SALT LAKE CITY – Jamie Ruden's layup with 12 seconds remaining proved to be the game winner in the Arizona State women's basketball team's 83-81 win at Utah on Sunday.
Kianna Ibis, ASU's leading scorer this season, poured in a career-high 30 points while Robbi Ryan pitched in 14 points for the Sun Devils (11-3, 2-0 Pac-12) who held off a furious rally by the Utes (10-3, 1-1) to come out of the first weekend of conference play with a pair of wins.
Reili Richardson, who is currently No. 1 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, had nine points, six assists and five rebounds.
For the second straight game the Sun Devils rose to the challenge of outrebounding one of the nation's top rebounding teams as Utah came into the game sixth in the nation in rebounding margin. Although not as dominating as the 45-35 advantage it had at Colorado (came in 13th in the nation in rebounding margin) on Friday, ASU still ended the game on top (35-34). Four players had five or more rebounds as Ryan led the way with seven, Charnea Johnson-Chapman and Courtney Ekmark (also scored nine points) had six apiece and Richardson had five.
ASU shot 48 percent for the game, including 46 percent from long distance. Ibis paced ASU with a career-high three triples.
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, the Utes kept battling back and would eventually take the lead after Megan Huff, who led Utah with 22 points, knocked down a pair of free throws to give Utah a 81-80 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
After a timeout the Devils went to Ruden, who caught the ball in the paint, turned around and scored on a layup to put the Devils back in front 82-81. For Ruden, who scored nine points, it was the second big shot she made in the final minute of the game after drilling a 3-pointer to break a 77-77 tie with 46 seconds left.
Sophia Elenga, who had a career-high 17 points in Friday's win at Colorado and added nine more on Sunday, came up with a steal at the opposite end and was immediately fouled. She would hit one of two free throws leaving the Utes down by two points with three seconds remaining.
The Utes make two quick passes, the second of which went to Erika Bean who dribbled toward the goal and launched a 3-pointer that hit the back of the iron as time expired.
The Sun Devils started the game on fire, shooting 78 percent (14-18) in the first 10 minutes and setting a school record for points in a quarter (34). Ibis and Ekmark scored nine points each while Ryan had six.
After their record-breaking performance in the first quarter, the Devils' offense would go cold in the second quarter as they matched their season low for fewest points in a quarter with nine. By the time the half arrived Utah was back within single digits, 43-36.
Ibis scored ASU's first eight points of the third quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Sun Devils back up by 10 after the Utes pulled within four.
The Utes would get within four on two more occasions in the third quarter only to see ASU respond each time. A 3-pointer by Ryan with six seconds remaining in the period gave ASU a seven-point lead entering the final 10 minutes.
Ryan scored ASU's first five points of the fourth quarter to put the Sun Devils up 66-56.
The Utes continued to battle and would eventually knot the game at 77-77 following an 11-2 run.
Ruden's aforementioned 3-pointer put ASU up 80-77, but the Utes would hit four straight free throws within a span of 23 seconds to take their first lead of the game, 81-80.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they host No. 20 Cal (Friday at 8 p.m. MT) and Stanford (Sunday at 2 p.m.).
Kianna Ibis, ASU's leading scorer this season, poured in a career-high 30 points while Robbi Ryan pitched in 14 points for the Sun Devils (11-3, 2-0 Pac-12) who held off a furious rally by the Utes (10-3, 1-1) to come out of the first weekend of conference play with a pair of wins.
Reili Richardson, who is currently No. 1 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, had nine points, six assists and five rebounds.
For the second straight game the Sun Devils rose to the challenge of outrebounding one of the nation's top rebounding teams as Utah came into the game sixth in the nation in rebounding margin. Although not as dominating as the 45-35 advantage it had at Colorado (came in 13th in the nation in rebounding margin) on Friday, ASU still ended the game on top (35-34). Four players had five or more rebounds as Ryan led the way with seven, Charnea Johnson-Chapman and Courtney Ekmark (also scored nine points) had six apiece and Richardson had five.
ASU shot 48 percent for the game, including 46 percent from long distance. Ibis paced ASU with a career-high three triples.
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, the Utes kept battling back and would eventually take the lead after Megan Huff, who led Utah with 22 points, knocked down a pair of free throws to give Utah a 81-80 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
After a timeout the Devils went to Ruden, who caught the ball in the paint, turned around and scored on a layup to put the Devils back in front 82-81. For Ruden, who scored nine points, it was the second big shot she made in the final minute of the game after drilling a 3-pointer to break a 77-77 tie with 46 seconds left.
Sophia Elenga, who had a career-high 17 points in Friday's win at Colorado and added nine more on Sunday, came up with a steal at the opposite end and was immediately fouled. She would hit one of two free throws leaving the Utes down by two points with three seconds remaining.
The Utes make two quick passes, the second of which went to Erika Bean who dribbled toward the goal and launched a 3-pointer that hit the back of the iron as time expired.
The Sun Devils started the game on fire, shooting 78 percent (14-18) in the first 10 minutes and setting a school record for points in a quarter (34). Ibis and Ekmark scored nine points each while Ryan had six.
After their record-breaking performance in the first quarter, the Devils' offense would go cold in the second quarter as they matched their season low for fewest points in a quarter with nine. By the time the half arrived Utah was back within single digits, 43-36.
Ibis scored ASU's first eight points of the third quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Sun Devils back up by 10 after the Utes pulled within four.
The Utes would get within four on two more occasions in the third quarter only to see ASU respond each time. A 3-pointer by Ryan with six seconds remaining in the period gave ASU a seven-point lead entering the final 10 minutes.
Ryan scored ASU's first five points of the fourth quarter to put the Sun Devils up 66-56.
The Utes continued to battle and would eventually knot the game at 77-77 following an 11-2 run.
Ruden's aforementioned 3-pointer put ASU up 80-77, but the Utes would hit four straight free throws within a span of 23 seconds to take their first lead of the game, 81-80.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they host No. 20 Cal (Friday at 8 p.m. MT) and Stanford (Sunday at 2 p.m.).