Dec. 4, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - Junior Kristen Kovesdy scored a game-high 21 points to lead Arizona State to a 77-58 win over Gonzaga in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils won their fifth straight game and improved to 6-1 on the year, while West Coast Conference favorite Gonzaga fell to 4-2 overall. Arizona State also won its own tournament for the fourth straight season and the 14th time overall.
For the Sun Devils, Kovesdy was joined by sophomore Emily Westerberg on the all-tournament team, and senior Kylan Loney was named the tournament MVP. Gonzaga's Ashley Anderson and Shannon Mathews and Alabama State's Crystal Kitt were also named to the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic all-tournament squad.
Arizona State took control of the game early, going up 16-6 with 12:43 to play. Later in the half, the Sun Devils went on a 12-0 run to take a 42-15 lead with 2:15 to play. ASU shot a season-high 69.0 percent in the first half en route to a 47-21 halftime advantage. Kovesdy had 13 points in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting, while Loney added 11, including a pair of three-pointers.
In the second half, the Sun Devils led by as many as 32 points and came away with the 77-58 victory.
Kovesdy went 9-of-11 from the field for a game-high 21 points and tied sophomore Aubree Johnson for the team lead in rebounds with six. Loney finished with 15 points and added six assists and two steals, while Westerberg had six assists. Senior Carrie Buckner turned in eight points, five steals and four rebounds, while Johnson had eight points to go along with her six rebounds.
Sophomore forward Stephanie Hawk scored 18 points to lead Gonzaga, while junior forward Anne Bailey pulled down six rebounds.
In the consolation game, senior guard Latoya Johnson had 18 points to lead Alabama State (2-2) to a 57-51 overtime victory over Nevada (2-3).
Arizona State next travels to Athens, Ga., to take on sixth-ranked Georgia at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday night (5 p.m. MT). All of ASU's games can be heard locally on NBC 1190 AM or on the internet at www.thesundevils.com with Jeff Munn and Seth Sulka calling the action.