Senior forward Kimberly Brandon was the second half spark for the ASU women’s basketball team’s offense in its 63–46 rout of Washington State.
“Kim Brandon (had) another fundamental double-double performance,” coach Joseph Anders said.
At the end of the first half, it seemed like either team could pull out a victory.
Washington State (9-11. 3-5 Pac-12) lost its fifth game in a row, but ASU (14-5, 5-3 Pac-12) did not take the team lightly, despite its record.
The Sun Devils got off to a good start in the first half, jumping out to a 10-2 lead.
The rest of the first half was a seesaw match, and ASU ended the half with a slim lead, 23-20.
The game offered a great battle between two great Pac-12 players. Anytime Brandon would score, WSU senior guard Rosetta Adzasu answered. Adzasu finished the game with 10 points for the Cougars.
Brandon finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Sun Devils, but one of her baskets was more important than the rest.
With just under 14 minutes left in the game, Brandon hit an off-balance 3-point shot, which charged the rest of the offense.
After Brandon’s three, the Sun Devils made their next four shots and blew the game wide open.
Despite the offensive explosion, Anders gave credit to the defense for pulling away in the second half.
“When you work as hard as we have worked and you take as much pride in the defense as we take, our defense really took hold at that point,” Anders said.
The ASU bench was out-scored by WSU in the first half, making it difficult for the Sun Devils to increase their lead.
However, the second half was a different story.
Taking a cue from Brandon, freshman guard Promise Amukamara and redshirt junior Janae Fulcher came off the bench and stepped up the intensity.
Amukamara finished with nine points and two steals. Fulcher scored eight points and grabbed four boards to help the Sun Devils push away.
Anders said the bench had a huge impact on the win.
“Anytime you can get 31 points off your bench, that’s a really good thing to have,” Anders said. “Adrianne (Thomas), Promise (Amukamara) and Alex (Earl) all came on and were able to do something on the offensive end.”
Senior forward Kali Bennett finished with 10 points.
Anders said he was proud of Bennett for being aggressive with the ball.
“They are shots that she is capable of knocking down,” Anders said. “She goes five of six today and had some really, really key shots for us in the second half.”
The Sun Devils now head to Seattle to face Washington.
The Huskies beat UA on Thursday night, 77–48.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
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