TEMPE, Ariz. – Behind an outstanding defensive effort and Jamie Ruden's career-high 19 points, the Arizona State women's basketball team coasted to a wire-to-wire 77-33 win over Idaho on Monday.
Kianna Ibis added 16 and Robbi Ryan had 12 for the Sun Devils (8-3), who put the clamps down on Idaho's offense as the Vandals shot 24.5 percent for the game and scored 23 points fewer than their previous season-low point total.
"I'm just very proud of our team. I thought we responded well from our last game with a relentless effort," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We were not happy with (our game against) Florida State. Even though it was one bad quarter we weren't playing hard every possession and that's not who we are. Getting everybody to score and getting everybody in was really fun. I think (Bre'yanna Sanders) getting good minutes today, that's really important for us. Obviously we could really use her in the rotation going into conference. She can hit that open three, and she can rebound."
Idaho's top three offensive performers – Mikayla Ferenz (22.0 ppg/five points vs. ASU), Geraldine McCorkell (16.4 ppg/seven points vs. ASU) and Taylor Pierce (14.4 ppg/eight points vs. ASU) – who averaged a combined 52.8 points per game managed only 20 points on Monday night.
"The big highlight for our defense today was that we held their top-three scorers. In every game we've played this year we've had great defensive efforts but we haven't held the top players. That was a huge focus today. We did it finally and I'm very excited about that."
ASU's ability to ice the Vandals (3-7) from beyond the arc, where they were among the top 10 in the nation in 3-pointers per game (10.2) coming into the night, proved to be a big reason for ASU's success on the defensive end. Although they would go on to make six triples it took them 27 attempts to do it (22.2 percent). And the strategy that made Idaho's long-range shooting a non-factor?
"The emphasis was trying to make them drive and take less threes," Ibis said. "They're a three-point shooting team so we just really tried to get on them and make them drive."
Added Ruden, "We pressured them really well. When they would try to drive on us we would get quick help side so that forced the turnover a lot. We really shutdown their top-three scorers so that really kept their offense pretty stagnant."
The Sun Devils were just as dominant on the boards where they were plus-23 for the night (52-29), including a 19-6 advantage in offensive rebounds that enabled them to outscore Idaho 29-3 in second chance points. Charnea Johnson-Chapman (four points, career-high 12 rebounds), Courtney Ekmark (eight points, seven rebounds), Ryan (six rebounds) and Ruden (career-high six rebounds) accounted for 33 of those rebounds.
In addition to preventing the Vandals from scoring, ASU also created offense with its defense as it forced 18 turnovers that led to 25 points. The Sun Devils were once again smart with the ball as they only committed 10 turnovers. Reili Richardson, who had 21 assists and only three turnovers in ASU's prior three games, continued her great play at the point as she added six more assists with only one turnover. Kiara Russell (10 assists, two turnovers in prior to games) also continued her brilliance as a ball distributor in posting four assists and zero turnovers.
Leading 23-10 after the first 10 minutes, the Sun Devils started the second quarter with a 12-0 run that silenced any hopes the Vandals had of mounting a comeback. Five different Sun Devils – Ryan, Ibis, Ekmark, Ruden and Sophia Elenga – posted points during the scoring spurt. Elenga's layup gave the Sun Devils a commanding 35-10 lead with 5:51 left in the first half.
Idaho eventually scored its first field goal of the quarter – a 3-pointer by Pierce – with 5:15 remaining. They would go on to score seven more points to get within 21 points at the half.
Ibis (14 points, 7-10 FGs), Ryan (eight points, 4-5 FGs) and Ruden (eight points 4-6 FGs) were on fire over the first 20 minutes as the trio combined to score 30 points and shoot a collective 71 percent from the floor.
There was no letup in the second half as Ruden continued to pour in points in the third quarter scoring 10 in the frame on 4-7 shooting.
Of her career-high scoring night Ruden said, "It's good. I mean I just try to go out there and help and luckily I was getting open looks in their zone. People were finding me really well."
Nine Sun Devils would go on to score in the second half, including freshmen Eva Rubin and Bre'yanna Sanders.
On the defensive end ASU continued to block any and all paths for Idaho to score in the second half as it held the Vandals to a single free throw during a period lasting 4:56 in the third quarter and then did not allow them to score the first 7:57 of the fourth quarter. ASU would go on to outscore the Vandals 17-3 in the final period and 36-13 in the half.
