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Davenport's career night, determined defense helps WBB defeat Oklahoma State

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Davenport's career night, determined defense helps WBB defeat Oklahoma StateDavenport's career night, determined defense helps WBB defeat Oklahoma State
Sun Devil Athletics

TEMPE – Coming off its first home loss of the season, the Sun Devil Women’s Basketball team bounced back in impressive fashion on Wednesday, defeating Oklahoma State 74-69 in the program’s annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness.

For the second consecutive game, the Sun Devils tied their second-highest point total in the second half, scoring 43 points. As it turned out, every point mattered as the Sun Devils raised their record to 5-1 in games decided by five points or less.

With the win, the Sun Devils (19-5, 6-5 Big 12) moved back into the top half of the Big 12 standings – a three-way tie for seventh place with Iowa State (18-5, 6-5) and Colorado (15-8, 6-5). All three teams are one game behind Oklahoma State (18-6, 7-4) and Utah (16-7, 7-4), who are tied for fifth place.

Sun Devil standouts

  • First-year Sun Devil Deborah Davenport’s contributions off the bench – career highs of 18 points, nine rebounds (led team), three blocks (tied for team lead) and a trio of triples (led team) – proved to be significant in ASU’s win.
  • Gabby Elliott scored all 17 of her points in the second half (5-7 FGs, 6-7 FTs).
  • McKinna Brackens – 10 points in each half – scored 20 points, pulled down 18 boards and had two assists.
  • Last-Tear Poa scored six points and had a game-high six assists.
  • Marley Washenitz had a solid all-around effort with six points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
  • Heloisa Carrera tied her career high and tied for the team lead with three blocks.

How it happened

  • The Cowgirls came into the game third nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.2 – 6 vs. ASU/-4.2), ninth in scoring offense at (86.0 – 69 vs. ASU/-17) and 14th in field goal percentage (47.7 – 31.9 vs. ASU/-15.8). OSU also shot a paltry 22.2 percent from long range, 13.9 percentage points less than the 36.6 percent it had made coming into the game.
  • The Sun Devils shot 45.5 percent, made seven 3-pointers (shot 37 percent in the game) and also scored 17 points from the free throw line where it created 22 attempts.
  • For ASU, the game was won in the second half when it connected on 58 percent of its shots and 44 percent (4-9 FGs) from long range.
  • Both teams found it difficult to score early as ASU made two of its first 11 field goal attempts while the Cowgirls were successful on two of their first 12. That would change in the final three minutes of the first quarter when ASU swished four consecutive shots and the Cowgirls made three of their last four, the last a 3-pointer by Stailee Heard that gave OSU a 14-13 lead.
  • Brackens, who was responsible for ASU’s first two buckets of the game and its last of the quarter, led ASU with six points in the first quarter. Davenport (five points, including her second 3-pointer of the season) and Amaya Williams (two points) both game off the bench to provide ASU’s offense with a boost.
  • ASU and OSU continued to have difficulty getting the ball to their target. ASU made up for its 31 percent shooting with an 89 percent performance foul line, where it was able to score eight of its 18 points in the quarter (8-9) and take a 31-29 lead to the locker room.
  • Davenport continued to be a major contributor in the second quarter, leading the Sun Devils with seven points. Along with Poa (six points) and Washenitz (four points), the trio combined to score 17 of ASU’s 18 points in the second quarter.
  • Up 44-41 in the middle of the third quarter, the Sun Devils utilized a 7-2 run to open up a double-digit lead, 53-43, with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter.
  • Much like it played in the fourth quarter of last week’s win over Arizona, ASU’s defense came up big when it had to. The Sun Devils did not fold when their lead was cut to a single point, 57-56, with 6:44 remaining. Just like in the game vs. Arizona in which the Wildcats were within a point, 54-53, with seven minutes left, the Sun Devils protected their slim lead, increased it and, most importantly, did not allow the Cowgirls to tie the game or take the lead.

Up next

The Sun Devils will once again travel to the Lone Star State for a contest at No. 15 Baylor on Saturday (5 p.m. CST/4 p.m. MST). The game will be nationally televised by FS1.