Nov. 4, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - Led by junior forward Emily Westerberg, who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the No. 18 Arizona State women's basketball team defeated Love and Basketball 83-71 in exhibition play on Friday night.
After missing the last two seasons because of knee injuries, redshirt-junior Jill Noe returned and displayed the brilliance that made her an All-Pac-10 performer as a freshman in 2002-03, scoring 16 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Noe started out the game in spectacular fashion, stripping the ball from Love and Basketball's Natal Nakase for two points at the beginning of the game. She would go on to score the game's first seven points. Love and Basketball kept the game close in the first half until the Sun Devils started to pull away with nine minutes remaining in the first half. ASU would lead by as many as 14 points in the first half.
Westerberg's strong performance in the post earned her the game's only double-double of the night. Junior Aubree Johnson also had a stellar performance shooting 6-8 from the field and scoring 12 points in the game. Both Amy Denson and Reagan Pariseau had four assists.
At the beginning of the second half ASU looked like it was going to pull away. The Sun Devils went on a 9-2 run to start the second half and lead by as many as 19. Late in the second half Love and Basketball went on a 7-0 run to get within nine points of the Sun Devils at 65-56. However, ASU would outscore its foe 18-15 the rest of the game to preserve the victory.
Jessica Cheeks, guard for Love and Basketball, scored a team high 19 points.
Arizona State shot 51 percent for the game and shot 75 percent from the free throw line. Love and Basketball shot 45.5 percent from the game and made 67 percent of its free throws.
Arizona State wraps up its exhibition season this Sunday when it hosts the Australian Team at noon in Wells Fargo Arena. Admission to the game is free to the public.