Nov 28, 2003
FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) - FREEPORT, Grand Bahama Island - Junior guard Kylan Loney scored a season-best 13 points as the Sun Devils fell to the ninth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats 59-50 Friday night in the first round of the Junkanoo Jam, being played at Freeport's St. George High School.
The Sun Devil defense forced the Wildcats to 31 turnovers in the game, but Arizona State fell behind early after struggling offensively in the first quarter. Kansas State (2-1) scored the first seven points of the games as Arizona State (2-1) missed its first eight field goals. ASU cut the K-State lead to three points, 7-4 with 16:03 left in the first quarter, but couldn't find an offensive rhythm early on and trailed 28-12 at the half. The Sun Devils made just four field goals and shot just 12.5 percent in the first 20 minutes.
ASU came alive to open the second half as juniors Betsy Boardman and Carrie Buckner drilled a pair of three-pointers to cut into the K-State lead. Sophomore Kristen Kovesdy knocked down a pair of free throws two minutes into the half to narrow the gap to six points, 30-24 with 18:05 to play. Kansas State, however, scored the next eight points to bring the lead back to 14 points, 38-24, with 13:38 left in the game.
However, Arizona State refused to give up. After trailing by as many as 23 points, the Sun Devils put together a furious rally in the final six minutes of the game. ASU forced K-State, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, into 10 turnovers and held the Wildcats scoreless over the final six minutes. The Sun Devils scored the final 14 points of the game but were not able to complete the comeback, falling 59-50 to the No. 9 Wildcats.
Loney led the team with 13 points, while Boardman finished with 10 points including her first two three-pointers of the season. Freshman Aubree Johnson led the team with eight rebounds, while Buckner and Boardman each turned in four steals. Buckner also added three assists. For Kansas State, junior Laurie Koehn had 18 points, and senior Kendra Wecker added 12.
After shooting just 12.5 percent in the first half, ASU turned in a 50-percent effort in the second half (12-24).
The Sun Devils will play for third place in the Junkanoo Jam on Saturday afternoon, taking on George Washington (0-2) at 2 p.m. Eastern/12 p.m. Mountain. The game can be heard locally on NBC 1190 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com.