ASU basketball used a big third quarter to secure a 66-54 win over No. 9 Oregon State as the Sun Devils complete the season sweep of the Beavers.
The horn blew and the third quarter was under way with Arizona State leading Oregon State by three. Last week, ASU’s third quarters were nightmares, but this one was triumphant.
Over the next four minutes and 50 seconds, the Devils seemingly buried the Beavers by scoring the first 13 points with baskets scored by five different players. ASU forced three turnovers over that span, swarmed OSU on defense and had stout ball movement.
“We had some fun at halftime because last week the third quarter was the death of us, we were tragic. So, as coaches we were scheming,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I even said let’s make them call the first timeout, let’s get after it. They just responded well, they were really in attack mode.”
ASU was outscored by 22 points in the third quarters against Cal and Stanford last week, a series the Sun Devils were more than eager to move on from.
They won the third period 25-13 Friday night and defeated OSU by a final score of 66-54, their third straight win over the Beavers dating back to last year’s Pac-12 Tournament.
“Charli teaches us to be in the moment,” said senior Charnea Johnson-Chapman about letting last week go. “If it’s in the past, it’s in the past but we also use it as motivation so we turn the negative into a source of positive.”
The win kept ASU’s hopes alive for a top-four seed in the conference, put a major top-10 win on the Devils’ NCAA Tournament résumé and proved that at their best, they can limit a team that scores over 77 points per game to 56. Plus, it got ASU’s top scorer back on track.
Ibis was not her typical self in the Bay. She scored 10 points on 4-of-21 shooting while dealing with minor injuries over two games. Against OSU, especially in the second half, she was another animal. She finished with 20 points, shooting 8-for-12 with eight rebounds.
“Kianna (Ibis) tends to get better as the games goes on,” Turner Thorne said. “She adjusts to the way everyone is always keying in on her, that’s the mark of a great player, how she adjusts.”
Oregon is the last team ASU faces in the regular season. The way the Devils played last week shouldn’t concern the Ducks at all. The manner in which they performed in the third quarter against OSU should.
The game is Sunday at 1 p.m. MT at Wells Fargo Arena.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.