Dec. 3, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - Senior Kylan Loney had 16 points to lead Arizona State to a 71-31 victory over Alabama State in the first game of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
With the win, ASU improved to 5-1 on the year and turned in the team's fourth straight victory, while Alabama State fell to 1-1. The Sun Devils will take on Gonzaga in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils outshot the Hornets 40.7 to 23.8 percent in the first half. After jumping out to an early 9-2 lead, ASU allowed Alabama State to cut it to one point, 9-8 with 14:28 to play. The Sun Devils then reeled off the next 16 points of the game over the next 10 minutes of the game to take a 25-8 lead with 4:56 left in the half. Arizona State led by as many as 20 points and went into the locker room with a 32-13 halftime lead.
Arizona State scored the first 10 points of the second half and led by as many as 45 points late in the period en route to the 71-31 victory.
Loney had all 16 of her points in the first half, knocking down 4-of-6 three-point attempts, while sophomore Emily Westerberg had 11 points. Junior Kristen Kovesdy grabbed a season-high seven rebounds, while senior Carrie Buckner turned in five assists and four steals. Junior Amy Denson had the most complete night for the Sun Devils with seven points, five rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals.
Arizona State shot 43.1 percent from the field compared to 25.0 percent for Alabama State and outrebounded the Hornets 39-26. Freshman guard Brittany Burns led Alabama State with nine points, while Arizona State's defense held the Hornets' leading scorer, 6-5 center Crystal Kitt to six points on 2-of-5 shooting. Kitt averaged 20.5 points per game last season to rank 12th in the NCAA.
In the late game, Gonzaga (4-1) turned in a 68-49 victory over Nevada. Forward Ashley ANderson scored 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead the Zags to the victory. Nevada (2-2) will play Alabama State in the consolation game of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
AZ-TV will televise Saturday's championship game to a statewide audience, while 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.