Despite having a host of players that were far from 100 percent health-wise at gametime, the ASU women's basketball team still had no problem swiftly disposing of an inept Washington State squad 68-40 Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Playing without senior shooting guard Amanda Levens and having senior small forward Cian Carvalho ailing from a stomach flu, ASU enjoyed a solid showing offensively. The Sun Devils shot 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) from the floor and 4-of-8 (50 percent) from three-point range.
However, the key was a suffocating defensive effort that kept the Cougars frustrated throughout the game.
The Sun Devils constantly pressured Wazzu, holding them to a miserable 15-of-48 (31.3 percent) shooting from the field. ASU also cleaned up on the glass with 43 rebounds in comparison to Washington State's 32.
With the win, ASU improved to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Pac-10, while Washington State dropped to 2-15 overall and 0-6 in conference play.
Whenever the Cougars seemed to find a rhythm on offense, ASU immediately shut them back down. The Sun Devils picked off a season-high 15 steals, which epitomized the victory.
"We knew the best aspect of our game here at home is our defense," ASU sophomore power forward Betsy Boardman said. "Once you get a couple of steals, you realize it works if you continue to have that extra step on your man. Defensively, it was a great confidence booster to hold a team to 40 points."
The Lady Devils came out of the gates running, building their lead from the early going. ASU freshman point guard Kylan Loney paced the offense by scoring seven of her career-high nine points in the first eight minutes.
"I saw some openings I didn't see other nights," Loney said. "I wasn't necessarily looking for a shot, but I knew when one came, I needed to take it because we were missing a big offensive threat in Amanda."
Carvalho quickly found her stroke, burying a three-pointer late in the first half, which was followed by another bucket with 2:21 left that gave ASU its largest lead before the break.
"You want to come out strong at home against any team. It doesn't matter if its Stanford or Washington State," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Certainly with a team that is struggling a little bit as they are, this game is so mental. Coming out strong and getting the lead is important. You want the other team not believing they can win the game."
Washington State was never able to battle back, and the assault by the Sun Devils carried on after intermission. The Cougars had trouble stopping Boardman, who finished with 16 points and five rebounds. Boardman also had no trouble finding her way to the charity stripe, draining 5-of-6 from the line.
Other significant contributions in the blowout included those made by senior center Melody Johnson and freshman guard Carrie Buckner, who had nine points and seven boards. Carvalho posted 11 points and five rebounds.
The Sun Devils will head out on the road for their next four games against the Los Angeles and Bay Area schools. ASU will face UCLA on Thursday at 8 p.m., before taking on USC on Saturday at 5 p.m.
"It will be a pretty critical two weeks for us. It will tell a lot about our team," Turner Thorne said. "We've shown we're very resilient, that we are improving and that we're definitely a team deserving to get a good seed in the NCAA Tournament. We're obviously trying to win a Pac-10 championship. To win a Pac-10 championship, you have to win on the road."
Reach Christopher Drexel at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
