Devils in Detail
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ASU Basketball: Sun Devils coast past Arizona in first round of Pac-12 Tournament

By Alex Weiner

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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ASU women’s basketball cruised past Arizona 76-47 in the first round of the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament behind a balanced scoring attack.

Arizona State began their 2018 Pac-12 Tournament with a victory against Arizona 76-47 in Seattle on Thursday night.

ASU’s postseason began with a familiar opponent. The Devils had beaten the 6-23 Wildcats just a couple of weeks ago on Feb. 16 and 18. ASU handily won the two games by a combined 49 points.

Arizona State’s up-tempo offense and good ball movement resulted in many open layups against the poor Arizona defense. The Sun Devils converted 17 Wildcat turnovers into 23 points. They scored 48 points in the paint and shot 57 percent from the floor.

The Devils had a lot of balance as well. Seven ASU players made three or more field goals. Three scored double-digit points.

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Kianna Ibis scored a game-high 13 points on 6-12 shooting. Sophia Elenga and Charnea Johnson-Chapman scored 11 and 10 respectively.

This game consisted of a couple of dominant runs by ASU.

The Devils jumped out to an 13-0 lead to start the game. The Arizona State defense didn’t let Arizona get anything going early on. The Devils forced nine turnovers in the opening quarter, scoring 11 points off of them. ASU led 17-2 after the first quarter.

“We knew we had to jump on them first,” forward Kianna Ibis said. “We always emphasize being the more aggressive team…we knew we had them beat inside.”

The beginning of the second half looked a lot like the first. ASU scored the first eight points and went on a 16-4 run, mostly with transition baskets. The largest lead of the game for ASU ended up being the final score, a 29-point win.

On Friday, Arizona State will face Oregon State, a team currently ranked in the AP Poll at number 10. The Beavers have also bested ASU twice this season in tight games, by a combined seven points.

OSU center Marie Gülich has given the Sun Devils a lot of trouble this season. She scored 20 points in the first game, and 36 in the second which took place last Sunday.

Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne for obvious reasons would not disclose her strategy for stopping Gülich.

Next: ASU Basketball: Marie Gulich’s 36 points sinks Sun Devils

“Gülich is a great player. I don’t know if she’s up for an All-American, but to me, she’s that level,” Turner Thorne said. “You’ve just got to try to contain her a little bit better.”