TEMPE – A balanced attack and an opportunistic transition offense paved the way for the No. 18/16 Arizona State women's basketball team to pick up a dominating victory in its season opener, downing the Illinois State Redbirds, 76-40, on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Twelve different Sun Devils got into the scorebook, nine of which tallied five or more points in the effort. Armani Hawkins led the way with a career-best 14 points while Sophie Brunner was her usually efficient self with 11 points and a game-leading seven rebounds.
As a whole, ASU had an overwhelming edge on the boards finishing with as many offensive rebounds as Illinois State had total rebounds at 26 while outrebounding the Redbirds 50-26 overall. All 13 Sun Devils who got on the court logged at least one rebound.
It was also a solid day for the ASU newcomers with the squad's five freshmen combining for 27 points. True frosh Reili Richardson logged seven points off the bench to go with a game-high seven assists and three rebounds.
"I thought that was just a nice team win," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Obviously, spread the minutes around—everybody got some good rotations in. I think the thing you should see in this team is that everybody can score.
"It's great to have a game this early to get everybody in and just give them some game experience. I think it's hard to get better if you aren't playing. Those who have covered our team for a while know that I would rather play everybody than play seven and beat teams by 50 or 60 points. That's not who we are."
ASU had its biggest impact on the defensive end, however, forcing 27 Illinois State turnovers to the tune of 37 points on the other end of the court. The team's transition defense limited the Redbirds to just 13 points on 19 Sun Devil turnovers.
The Sun Devils took a 21-point advantage into the locker room after closing the half with a 10-2 run. ASU stretched that lead to 30 points on Hawkins' jumper with five seconds remaining in the third - part of her 12 second-half points - and cruised to the victory from there.
True to the team's offensive philosophy, 10 different Sun Devils got on the scoreboard in the first half, led by Brunner's seven points.
The Sun Devils opened the game with an 11-0 run over the first four minutes of the contest, setting the tone for the dominating effort en route to 21-12 advantage after the first quarter. Kiara Russell wasted no time introducing herself as she scored the first two buckets of the Sun Devil season to give ASU an early 4-0 lead and was one of seven Sun Devils to get in the scorebook in the opening frame.
The hot start for the Devils slowed some in the second quarter with ASU shooting just 3-of-12 (.250) from the floor through the first seven minutes of the period while turning the ball over five times in that span.
Richardson shook off the rough frame, however, knocking home her first career three-pointer with 2:26 remaining in the second. That sparked a 10-2 run to close out the half, sending the Sun Devils into the halftime break with a 41-20 advantage.
The Sun Devils return to action on Sunday, Nov. 13 against San Jose State at 2 p.m. MT at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Sunday's game will be the program's second annual #KeepTheBeat Game for Heart Health Awareness. Fans are invited to arrive at noon for 'Taste of Tempe,' a free food-tasting event featuring heart healthy food that will take place in the arboretum outside Wells Fargo Arena. Then at 1 p.m. (one hour prior to the game) fans can make their way into Wells Fargo Arena for a Heart Health Expo that will offer various health screenings in addition to several organizations providing information about heart healthy living.
Twelve different Sun Devils got into the scorebook, nine of which tallied five or more points in the effort. Armani Hawkins led the way with a career-best 14 points while Sophie Brunner was her usually efficient self with 11 points and a game-leading seven rebounds.
As a whole, ASU had an overwhelming edge on the boards finishing with as many offensive rebounds as Illinois State had total rebounds at 26 while outrebounding the Redbirds 50-26 overall. All 13 Sun Devils who got on the court logged at least one rebound.
It was also a solid day for the ASU newcomers with the squad's five freshmen combining for 27 points. True frosh Reili Richardson logged seven points off the bench to go with a game-high seven assists and three rebounds.
"I thought that was just a nice team win," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Obviously, spread the minutes around—everybody got some good rotations in. I think the thing you should see in this team is that everybody can score.
"It's great to have a game this early to get everybody in and just give them some game experience. I think it's hard to get better if you aren't playing. Those who have covered our team for a while know that I would rather play everybody than play seven and beat teams by 50 or 60 points. That's not who we are."
ASU had its biggest impact on the defensive end, however, forcing 27 Illinois State turnovers to the tune of 37 points on the other end of the court. The team's transition defense limited the Redbirds to just 13 points on 19 Sun Devil turnovers.
The Sun Devils took a 21-point advantage into the locker room after closing the half with a 10-2 run. ASU stretched that lead to 30 points on Hawkins' jumper with five seconds remaining in the third - part of her 12 second-half points - and cruised to the victory from there.
True to the team's offensive philosophy, 10 different Sun Devils got on the scoreboard in the first half, led by Brunner's seven points.
The Sun Devils opened the game with an 11-0 run over the first four minutes of the contest, setting the tone for the dominating effort en route to 21-12 advantage after the first quarter. Kiara Russell wasted no time introducing herself as she scored the first two buckets of the Sun Devil season to give ASU an early 4-0 lead and was one of seven Sun Devils to get in the scorebook in the opening frame.
The hot start for the Devils slowed some in the second quarter with ASU shooting just 3-of-12 (.250) from the floor through the first seven minutes of the period while turning the ball over five times in that span.
Richardson shook off the rough frame, however, knocking home her first career three-pointer with 2:26 remaining in the second. That sparked a 10-2 run to close out the half, sending the Sun Devils into the halftime break with a 41-20 advantage.
The Sun Devils return to action on Sunday, Nov. 13 against San Jose State at 2 p.m. MT at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Sunday's game will be the program's second annual #KeepTheBeat Game for Heart Health Awareness. Fans are invited to arrive at noon for 'Taste of Tempe,' a free food-tasting event featuring heart healthy food that will take place in the arboretum outside Wells Fargo Arena. Then at 1 p.m. (one hour prior to the game) fans can make their way into Wells Fargo Arena for a Heart Health Expo that will offer various health screenings in addition to several organizations providing information about heart healthy living.