Nov. 3, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - Junior Kristen Kovesdy scored 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting to lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to an 84-41 win over Strakonice in exhibition play Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils took an 8-0 lead to begin the game, including four points from Kovesdy. Strakonice, a team from the Czech Republic, got within four a minute later, but ASU built a double-digit lead and used four steals to score the final nine points of the half to take a 35-20 halftime lead. Sophomore forward Aubree Johnson led the Sun Devils with eight points in the first half as ASU outscored the visitors 16-6 in the paint and outrebounding them 27-13.
In the second half, ASU ran away with the game, using a 17-2 run to take a 52-22 lead with 14:22 to play. The Sun Devils shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half and increased their lead to as high as 45 points en route to the 84-41 victory.
Kovesdy scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, while a total of four Sun Devils reached double figures for scoring. Johnson had 12 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Emily Westerberg and junior Amy Denson each added 10. Senior Carrie Buckner led the team with 10 rebounds and six steals, while Buckner and senior Kylan Loney each had five assists.
For Strakonice, center Miroslava Vodrazkova led the team with 14 points.
Arizona State wraps up the exhibition season on Monday night, taking on Team Concept, a team of former college players, at 6:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils open the regular season on Nov. 11-12 at the Women's Sports Foundation Classic in Baton Rouge, La. ASU will play Virginia in the first round and either second-ranked LSU or Maine in the second.