The No. 5 ASU women's basketball team's quest to move on in the NCAA tournament ended on Friday night with a 76-53 loss to No. 1 Mississippi State.
Senior forward Kianna Ibis led the Devils with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting in what will be her final collegiate game.
However, no one else stepped up alongside Ibis to help ASU's chances of pulling out an upset.
Redshirt senior guard Courtney Ekmark scored six points, but shot just 2-for-14 for the game, with 11 of those attempts coming from behind the arc.
Senior center Charnea Johnson-Chapman put up just four points and three rebounds as she dealt with foul trouble in the second half and eventually fouled out.
Senior center Teaira McCowan led the Bulldogs with 22 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 10-for-11 shooting from the free-throw line. She also grabbed 13 of Mississippi State's 42 rebounds.
ASU could not stop Mississippi State's offensive attack, as five Bulldogs scored over double digits while shooting 44 percent from the field.
Another problem that plagued the Devils was foul trouble, as three players fouled out for ASU. Ibis accumulated four fouls, one foul away from increasing the foul-out total to four.
ASU's 26 total fouls allowed Mississippi State to go to the line early and often, where they converted 25 of 35 free throws.
The Sun Devils kept the game within arm's reach, trailing by nine entering the fourth quarter. However, a 22-8 quarter from the Bulldogs shut the door on the Sun Devils' season.
ASU's 22-11 record this season marks the best season since 2015-16, when the team went 26-7 and lost in the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.
Reach the reporter at jhorst2@asu.edu and follow @HorseySeven on Twitter.
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Jeffrey Horst is the digital editor-in-chief of The State Press. He previously served as the publication's sports editor and worked at Cronkite News and ArizonaSports.com.
