Dec. 5, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - Junior Betsy Boardman scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Arizona State Sun Devils (3-2) to a 75-66 victory over Western Michigan (2-3) in the first game of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
With the win, the Sun Devils advances to the championship game of their own tournament for the 23rd time in 24 years and will look to win their third straight Wells Fargo Holiday Classic on Saturday night. Arizona State will take on Binghamton (4-1) in the championship game of the tournament at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, while Montana State (5-1) and Western Michigan (2-3) will play in the consolation game at 4 p.m.
Arizona State built a seven-point lead midway through the first half, going up 23-16 with 8:47 to play. Western Michigan cut the lead to three points on two occasions, but the Sun Devils scored the final five points of the first half, including the second of Boardman's career-best five three-pointers, to take a 39-31 halftime lead. Boardman led all scorers with 12 points in the first half on 4-of-8 shooting.
The second half provided much of the same with Boardman drilling another three-pointer 10 seconds into the period and ASU opening the half with a 15-5 run to take a 54-36 lead with 15:02 to play. The Broncos, however, refused to give up and took advantage of 14 second-half turnovers and five straight missed free throws by the Sun Devils to cut the lead with 70-66 with 29 seconds left. ASU found its shooting touch at the line, knocking down 5-of-6 attempts in the final 27 seconds, including four straight by junior Kylan Loney, to secure the 75-66 victory.
Boardman led all scorers with a career-best 20 points and four three-pointers and added nine rebounds and three assists. Freshman Aubree Johnson led the team with a season-best 11 rebounds, while the Sun Devils turned in a 50-26 advantage on the boards in the game. Loney and junior Carrie Buckner each had four assists, while sophomore Kristen Kovedy paced the squad with three steals.
For Western Michigan, Kelly Koerber led four players in double figures with 16 points and turned in a team-high six rebounds.
In the second game of the tournament, Binghamton turned in a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Montana State, scoring the final five points of the ball game to earn the 59-55 win. Binghamton's Rachel Laws led all scorers with a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds.
ASU's game against Binghamton on Saturday night can be heard locally on ASU's flagship station, NBC 1190 AM, or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com.