No. 14 ASU women’s basketball was struggling offensively against Washington. Head coach Charli Turner Thorne said she had to tell a joke to get the team out of the slump.
“I know what’s wrong with our offense, I know what’s wrong with our offense!” she said in a postgame interview with 1060 AM. “We’re too open!”
Whether that was what really allowed the team to begin making shots or not, ASU outscored Washington 26-16 in the fourth quarter to get a 68-61 victory.
ASU had led 27-23 at the end of the first half, but was trailing 31-34 with less than five minutes in the third quarter. ASU had gone on a streak of five consecutive turnovers and Washington took advantage.
Junior guard Kelsey Plum hadn’t found her stroke yet. She leads the NCAA in scoring with 27.9 points per game. ASU was working its help defense successfully.
“We wanted to really have two people on her just coming off the screens and then kind of rotate back,” Turner Thorne said. “We did it with mild success at times because we left other people wide open.”
She added that those players shot at a lower percentage than she expects Plum to, and said that she thought the game plan worked well.
Plum finished with 21 points on 8-20 shooting.
Late in the third, she came to life, scoring five points in less than 30 seconds. It allowed Washington take a 45-42 lead into the fourth.
The Sun Devils started hitting baskets. They started the quarter 3-4 and added free throws, scoring 10 points in the first two minutes and taking a four-point lead.
It began with an offensive rebound and jumper from junior forward Sophie Brunner. She led ASU with 15 points and nine rebounds in the game.
“(Senior guard) Lili (Davis) (and) Sophie down the stretch were huge,” Turner Thorne said.
Plum came back, scoring five points quickly, but ASU answered back.
Leading by three with 2:40 left in the game, ASU had long possessions and forced a turnover. Neither team scored until a Davis layup with 0:38 on the clock.
Washington scored 19 points below its season average, and four ASU players scored double-digit points.
“This team just keeps growing in its poise and its toughness,” Turner Thorne said. “I thought it really showed, we were just able to lock in and dig a little deeper.”
Reach the sports editor at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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