TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State women's basketball team outscored Oregon 30-14 in the fourth quarter on its way to a 72-66 upset of the second-ranked Ducks on Friday night.
Robbi Ryan scored 11 of her team-high and season high-tying 17 points and Reili Richardson scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Sun Devils (12-4, 2-2 Pac-12), who recorded a win over the No. 2 team for the first time since they defeated Stanford 70-63 in the championship game of the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament in 2002.
Ja'Tavia Tapley scored 16 points and Jamie Ruden added 12 points as the Sun Devils used an outstanding team effort to hold the Ducks (12-2, 2-1 Pac-12) and their top-ranked scoring offense more than 23 points below their scoring average of 89.3 points coming into the game.
ASU knocked down 86 percent of its free throws (19-22) with seniors Richardson (6-6), Tapley (6-8) and Ryan (3-4) combining to make 15-of-18 attempts.
"I thought our seniors really stepped up. Reili, Robbi, Jamie hitting huge shots, playing great defense, getting big rebounds," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "They are doing what we know they can do and they've been — since that first game right after Christmas — they've been getting better and better and stronger and stronger. Tap too, another one of our seniors. I feel like that's great because they bring the sense of urgency to our team."
Turner Thorne later added of ASU's seniors, "That senior class, they've won a lot of games. They've had an incredible career and I'm so happy for them. They know how to take games."
The Sun Devils' bench outscored Oregon's 25-15 as Sara Bejedi (six points), Iris Mbulito (four points) and Bre'yanna Sanders (three points) complimented Ruden's team-high 12 points among reserves.
Entering the game No. 5 in the nation for fewest turnovers per game (11.5), the Ducks committed 17 miscues, which led to 17 of ASU's points. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, tied their season low with only seven turnovers.
After shooting 25 percent over the first three quarters, the Sun Devils scorched the net off their basket, connecting on 69 percent of their field goals over the final 10 minutes to match the second-highest point total in a quarter in school history. In contrast, after shooting 58 percent over the first 30 minutes, the Ducks managed only 29 percent in the final frame.
The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and found themselves on the wrong end of a 56-44 score with just under eight minutes remaining. Ryan started and ended one of ASU's best offensive sequences of the season – Richardson had a pair of triples in-between – as part of a 14-0 run that put the Sun Devils up 58-56 with 3:57 remaining.
Oregon reeled off the next four points – layup by Ruthy Hebard and a jumper by Sabrina Ionescu – to reclaim the lead, 60-58 with 3:07 remaining.
The see-saw battle continued as Ruden connected with a triple to put ASU up 61-60 and Ionescu, who had a game-high 24 points, followed with another jumper to put Oregon back in front 62-61. Back-to-back baskets by Ruden, who scored seven straight points, gave ASU a three-point edge, 65-62, with 34 seconds remaining.
From that point it became matter of ASU making its free throws and the Sun Devils were more than up to the challenge, connecting on 7-of-8 in free throws in the final 20 seconds – Ruden grabbed an offensive rebound on the only miss – to seal the win.
The Sun Devils played Friday's game without starting guard Kiara Russell who was injured during practice this week. In addition to being one of ASU's primary point guards, Russell has also been one of ASU's top rebounders recently, averaging 6.0 rebounds in her last six games.
"So, very proud of our team," Turner Thorne said. "Very proud of their toughness... we played great defense, we stayed with things, we hung around and I just think if we can just shoot the way we can shoot for four quarters, that's really exciting. But (Oregon's) a great team. I thought we really did a good job of executing our game plan on both sides of the ball and we just had different people step up. We did this without our starting point guard, Kiara Russell, so that's a true next-woman-up (mentality). Iris (Mbulito) was incredible and Bre Sanders off the bench - just some great individual performances, so really proud of our team."
Oregon shot 67 percent in the first quarter on its way to a 23-15 advantage after 10 minutes. The Ducks jumped out to an early 6-0 lead as Hebard hit her first three shots of the game. Behind Tapley, who had scored six of ASU's first 12 points, the Sun Devils fought back to get within two, 14-12, with just over two minutes left in the period. The Ducks closed the quarter with a trio of 3-pointers to extend their lead to eight.
The Sun Devils were outstanding on the defensive end in the second quarter, holding Oregon to only 12 points. Still, the Sun Devils found themselves trailing 35-28 at the half.
The Sun Devils were outrebounded (40-36) for only the second time this season on Friday. Tapley and Jayde Van Hyfte tied for the team lead with six rebounds each.
The Sun Devils close out the weekend on Sunday (2 p.m. MT) when they host No. 3 and unbeaten Oregon State at Desert Financial Arena. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Oregon. and heard on KDUS AM 1060.