The Sun Devils close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Thursday when they host Arkansas at 2 p.m. The game can be seen live on Pac-12 Network.
Kianna Ibis added 16 and Robbi Ryan had 12 for the Sun Devils (8-3), who put the clamps down on Idaho's offense as the Vandals shot 24.5 percent for the game and scored 23 points fewer than their previous season-low point total.
"I'm just very proud of our team. I thought we responded well from our last game with a relentless effort," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We were not happy with (our game against) Florida State. Even though it was one bad quarter we weren't playing hard every possession and that's not who we are. Getting everybody to score and getting everybody in was really fun. I think (Bre'yanna Sanders) getting good minutes today, that's really important for us. Obviously we could really use her in the rotation going into conference. She can hit that open three, and she can rebound."
Idaho's top three offensive performers – Mikayla Ferenz (22.0 ppg/five points vs. ASU), Geraldine McCorkell (16.4 ppg/seven points vs. ASU) and Taylor Pierce (14.4 ppg/eight points vs. ASU) – who averaged a combined 52.8 points per game managed only 20 points on Monday night.
"The big highlight for our defense today was that we held their top-three scorers. In every game we've played this year we've had great defensive efforts but we haven't held the top players. That was a huge focus today. We did it finally and I'm very excited about that."
ASU's ability to ice the Vandals (3-7) from beyond the arc, where they were among the top 10 in the nation in 3-pointers per game (10.2) coming into the night, proved to be a big reason for ASU's success on the defensive end. Although they would go on to make six triples it took them 27 attempts to do it (22.2 percent). And the strategy that made Idaho's long-range shooting a non-factor?
"The emphasis was trying to make them drive and take less threes," Ibis said. "They're a three-point shooting team so we just really tried to get on them and make them drive."
Added Ruden, "We pressured them really well. When they would try to drive on us we would get quick help side so that forced the turnover a lot. We really shutdown their top-three scorers so that really kept their offense pretty stagnant."
The Sun Devils were just as dominant on the boards where they were plus-23 for the night (52-29), including a 19-6 advantage in offensive rebounds that enabled them to outscore Idaho 29-3 in second chance points. Charnea Johnson-Chapman (four points, career-high 12 rebounds), Courtney Ekmark (eight points, seven rebounds), Ryan (six rebounds) and Ruden (career-high six rebounds) accounted for 33 of those rebounds.
In addition to preventing the Vandals from scoring, ASU also created offense with its defense as it forced 18 turnovers that led to 25 points. The Sun Devils were once again smart with the ball as they only committed 10 turnovers. Reili Richardson, who had 21 assists and only three turnovers in ASU's prior three games, continued her great play at the point as she added six more assists with only one turnover. Kiara Russell (10 assists, two turnovers in prior to games) also continued her brilliance as a ball distributor in posting four assists and zero turnovers.
Leading 23-10 after the first 10 minutes, the Sun Devils started the second quarter with a 12-0 run that silenced any hopes the Vandals had of mounting a comeback. Five different Sun Devils – Ryan, Ibis, Ekmark, Ruden and Sophia Elenga – posted points during the scoring spurt. Elenga's layup gave the Sun Devils a commanding 35-10 lead with 5:51 left in the first half.
Idaho eventually scored its first field goal of the quarter – a 3-pointer by Pierce – with 5:15 remaining. They would go on to score seven more points to get within 21 points at the half.
Ibis (14 points, 7-10 FGs), Ryan (eight points, 4-5 FGs) and Ruden (eight points 4-6 FGs) were on fire over the first 20 minutes as the trio combined to score 30 points and shoot a collective 71 percent from the floor.
There was no letup in the second half as Ruden continued to pour in points in the third quarter scoring 10 in the frame on 4-7 shooting.
Of her career-high scoring night Ruden said, "It's good. I mean I just try to go out there and help and luckily I was getting open looks in their zone. People were finding me really well."
Nine Sun Devils would go on to score in the second half, including freshmen Eva Rubin and Bre'yanna Sanders.
On the defensive end ASU continued to block any and all paths for Idaho to score in the second half as it held the Vandals to a single free throw during a period lasting 4:56 in the third quarter and then did not allow them to score the first 7:57 of the fourth quarter. ASU would go on to outscore the Vandals 17-3 in the final period and 36-13 in the half.
The Sun Devils close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Thursday when they host Arkansas at 2 p.m. The game can be seen live on Pac-12 Network.