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Fouls almost sink women’s hoops against OSU

Important win: ASU sophomore guard Deja Mann defends on the outside against Oregon State redshirt sophomore guard Sage Indendi during the Sun Devils’ 59-54 victory on Saturday. ASU will carry the third seed into the Pac-10 tournament on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Steve Rodriguez)
Important win: ASU sophomore guard Deja Mann defends on the outside against Oregon State redshirt sophomore guard Sage Indendi during the Sun Devils’ 59-54 victory on Saturday. ASU will carry the third seed into the Pac-10 tournament on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Steve Rodriguez)

The ASU women’s basketball team went into Saturday’s matchup against Oregon State with the third spot on the Pac-10 standings already secured.

But the Sun Devils (19-9, 11-7 Pac-10) were hungry for the win anyway and managed to leave Corvallis, Ore., with a hard-fought 59-54 win over the Beavers (9-20, 2-16) in the last regular-season game of the year.

“We always play each game like it’s our last game,” junior forward Kimberly Brandon said. “We just went out there and gave it our all. We also wanted to win a game for our seniors. This is kind of their senior night.”

In a game where redshirt senior guard Dymond Simon got into foul trouble early and was held to three points, ASU had big games from some of the other usual suspects.

Brandon had another strong performance with 15 points and six rebounds to lead all scorers, and senior guard Tenaya Watson added 14 points of her own, including two huge 3-pointers and some clutch free throws in the last five minutes.

“Tenaya Watson was just huge for us down the stretch,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said in a radio interview. “She’s a winner, and when it’s time to make plays, that’s what she does.”

The Sun Devils led the entire second half, but the game was touch-and-go in the last 2:33, when the Beavers came within a point of ASU several times.

The biggest difference between the two teams was points at the foul line. OSU was awarded a staggering 33 free throws to ASU’s 12, but only hit 60.6 percent. Had the Beavers been a little stronger from the charity stripe, the game could have easily swung in their favor.

“That’s where they were getting the majority of their points in the second half,” junior forward Janae Fulcher said. “It was definitely a learning experience.”

OSU would finish with three players in double figures. Freshman guard Alyssa Martin and senior forward El Sara Greer both had 13 points, and redshirt sophomore Sage Indendi added 12.

The Sun Devils got off to a rough start and after 12 minutes, a 6-0 OSU run put the Beavers up 19-12.

But ASU would immediately turn it around and go on a 12-0 run in the next three minutes to grab a five-point lead. The Sun Devils would hold a 31-27 advantage at the half.

ASU would build up an eight-point lead, its largest of the game, just 1:28 into the second half, but pretty soon the fouls started to build up. With just over eight minutes left, the Sun Devils already had 10 team fouls, putting OSU in the double bonus for the rest of the game.

ASU just tried to push the foul trouble to the side and focus on what they had to do, Brandon said.

“We just stayed positive, stayed together, stayed poised, and just kept thinking about the next play,” Brandon said. “

With 33 seconds left, the Sun Devils only led 57-54, but a missed 3-pointer by Indendi followed by two Watson free throws would ice the game for good.

Simon turned her ankle late in the second half and limped through the pain for a few possessions before coming off. Turner Thorne said she didn’t know how serious the injury was yet, but hoped Simon would be ready to go by Wednesday.

While Turner Thorne said she was happy with the win, she also said she was hoping to see more out of her team.

“We really wanted to come in here and get some momentum going into the postseason and play a complete game, and we definitely fell short of that,” she said. “But we are showing great toughness down this stretch of games.”

With the third-seed in the Pac-10 tournament, the Sun Devils will face OSU again on Wednesday in Los Angeles. The win against the Beavers on Saturday also helps ASU solidify a place in the NCAA tournament.

Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu


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