No. 19 Arizona women cruise to 80-67 win over Arizona State
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Madison Conner came off the bench to score 16 points, Esmery Martinez posted her fifth double-double of the season and No. 19 Arizona cruised to an 80-67 victory over Arizona State on Sunday.
Conner sank 5 of 12 shots with two 3-pointers for the Wildcats (15-4, 5-3 Pac-12). Conner, who came into the game ninth in the nation in free-throw shooting (94.7%), was 4 of 4 against the Sun Devils. Martinez finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Shaina Pellington added 13 points for the Wildcats. Kailyn Gilbert had 12 points off the bench and Jade Loville sank three 3-pointers and scored 11.
Treasure Hunt scored a career-high 24 points for the Sun Devils (7-10, 0-8). She made 6 of 14 shots with three 3-pointers and 9 of 10 foul shots. Jaddan Simmons made 11 of 14 free throws and scored 19.
The Sun Devils have lost eight games in a row — including forfeits of games at No. 8 Utah and at Colorado on Jan. 13 and Jan. 15, respectively, due to not having enough healthy scholarship players — and 11 of their last 12.
Martinez had nine points and seven rebounds and Connor scored nine as the Wildcats built a 43-31 lead at halftime. Hunt scored all nine of her first-half points in the first period to keep the Sun Devils within 20-16 at quarter's end.
Hunt accounted for eight points in a 10-2 run to open the third quarter and Arizona State closed within 45-41. Loville answered with a 3-pointer for Arizona and she and Paris Clark hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 11-3 run, giving Arizona a 56-44 lead. Gilbert's layup with two seconds left gave the Wildcats a 62-48 lead heading to the final period.
Arizona, which came into the game averaging 12.5 steals per game — tops in the Pac-12 and sixth in nation — had eight against ASU.
UP NEXT
Arizona: The Wildcats host Washington on Friday and Washington State on Sunday.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils host Washington State on Thursday and Washington on Sunday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
