After losing four of its last five games, No. 25 ASU women's basketball (15-7, 6-4) pulled off a dominant 57-42 win over the No. 23 California Golden Bears (15-6, 6-4) on Sunday, Jan. 28 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California.
The Sun Devils opened the contest on a 14-0 run, continuing their trend of starting games with large leads. ASU now has a first quarter margin of 168-139.
With the win over Cal, ASU has now swept the Golden Bears three years in a row.
One of the biggest factors in the Sun Devils' win was California’s shooting woes. The Golden Bears shot 28 percent from the field and 11 percent from the 3-point line. California came into the game averaging 70 points per game.
The Sun Devils led the entire game, and junior guard Courtney Ekmark was the Sun Devils' leading scorer with 12 points. Junior forward Kianna Ibis scored 11 points. Ekmark and Ibis tied for the team high in rebounds with eight each.
Coming off the bench, sophomore forward Jamie Ruden scored nine points and sophomore guard Kiara Russell scored seven.
For California, junior center and Phoenix nativce Kristine Anigwe had 15 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
As a whole, ASU shot 46 percent from the field and 33 percent from the beyond the arc. The Sun Devils had 34 points in the paint and 21 points from their bench.
What's Next for ASU
ASU will head home to face the Washington Huskies (7-14, 1-9) on Friday at 8 p.m. MST and the Washington State Cougars (9-12, 2-7) on Sunday at 2 p.m. MST at Wells Fargo Arena.
Reach the reporter at sbemanue@asu.edu or follow @SebastianEman24 on Twitter.
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