Nov. 25, 2011
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Janae Fulcher scored all eight of her points in the final 4:42, including the game-winning basket with 17 seconds remaining to help Arizona State defeat Illinois 51-50.
Kali Bennett scored a team-high nine points while Deja Mann added eight points for the Sun Devils (4-0), who were able to overcome a stretch of more than nine minutes without a basket in the second half.
Kimberly Brandon, ASU's leading scorer coming into the game, was held to six points, but was still effective as she pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Helping the Sun Devils overcome the aforementioned cold spell was a stifling defensive effort, which saw them force Illinois (2-5) into a 33-percent shooting effort, including 22 percent in the second half.
Fulcher's layup capped a 12-3 run by the Sun Devils, who faced their largest deficit of the game after Illini guard Amber Moore knocked down a 3-pointer to put Illinois up 47-39 with 6:59 left in the game.
The Sun Devils would quickly cut the Illini's lead in half as Brandon and Fulcher connected on back-to-back baskets to bring ASU within four points with 6:13 left.
An Illinois free throw would make it a five-point game before Fulcher connected on a free throw and basket on consecutive possessions to get ASU within two points.
A layup by Promise Amukamara tied the game and then Fulcher hit one of two free throws to give ASU a 49-48 lead with 51 seconds left.
Karisma Penn, who recorded game highs in points (23) and rebounds (16), put the Illini back ahead with a layup with 33 seconds left.
Fulcher would then hit the game-winning layup at the opposite end.
It did not appear the Sun Devils would have any need for last-second heroics at the start of the second half as they scored the first six points to take a 36-30 after a layup by Micaela Pickens.
After Pickens' layup the Sun Devils' offense would suddenly go cold as the only scoring they were able to muster over the next nine-plus minutes were three free throws.
Illinois would take advantage of the Sun Devils' offensive woes as it would go on a 17-3 run to take its largest lead of the game.
The first half featured six ties and three lead changes as the Sun Devils trailed by as many as five points on two different occasions.
After scoring the first basket of the game to take a 2-0 advantage, the Sun Devils would not lead again until Olivia Major's 3-pointer gave ASU a 23-22 lead with 3:50 left in the first half.
After Major's triple the Illini would score the next six points to take a 28-23 lead. The Sun Devils would counter by ending the half with a 7-2 run to even the score at 30-30 at the break.
The Sun Devils close out play in the San Juan Shootout tomorrow (4 p.m. AT/1 p.m. in Arizona) when they face No. 13 Rutgers. The game can be heard live on 1440 AM KAZG.