Huskies Clamp Down On Sun Devils To Earn Historic 50-35 Win

TEMPE, Ariz.  – The Washington women's basketball team led from start to finish and beat Arizona State, 50-35, Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The win snapped the Huskies' (5-10, 2-10 Pac-12) eight-game losing streak and gave them their first win since Dec. 13 vs. Portland.
 
The 35 points by the Sun Devils (9-7, 4-7) were the fewest by a Conference opponent since UW limited Oregon to 34 in 1978 when the teams were part of the Coast Division of the NWBL League.
 
There were lots of individual heroes for the Huskies down in the desert, but it was the team's swarming defense that shined the most. ASU shot just 20.7% overall (12 of 58), including 12.5% from three-point range (3 of 24). They were 1 for 17 in the first quarter and scored just two points in the first 10 minutes.
 
"Our half-court defense was outstanding," head coach Jody Wynn said on her post-game show. "Except for the offensive rebounds we gave up every possession."
 
Wynn was only half kidding, as ASU crashed the glass for 26 offensive rebounds. Despite that, the Huskies rarely let the Sun Devils convert those extra possessions into buckets and UW finished with a 14-9 advantage in second-chance points.
 
"The positioning was outstanding," Wynn went on about her team's historic defensive effort. "The switching was outstanding. Guarding the three-point line was really good.
 
"We just couldn't get a defensive rebound, but luckily they couldn't capitalize."
 
Early on, the Sun Devils stayed within touch of the Huskies. UW led 20-14 heading into the locker room behind the efforts of Haley Van Dyke and Tameiya Sadler. The duo combined for 12 points and Van Dyke hauled down six first-half rebounds.
 
Arizona State burst out the gate in the third quarter scoring the first five points of the half to cut the lead to one, 20-19, forcing Wynn to call a quick timeout. After Alexis Griggsby buried a three-pointer to quell the Sun Devils surge, Taya Hanson answered with a three of her own to cut the lead back to one.
 
That would be the closest the Sun Devils would get the rest of the way. Washington would go on an 11-1 run starting at the 7:26 mark of the third to go up 34-23. Quay Miller started and ended the run with layups and freshman Alexis Whitfield chipped in five points in between.
 
The Huskies went the final four minutes of the third quarter without a field goal and lead 34-27 heading to the final 10 minutes. But Khayla Rooks connected on a three-pointer during the Huskies' first fourth-quarter possession, giving her team the boost they needed.
 
From there, Miller (6) and Sadler (4) did most of the scoring damage, with Darcy Rees chipping in a three-point play that put Washington up 12 with 3:26 to go.
 
The Huskies outscored Arizona State15-8 over the final 10 minutes and kept the Sun Devils without a basket over the final 5:14 of the game.
 
Miller and Sadler each scored 10 points to pace the Huskies. Miller and Van Dyke pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Sadler dished out a career high five assists.
 
"It really was a total team effort," said Wynn. "I'm just really proud of their resilience."
 
The Huskies wrap up their road trip against No. 10 Arizona on Sunday. Tip will by at 11:00 a.m. PT and all the action will be carried on the Pac-12 Network.