ASU Basketball: Devils begin three-game homestand vs. L.A. schools

After a thrilling double-overtime win versus then-No. 10 Oregon State, ASU basketball hosts UCLA and USC as they open a three-game homestand.

After beginning Pac-12 play playing five of their first seven games on the road, the 16th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils begin a three-game homestand this weekend against UCLA and USC.

The Sun Devils (13-5, 4-3 Pac-12) are coming off a road split at the Oregon schools falling by six to the fifth-ranked Ducks and defeating the 10th-ranked Beavers by three in double overtime.

Arizona State fell in Eugene 77-71 behind a big performance from Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu, who scored a season-high 31 points.

The Sun Devils, after trailing by 13 points midway through the third quarter, engineered a comeback cutting the deficit to one point with 1:45 remaining.

The Ducks were able to ice it on points from Ionescu, guard Maite Cazorla and forward Satou Sabally to hold off ASU.

Arizona State played extremely well jumping out to a 16-10 lead but then Oregon went on a 21-4 run spanning two quarters to grab hold of the lead.

The Sun Devils outrebounded Oregon 36-31 and held the Ducks to just nine assists on 28 made field goals. In the end, Oregon made their shots from the perimeter as in the first half, Arizona State kept going underneath the screens leading to open shots for the Ducks.

On Sunday, Arizona State was in a battle in Corvallis against another top-10 team in Oregon State.

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The Sun Devils played three hard-fought game with the Beavers last season losing the two meetings in the regular season before beating them in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Opposite from the Oregon game, the Sun Devils struggled to get buckets early as they trailed 12-5 before closing the quarter on a 9-2 run to tie it up at 14.

Arizona State built itself a seven-point halftime lead thanks to strong defense with Oregon State shooting just 37 percent from the field.

After the Sun Devils built a 38-30 early in the second half, Oregon State hit four straight 3-pointers to take a 44-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

That’s when it became the Kianna Ibis show.

The senior forward scored the final 11 points for the Sun Devils shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the fourth quarter to force overtime tied at 60.

It would eventually head to double overtime where Reili Richardson hit what proved to be a dagger 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining in double OT.

ASU led 71-68 and never squandered the lead making enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Oregon State 79-76 to pick up their first win over a top-10 opponent of the season.

Guard Reili Richardson had one of the best games of her career scoring 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including three 3-pointers, to go with six assists.

Next up for the Sun Devils is UCLA Friday and USC Sunday for their only meetings against both schools in the regular season.

Arizona State lost at UCLA and USC last season but this is a much different looking Bruins team with center Monique Billings and guard Jordin Canada having graduated.

Leading the way for the Bruins is forward Michaela Onyenwere who’s averaging 16.9 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game.

The Trojans, on the other hand, lost their stalwart inside in center Kristen Simon but they have a dynamic backcourt in Aliyah Mazyck and the Moore sisters, Minyon and Mariya.

The three guards combine to average 40.8 points per game with USC averaging 67.1 points a game.

The two L.A. schools played each other this past Sunday with USC securing their first conference win of the season 72-67 at Pauley Pavilion.

Both teams sit in the bottom half of the Pac-12 standings as UCLA has dropped three straight after beginning conference play 2-1 while USC looks to climb their way back up the standings.

Friday’s game against UCLA is at 11 a.m. MT with Sunday’s game against USC at 1 p.m. MT as Arizona State looks to continue their momentum.