(Seattle, WA) Jalyn Brown posted her second 30-point game of the season, finishing with 34 points to lead the Sun Devil women’s basketball team to a 73-65 win over Washington on Sunday.
In addition to capturing their first Pac-12 win of the season, the Sun Devils (9-10, 1-6 Pac-12) surpassed their win total from last season when they went 8-20.
Brown (11-20 FGs, 4-5 3FGs, 8-8 FTs), who scored 35 points earlier this season vs. Colorado, posted her eighth game of the season with 20 or more points.
In addition to winning on the road – no small feat for any team in the Pac-12 – the Sun Devils took care of business against a Washington squad that came into the game first in the Pac-12 and No. 7 in the nation in scoring defense, giving up an average of 52.1 points per contest. ASU’s 73 points represented the most given up by the Huskies (12-5, 2-4) this season. Further more, the Sun Devils tied a Washington opponent high by hitting eight triples. Even more impressive? ASU was 61.5 percent (8-13) from downtown against the conference’s top team and No. 13 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense (24.8 percent coming into the game).
Trayanna Crisp scored 16 points and Jaddan Simmons added nine points to go along with a team-high six rebounds for the Sun Devils.
The game’s deciding sequence came at the start of the fourth quarter after Washington scored 12 seconds into the final frame to get within one point of the Sun Devils, 50-49. The next time Washington scored came with 4:02 remaining after a pair of free throws got the Huskies within nine points after the Sun Devils used a 10-0 run that would ultimately point the way to victory. Crisp ignited the run with a triple, the first of two she knocked down during the run.
The Sun Devils hit 63 percent of their shots in the final quarter (5-8) and put the finishing touches on an 86-percent outing (19-22) from the free throw line, swishing 83 percent (10-12) of their attempts in the final 10 minutes.
In addition to ASU’s remarkable offensive numbers against one of the nation’s best defenses, it also put on a defensive performance that was every bit as impressive as it forced 15 Husky turnovers which on the flip side translated into a 17-0 advantage in point off turnovers.
Like static cling, the two teams were nearly inseparable on the scoreboard throughout the first quarter. Three ties and nine lead changes punctuated the first 10 minutes as neither team led by more than three points. Brown scored 12 of ASU’s 16 points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave ASU a 16-15 lead.
Simmons and Crisp opened the second quarter with back-to-back buckets to cap a 7-0 run and give the Sun Devils a 20-15 lead, the first two-possession lead of the game for either team. ASU was able to maintain the five-point distance for much of the quarter, eventually extending its lead to seven after Kadidia Toure’s jumper.
The lead that took much of the quarter for ASU to build up, evaporated in the space of 94 seconds as the Huskies scored eight straight points to go up 32-31.
Despite the sudden flip in momentum, the Sun Devils maintained their poise as they ended the second quarter the same way they concluded the first: with a last-second 3-pointer. This time it was Isadora Sousa doing the honors as she took a pass from Simmons and buried the triple from way downtown to make the count 37-33.
The Sun Devils were nearly flawless taking care of the ball in the first half as they had just one turnover while forcing the Huskies into 10 miscues that ASU cashed in for eight points.
Although Brown had 19 of ASU’s first half points, the 37-point total in the first 20 minutes was the product of a team effort as seven different players scored, including Simmons (five points) and Crisp (four points), who combined for nine points.
The flow of the third quarter was nearly a carbon copy of the second quarter. Once again, the Sun Devils pushed their lead to seven in the latter stages of period only to see it dramatically reduced. This time, an 8-2 spurt by the Huskies made it a one-point game going into the final minute. A jumper by Brown with 40 seconds remaining gave ASU a 50-47 lead and the momentum going into the final quarter.
Sunday’s game concluded the second of consecutive road trips to the Pacific Northwest for the Sun Devils who played games at Oregon and Oregon State last week. ASU is in the middle of a stretch in which it is playing seven of nine games on the road with Sunday’s game being the fourth game in that sequence.
The Sun Devils will get a respite from life on the road when they return to Tempe and the familiar and friendly surroundings of Desert Financial Arena to host No. 8 Stanford on Friday (6 p.m. MST) and California on Sunday (12 p.m. MST).
