Defensive and rebounding grit led to ASU women’s basketball defeating tenth-ranked Oregon State during the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament Friday.
The Devils did not shoot well against OSU. They shot under 40 percent as they did in their two previous games against the Beavers.
But, the Devils this time around were stout defensively, dominated the boards and continued to force turnovers.
OSU scored 74.3 points-per-game heading into Friday. However, the Devils held them to 51. A large reason for this was ASU’s defending of the paint, specifically Marie Gülich.
Gülich scored 20 and 36 points in their previous matchups with ASU this season. She scored just six points on six shots Friday. It wasn’t a matter of her having an off-shooting night. She didn’t get opportunities to shoot.
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“They helped…sent two or three people at times,” Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck said. “We had a hard time getting her position.”
“It was a team effort on Gülich,” Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne. “We weren’t going to let her beat us single handily again.”
Oregon State came in as the best defensive rebounding team in the conference. Yet ASU grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and earned 13 second-chance points. This is where Kianna Ibis shined for the Devils grabbing seven offensive boards and setting a career-high in rebounds with 14.
The Devils also forced 10 Beaver turnovers while only committing six of their own.
With such a success in rebounding and winning the turnover battle, ASU was able to put up six extra field goals than OSU. ASU was also able to go to the line and shoot nine more free throws than the Beavers.
These additional scoring chances for Arizona State allowed them to go on scoring runs, ASU ended the game on a 13-1 run, and pull out the win despite shooting poorly from the field.
On Saturday, the Devils go up against Stanford, a team that rebounds well, but can be prone to many turnovers.
ASU dominated the paint the first time the two faced off, and the Devils won by seven.
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Stanford won the rebound and turnover battle the second time these two played. The Cardinal won that game convincingly.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.