ASU Basketball: USC defeats Sun Devils behind nine 3-pointers
By Sam Ficarro
ASU women’s basketball dropped Friday night’s contest versus USC 77-62 as the Trojans shot 51 percent from field and made nine 3-pointers.
No. 25 Arizona State saw its three-game winning streak come to an end in Los Angeles as the Trojans defeated the Sun Devils 77-62.
The Trojans overcame an early 8-0 deficit to take their first lead, 16-14, with 7:40 remaining in the second quarter and never looked back the rest of the game.
USC had four players finished in double digits as guard Aliyah Mazyck and forward Kristen Simon dominated the game.
Mazyck led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting with five rebounds and four assists. Simon had her way inside the paint scoring 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting with four rebounds.
Guard Minyon Moore dished a game-high 10 assists.
The Sun Devils only had two in double-figures Friday as forward Courtney Ekmark scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 5-of-6 from behind the arc.
Center Charnea Johnson-Chapman scored 12 points with six rebounds.
The Sun Devils struggled defensively in the second half as they were unable to limit second-chance opportunities and left many USC players open for wide open 3-pointers for the Trojans.
Arizona State were out-rebounded 33-28 with the Trojans bringing down 13 offensive rebounds.
The Sun Devils came close numerous times of tying the game, but after ASU would have empty possessions in a one-possession game, USC would nail a big shot to halt the Sun Devils’ comeback effort.
With the loss, ASU drops to 17-8 overall and 8-5 in Pac-12 play falling to fifth in the Pac-12 standings after Oregon State squeaked out an overtime win at Washington State.
Next: ASU Basketball: 2018 Week One Women’s Bracketology Update
Arizona State’s road trip doesn’t get any easier as they’ll face eighth-ranked UCLA Sunday afternoon. The Bruins defeated Arizona handily Friday night. Tip off of that game will be at 2 p.m. MT and it can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona.