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ASU Basketball: Sun Devils use 13-0 run to pull away from Cougars

By Sam Ficarro

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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ASU women’s basketball extended their win streak to three games with a 77-51 win over Washington State as five Sun Devils finished in double-digits.

It was 22-21 Sun Devils with 3:29 remaining in the first half in what was a back-and-forth game up to that point. Both teams were still feeling their way through the game offensively.

The Sun Devils ended the half on a 6-0 run thanks to four points from guard Reili Richardson and and a three-pointer from forward Courtney Ekmark. ASU led 28-21 at halftime.

Arizona State picked up where they left off in the first half opening the second half on a 7-0 run to open a 14-point lead with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter.

That 13-0 run spearheaded a Sun Devils blowout win defeating Washington State 77-51.

“It was a great team win,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We executed defensively like we wanted to do. Obviously, we got going in the second half.”

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Arizona State shot the ball extremely well from the second half shooting 19-of-29 from the field including a blistering 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter where they made eight consecutive field goals.

Forward Courtney Ekmark had her best conference game of her career leading all scorers with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Ekmark was one of five Sun Devils who finished in double-digits.

Forward Kianna Ibis finished with 16 points and seven rebounds; forward Jamie Ruden scored 12 points and recorded five rebounds; guards Robbi Ryan and Richardson combined for 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

It was an all-around team win as Turner Thorne thinks they’re playing at the level that they started Pac-12 play with.

“That last stretch was not only tough competition but also our midseason hitting the wall,” Turner Thorne said. “I think we’ve recovered from that. The finish line is there and the team is getting excited for the home stretch and postseason.”

Arizona State also dominated the glass out-rebounding Wazzu 49-23 including 26-7 in the second half. Center Charnea Johnson-Chapman led the team with nine rebounds with Ryan recording eight and Ibis and forward Sophia Elenga bringing down seven apiece.

“Our biggest goal coming into this game was to have a great rebounding effort,” Turner Thorne said. “Bottomline, we knew Washington State was a good offensive rebounding team and if we could limit them to one shot, and we get second shots, we felt we would win.”

The Cougars, who feature a bevy of scorers, were held to 51 points with forward Borislava Hristova held in check with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

Guard Alexys Swedlund provided instant offense off the bench scoring 14 points and hitting four 3-pointers, but only scored two points in the second half. Wazzu finished the game shooting 8-of-26 from behind the arc.

Arizona State improved to 17-7 and 8-4 in Pac-12 play and are tied for fourth in the conference with Oregon State sitting two games back of Oregon and Stanford for the Pac-12 lead.

Next: ASU Basketball: Sun Devils dominate Huskies at home

The Sun Devils travel to Los Angeles next weekend for their only meetings with USC and No. 9 UCLA. The Sun Devils went 1-1 against USC and 0-3 against UCLA last season.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.