On Sunday the Sun Devil women's basketball team started a stretch in which it is playing four games in four days to start its foreign tour of Costa Rica.
The Sun Devils are 2-0 at the midpoint of their schedule after defeating the University of Ottawa twice in two days. ASU came out on top 79-31 on Sunday and 65-46 on Monday.
"I was just excited to seem them all play in a real competition," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said following Sunday's win. "I saw what I thought I would out there: We have a lot of talent, but half the team is new and so right now we are just working on learning how to play together as a team. We don't have 'starters' right now and so our plan is to start different lineups every quarter of every game while we are here.
"I thought we got better defensively as (Sunday's game) went on. Offensively, we had moments of brilliance, but most of the game we rushed things a little too much. The fun thing will be evaluating and adjusting each game. We just have to keep working hard and try and improve every time we go out there."
Although the outcome of Monday's game was never really in doubt, the Sun Devils did not have the same dominant performance they turned in the previous night. After a slow first quarter, ASU asserted itself in the second quarter to take a 36-16 lead at the half. Of the eight quarters the teams played, Ottawa has its best offensive showing in the final two quarters. Over that same stretch the Sun Devils lacked the same offensive efficiency they had over the first six quarters while also allowing Ottawa to gain some offensive momentum. When it was over Turner Thorne said she was glad the game played out the way it did because of how much the team will learn from it
"There were a couple great lessons that came out of (Monday's game) for us," said Turner Thorne. "First, it is always a different game when you play a team the second time. Also, for our freshmen, this game showed them the kind of physicality they can expect at the college level. There was a lot of contact on and off the ball and there were some things that could have been called, but I was glad they weren't because they have to know there are going to be games like that and you have to be able to play through that."
Every four years the program is allowed to take a foreign tour to a destination where it plays games and partakes in a variety of team bonding activities in addition to volunteering time in the community.
From a basketball standpoint this week's trip to Costa Rica will be an invaluable experience for a relatively young team. While the Sun Devils return their entire starting frontcourt next season in the form of seniors Sophie Brunner, Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos, they are also adding seven new members.
ASU's new cast members include a freshman class – guards Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan and post Jamie Ruden – that was ranked among the top 10 signing classes in the nation last fall. Also joining the Sun Devils are two transfers: graduate post Sara Hattis and junior guard Courtney Ekmark. Hattis transferred to ASU after graduating from Texas last spring and will be eligible to play this season. Ekmark, a Valley native, joined ASU in June after playing at UConn for two seasons. Per NCAA transfer rule for undergraduates, Ekmark will have to sit out this season, however will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The Sun Devils have another game tonight and will close out the basketball portion of their trip with their fourth game in four days on Wednesday night.
The Sun Devils are 2-0 at the midpoint of their schedule after defeating the University of Ottawa twice in two days. ASU came out on top 79-31 on Sunday and 65-46 on Monday.
"I was just excited to seem them all play in a real competition," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said following Sunday's win. "I saw what I thought I would out there: We have a lot of talent, but half the team is new and so right now we are just working on learning how to play together as a team. We don't have 'starters' right now and so our plan is to start different lineups every quarter of every game while we are here.
"I thought we got better defensively as (Sunday's game) went on. Offensively, we had moments of brilliance, but most of the game we rushed things a little too much. The fun thing will be evaluating and adjusting each game. We just have to keep working hard and try and improve every time we go out there."
Although the outcome of Monday's game was never really in doubt, the Sun Devils did not have the same dominant performance they turned in the previous night. After a slow first quarter, ASU asserted itself in the second quarter to take a 36-16 lead at the half. Of the eight quarters the teams played, Ottawa has its best offensive showing in the final two quarters. Over that same stretch the Sun Devils lacked the same offensive efficiency they had over the first six quarters while also allowing Ottawa to gain some offensive momentum. When it was over Turner Thorne said she was glad the game played out the way it did because of how much the team will learn from it
"There were a couple great lessons that came out of (Monday's game) for us," said Turner Thorne. "First, it is always a different game when you play a team the second time. Also, for our freshmen, this game showed them the kind of physicality they can expect at the college level. There was a lot of contact on and off the ball and there were some things that could have been called, but I was glad they weren't because they have to know there are going to be games like that and you have to be able to play through that."
Every four years the program is allowed to take a foreign tour to a destination where it plays games and partakes in a variety of team bonding activities in addition to volunteering time in the community.
From a basketball standpoint this week's trip to Costa Rica will be an invaluable experience for a relatively young team. While the Sun Devils return their entire starting frontcourt next season in the form of seniors Sophie Brunner, Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos, they are also adding seven new members.
ASU's new cast members include a freshman class – guards Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan and post Jamie Ruden – that was ranked among the top 10 signing classes in the nation last fall. Also joining the Sun Devils are two transfers: graduate post Sara Hattis and junior guard Courtney Ekmark. Hattis transferred to ASU after graduating from Texas last spring and will be eligible to play this season. Ekmark, a Valley native, joined ASU in June after playing at UConn for two seasons. Per NCAA transfer rule for undergraduates, Ekmark will have to sit out this season, however will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The Sun Devils have another game tonight and will close out the basketball portion of their trip with their fourth game in four days on Wednesday night.