TEMPE, Ariz. – A 10-2 fourth-quarter scoring run by the No. 23 Arizona State women's basketball team proved to be the deciding factor in its 68-63 win over Oregon on Sunday in the program's annual Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness.
Three Sun Devils scored in double figures as Sophie Brunner's 17 points tied for the game high. Sabrina Haines finished with a season-high 14 points as the sophomore guard knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers. Kianna Ibis added 11 for the Sun Devils (15-8, 6-6 Pac-12), who are once again in sole possession of fifth place in the Pac-12, one game ahead of the Ducks (15-9, 5-7).
Maite Cazorla (17 points), Sabrina Ionescu (16 points) and Morgan Yaeger (11 points) all posted double-digit scoring efforts to lead Oregon's offense.
ASU shot 44 percent, tied a season high with seven 3-pointers and had a plus-six advantage on the boards (35-29). The Sun Devils scored 21 points off turnovers to help offset a 51-percent shooting performance by Oregon.
"It was nice to see our guards catch to shoot and our perimeter shooting finally showing up. We knew it would but we also discussed finding offense in other ways," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We cranked up our defense, and got to the free throw line, so it was a combination of both to get us to be scoring better.
"Defensively, there were a lot of breakdowns throughout the game and way too many layups. I thought we really did a great job with their starting backcourt that was hurting us in the first half. I thought it was a great team win and I just need to keep doing a better job of subbing and keeping people a little bit fresher. I thought our bench did a really great job for us today, which makes a huge difference."
Haines started and finished ASU's decisive 10-2, fourth-quarter run with 3-pointers. Her first triple put ASU up 57-55 with 6:13 remaining. Haines' second long-range score of the final frame put ASU up seven, 64-57 with 36 seconds remaining.
The Sun Devils stepped up with an outstanding performance on the defensive end as they held the Ducks scoreless for a stretch of 5:30 in the fourth quarter. After Yaeger's jumper put Oregon up 55-54 with just over seven minutes remaining, the Ducks did not score again until Ruthy Hebard's layup cut ASU's lead to 61-57 with 1:06 seconds remaining. Thirty seconds later Haines drilled her second 3-pointer of the quarter to seal the win.
The Sun Devils started the game with a 12-5 run only to see the Ducks match ASU's scoring spurt leaving the game tied at 17-17 after the game's first nine minutes. Both teams would add two more points before the end of the quarter. Brunner, who moved into ninth place on ASU's career scoring list on Sunday, led ASU with six points in the opening period while Charnea Johnson-Chapman provided a spark off the bench with four points.
A Brunner and-one conversion sparked life into the ASU offense after the Sun Devils missed their first four shots of the second quarter. Reili Richardson, who scored eight points to go with a career-high eight assists against Oregon, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter to lead ASU. The Sun Devils closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 37-32 lead at the half.
Reili Richardson, who had a career-high eight assists against Oregon, scored six of her eight points in the second quarter help ASU take a 37-32 lead at the half.
Sydney Goodson knocked down a critical 3-pointer to put ASU up 42-40 after the Ducks started the third quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 40-39 lead. Oregon would match their biggest lead of the game after Cazorla's 3-pointer put the Ducks up 51-48. The Sun Devils would respond with four points in the final 32 seconds of the quarter to take a 52-51 lead into the final quarter.
Both teams struggled from the free throw line on Sunday as ASU was 13-24 (54.2 percent) while Oregon was 6-12 (50 percent).
Quinn Dornstauder, who had a double-double in ASU's loss to Oregon State on Friday night, led ASU's rebounding effort with eight to go with seven points against Oregon.
The Sun Devils go back on the road later this week for games at Washington State on Friday (7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) and at No. 10 Washington on Sunday (5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT). Friday's game can be seen via live stream at http://pac-12.com/live/washington-state-university and Sunday's game will be shown on Pac-12 Networks. Both games can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.
Three Sun Devils scored in double figures as Sophie Brunner's 17 points tied for the game high. Sabrina Haines finished with a season-high 14 points as the sophomore guard knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers. Kianna Ibis added 11 for the Sun Devils (15-8, 6-6 Pac-12), who are once again in sole possession of fifth place in the Pac-12, one game ahead of the Ducks (15-9, 5-7).
Maite Cazorla (17 points), Sabrina Ionescu (16 points) and Morgan Yaeger (11 points) all posted double-digit scoring efforts to lead Oregon's offense.
ASU shot 44 percent, tied a season high with seven 3-pointers and had a plus-six advantage on the boards (35-29). The Sun Devils scored 21 points off turnovers to help offset a 51-percent shooting performance by Oregon.
"It was nice to see our guards catch to shoot and our perimeter shooting finally showing up. We knew it would but we also discussed finding offense in other ways," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We cranked up our defense, and got to the free throw line, so it was a combination of both to get us to be scoring better.
"Defensively, there were a lot of breakdowns throughout the game and way too many layups. I thought we really did a great job with their starting backcourt that was hurting us in the first half. I thought it was a great team win and I just need to keep doing a better job of subbing and keeping people a little bit fresher. I thought our bench did a really great job for us today, which makes a huge difference."
Haines started and finished ASU's decisive 10-2, fourth-quarter run with 3-pointers. Her first triple put ASU up 57-55 with 6:13 remaining. Haines' second long-range score of the final frame put ASU up seven, 64-57 with 36 seconds remaining.
The Sun Devils stepped up with an outstanding performance on the defensive end as they held the Ducks scoreless for a stretch of 5:30 in the fourth quarter. After Yaeger's jumper put Oregon up 55-54 with just over seven minutes remaining, the Ducks did not score again until Ruthy Hebard's layup cut ASU's lead to 61-57 with 1:06 seconds remaining. Thirty seconds later Haines drilled her second 3-pointer of the quarter to seal the win.
The Sun Devils started the game with a 12-5 run only to see the Ducks match ASU's scoring spurt leaving the game tied at 17-17 after the game's first nine minutes. Both teams would add two more points before the end of the quarter. Brunner, who moved into ninth place on ASU's career scoring list on Sunday, led ASU with six points in the opening period while Charnea Johnson-Chapman provided a spark off the bench with four points.
A Brunner and-one conversion sparked life into the ASU offense after the Sun Devils missed their first four shots of the second quarter. Reili Richardson, who scored eight points to go with a career-high eight assists against Oregon, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter to lead ASU. The Sun Devils closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 37-32 lead at the half.
Reili Richardson, who had a career-high eight assists against Oregon, scored six of her eight points in the second quarter help ASU take a 37-32 lead at the half.
Sydney Goodson knocked down a critical 3-pointer to put ASU up 42-40 after the Ducks started the third quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 40-39 lead. Oregon would match their biggest lead of the game after Cazorla's 3-pointer put the Ducks up 51-48. The Sun Devils would respond with four points in the final 32 seconds of the quarter to take a 52-51 lead into the final quarter.
Both teams struggled from the free throw line on Sunday as ASU was 13-24 (54.2 percent) while Oregon was 6-12 (50 percent).
Quinn Dornstauder, who had a double-double in ASU's loss to Oregon State on Friday night, led ASU's rebounding effort with eight to go with seven points against Oregon.
The Sun Devils go back on the road later this week for games at Washington State on Friday (7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) and at No. 10 Washington on Sunday (5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT). Friday's game can be seen via live stream at http://pac-12.com/live/washington-state-university and Sunday's game will be shown on Pac-12 Networks. Both games can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.