ASU Basketball: Bench production a positive takeaway from Vegas

It was another tough loss for ASU basketball, but the bench scored 25 points against UCLA, something ASU can build on heading into the NCAA Tournament.

The Sun Devils’ run in the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament was halted by UCLA in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years as the Bruins prevailed 73-69.

Arizona State struggled to get going offensively in the first half as they shot 34 percent from the field.

Despite their poor shooting woes in the first half, Arizona State dropped 25 points in the third quarter making 12 of their 17 field goal attempts to get back in the game.

In the fourth quarter, trailing by just one point, it was self-inflicted plays that sunk ASU as they committed seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, halting the comeback attempt.

A positive takeaway for the Sun Devils was the bench play. The Sun Devils’ bench outscored UCLA’s 25-4 as forward Sophia Elenga scored 11 points and forward Jamie Ruden scored eight points.

“I think what helped the bench today was that we had pretty good energy for the game. Whenever I looked down to my left or my right, people were clapping and just being really engaged so I think that helped,” Ruden said. “Once we were out on the court, I think we were pumped up and ready to lock in and help in what every way we could.”

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Elenga also had five rebounds as forward Kianna Ibis was limited in foul trouble and center Charnea Johnson-Chapman only played 22 minutes.

“Sophia (Elenga) is playing hands down the best basketball of her career right now, and she was amazing today,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said.

The Sun Devils have always relied on a balanced and deep scoring attack. The bench production will be an crucial factor for ASU if they want to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

“(The bench) is really important for us, especially with the offense. We’re getting Jamie Ruden back healthy, so that’s huge,” Turner Thorne said. “I know with this little bit of practice, I’m very excited because I know Reili and Ki (Kianna Ibis), they’re better if they can be at 27 minutes or so and not plus minutes. So (the bench) is going to be key for us.”

As they prepare for the NCAA Tournament, the Sun Devils will have two weeks off before it gets going.

Ibis and guard Kiara Russell both suffered injuries this week with Ruden having battled numerous injuries this season, most recently a broken thumb.

“I feel like I’m in a pretty good place right now. My thumb feels a lot better now. It gave me a good window to work on my conditioning and defense,” Ruden said. “I’m excited to see how I come along, how the team comes along for March Madness.”

Arizona State, in past NCAA Tournaments, have played their best basketball of the season due in large part for the two week break. Ruden believes the time off will be beneficial for them to recharge their batteries.

“This window is really good because we can identify things that we kind of lacked in this tournament and just try to hammer and get ready for the NCAA Tournament,” Ruden said. “It gives us some good rest time to just mentally prepare and get hyped up.”

Turner Thorne believes the break will be really good for Arizona State to get the offense going on all cylinders.

The Sun Devils will look to get past the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. Considering they’ve played a top-10 strength of schedule, Turner Thorne believes her team will be ready to go.

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“We’re experienced. I mean these players have played the best teams in the country,” Turner Thorne said. “There’s nothing they haven’t seen. We’re going to be very confident going into the NCAA Tournament.”

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.