that fouls, so we were just not the disciplined team that we normally are. So it's a little tough to swallow, but give UCLA credit. They're playing really well. Very aggressive team. They made some plays when we didn't, and they're going to do really well in the tournament, as will we."
Four UCLA players – Japreece Dean (24 points), Michaela Onyenwere (20 points), Kennedy Burke (15 points), Lajahna Drummer (10 points) – combined for 69 of the Bruins 73 points in the game. In addition to shooting 48 percent, UCLA was also aided by a 21-of-27 performance (78 percent) at the free throw line.
After making only 34 percent of their shots in the first half, the Sun Devils were on target in the second half, knocking down 63 percent of their shots. Their best offensive quarter of the game was the third when they shot 71 percent from the floor to cut UCLA's lead, which was as many as 15, to a single point on five different occasions.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, they were never able to claim the lead or pull even with the Bruins, who started the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to turn a slight 57-56 lead at the start of the quarter into a 67-58 advantage after two free throws by Drummer with 4:06 remaining.
Robbi Ryan's 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining capped a 6-0 run by the Sun Devils to get back within three points. However the Bruins scored the next four points to put the game out of reach.
The Bruins shot 55 percent in the first half and led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
"We just got off to a slow start," Turner Thorne said. "Really, our defense. We weren't locked in. We were switching screens we shouldn't have switched. We were playing soft. So we let them throw the first punch and kind of jump on us."
ASU's best stretch of the first half came over the last four-plus minutes of the second quarter when it outscored the Bruins 9-4 to cut UCLA's lead to 41-31 at the half. Seven different Sun Devils scored in the first half led by Ibis and Ruden who had six points each. Ibis did not play the last 5:24 of the half after picking up her second personal foul. Richardson and Sophia added five points each and Ekmark had four points.
The Sun Devils trailed 41-31 at the half. Their deficit increased to 14 after the Bruins came out and scored the first four points of the second half to take a 45-31 lead.
Just when it appeared the game was starting to get away from them, the Sun Devils responded with a 13-0 scoring run to get within one point, 45-44, after Ibis' jumper with 4:54 left in the quarter.
The Bruins answered with four straight points but ASU once again got within one point thanks to a layup by Ekmark and a jumper by Johnson-Chapman. The two teams traded scores several times over the last two minutes of the quarter leaving the Bruins with a 57-56 lead entering the final frame. Elenga (3-3 FGs, six points) and Ibis (2-2 FGs, four points) combined to make all five of their shots and account for 10 points in the third quarter.
The Sun Devils will now await word on their NCAA Tournament destination when the brackets are unveiled on Monday, March 18 (4 p.m. PT on ESPN). The Sun Devils will be setting a new school record with their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. They also set a school record this year for consecutive 20-win seasons (six).