Robbi Ryan scored 11 of her team-high and season high-tying 17 points and Reili Richardson scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Sun Devils (12-4, 2-2 Pac-12), who recorded a win over the No. 2 team for the first time since they defeated Stanford 70-63 in the championship game of the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament in 2002.
Ja'Tavia Tapley scored 16 points and Jamie Ruden added 12 points as the Sun Devils used an outstanding team effort to hold the Ducks (12-2, 2-1 Pac-12) and their top-ranked scoring offense more than 23 points below their scoring average of 89.3 points coming into the game.
ASU knocked down 86 percent of its free throws (19-22) with seniors Richardson (6-6), Tapley (6-8) and Ryan (3-4) combining to make 15-of-18 attempts.
"I thought our seniors really stepped up. Reili, Robbi, Jamie hitting huge shots, playing great defense, getting big rebounds," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "They are doing what we know they can do and they've been — since that first game right after Christmas — they've been getting better and better and stronger and stronger. Tap too, another one of our seniors. I feel like that's great because they bring the sense of urgency to our team."
Turner Thorne later added of ASU's seniors, "That senior class, they've won a lot of games. They've had an incredible career and I'm so happy for them. They know how to take games."
The Sun Devils' bench outscored Oregon's 25-15 as Sara Bejedi (six points), Iris Mbulito (four points) and Bre'yanna Sanders (three points) complimented Ruden's team-high 12 points among reserves.
Entering the game No. 5 in the nation for fewest turnovers per game (11.5), the Ducks committed 17 miscues, which led to 17 of ASU's points. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, tied their season low with only seven turnovers.
After shooting 25 percent over the first three quarters, the Sun Devils scorched the net off their basket, connecting on 69 percent of their field goals over the final 10 minutes to match the second-highest point total in a quarter in school history. In contrast, after shooting 58 percent over the first 30 minutes, the Ducks managed only 29 percent in the final frame.
The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and found themselves on the wrong end of a 56-44 score with just under eight minutes remaining. Ryan started and ended one of ASU's best offensive sequences of the season – Richardson had a pair of triples in-between – as part of a 14-0 run that put the Sun Devils up 58-56 with 3:57 remaining.
Oregon reeled off the next four points – layup by Ruthy Hebard and a jumper by Sabrina Ionescu – to reclaim the lead, 60-58 with 3:07 remaining.
The see-saw battle continued as Ruden connected with a triple to put ASU up 61-60 and Ionescu, who had a game-high 24 points, followed with another jumper to put Oregon back in front 62-61. Back-to-back baskets by Ruden, who scored seven straight points, gave ASU a three-point edge, 65-62, with 34 seconds remaining.
From that point it became matter of ASU making its free throws and the Sun Devils were more than up to the challenge, connecting on 7-of-8 in free throws in the final 20 seconds – Ruden grabbed an offensive rebound on the only miss – to seal the win.
The Sun Devils played Friday's game without starting guard Kiara Russell who was injured during practice this week. In addition to being one of ASU's primary point guards, Russell has also been one of ASU's top rebounders recently, averaging 6.0 rebounds in her last six games.
"So, very proud of our team," Turner Thorne said. "Very proud of their toughness... we played great defense, we stayed with things, we hung around and I just think if we can just shoot the way we can shoot for four quarters, that's really exciting. But (Oregon's) a great team. I thought we really did a good job of executing our game plan on both sides of the ball and we just had different people step up. We did this without our starting point guard, Kiara Russell, so that's a true next-woman-up (mentality). Iris (Mbulito) was incredible and Bre Sanders off the bench - just some great individual performances, so really proud of our team."
Oregon shot 67 percent in the first quarter on its way to a 23-15 advantage after 10 minutes. The Ducks jumped out to an early 6-0 lead as Hebard hit her first three shots of the game. Behind Tapley, who had scored six of ASU's first 12 points, the Sun Devils fought back to get within two, 14-12, with just over two minutes left in the period. The Ducks closed the quarter with a trio of 3-pointers to extend their lead to eight.
The Sun Devils were outstanding on the defensive end in the second quarter, holding Oregon to only 12 points. Still, the Sun Devils found themselves trailing 35-28 at the half.
The Sun Devils were outrebounded (40-36) for only the second time this season on Friday. Tapley and Jayde Van Hyfte tied for the team lead with six rebounds each.
The Sun Devils close out the weekend on Sunday (2 p.m. MT) when they host No. 3 and unbeaten Oregon State at Desert Financial Arena. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Oregon. and heard on KDUS AM 1060.