TEMPE, Ariz. – Courtney Ekmark tied a school record with seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points to help lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 89-43 win over Arkansas on Thursday.
"It feels great," Ekmark said of her performance against Arkansas. "I've been trying to stay with things and stay positive even though shots haven't been falling as much as I'd like for them to be at the beginning of the year. You just have to keep shooting, and my teammates kept finding me the ball and finding the hot hands, so it's really fun."
The Sun Devils (9-3) turned in a defensive gem as they forced 23 turnovers against an Arkansas squad that came into the game second in the nation in turnovers per game (10.3). In the first half alone Arkansas (8-4) had more turnovers (18) than points (14).
Jamie Ruden, who scored a career-high 19 points in Monday's win against Idaho, came back with 14 more on Thursday while Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman had 13 points each. Ruden (career-high four 3-pointers/4-4) and Ekmark (7-10) combined for 11 of ASU's 12 makes from downtown and connected on 79 percent (11-14) of their long-range attempts.
Reili Richardson (nine assists, zero turnovers) and Kiara Russell (six assists, zero turnovers) were flawless in their execution on the offensive end as they accounted for 15 of ASU's 27 assists while not committing any turnovers. Russell also added a career-high-tying nine points and four rebounds.
"We had our team prepared for a one-possession game," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Arkansas has been on a roll. We didn't let (Malica) Monk and (Devin) Cosper get going today. We also knew they haven't been pressured and if we put pressure on them we would have good success.
"It was awesome for Courtney (Ekmark) to break out today and Jamie (Ruden) to do what she does. This is what we need going into Pac-12s. We need people taking turns. It is great to see our offensive roles develop and grow, along with seeing them have confidence."
Ekmark (4-6/12 points) and Ruden (2-2/six points) were responsible for 18 of ASU's points in the first quarter. The duo connected on a trio of triples as part of an 11-0 run over the last 2:12 to give ASU a 26-8 run after the first 10 minutes.
The Sun Devils came up with an even more impressive display of explosive offense and stifling defense in the second quarter as they did not allow Arkansas to score the last 6:30 of the half as part of a 20-0 run that gave them a 52-14 lead at the break.
The Sun Devils shot 54 percent the first two quarters, including 69 percent from beyond the arc (9-13). As has been the case throughout the season ASU used its defense to create offense as it scored 25 points off the Razorbacks' 18 first-half turnovers.
"At halftime, I told the team that it was a great half, but Arkansas is a second-half team, they have been down by 20 and have come back to win," Turner Thorne said. "We were definitely trying to get better and not let up."
Ekmark's only field goal of the third quarter – a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining – was her seventh triple of the game and tied her with current ASU assistant coach Briann January (at UC Davis, Dec. 3, 2008), Crystal Cobb (vs. Oregon, Feb. 2, 1991) and Ryneldi Becenti (vs. Washington State, Feb. 13, 1993) for the most 3-pointers made by a Sun Devil in a single game.
"I had no idea," Ekmark said about the 3-point record. "They actually just told me that I tied the record with Briann. I was mad that I didn't beat it, but it's okay because there's more games. It's kind of cool that she did that when she played here."
Freshman Bre'yanna Sanders scored all of her season-high seven points in the fourth quarter to help the Sun Devils close out the win.
The Sun Devils, who are now 49-10 in regular season, non-conference games since 2013 (.831), will begin Pac-12 play next week when they travel north to take on Colorado (Fri., Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. MT) and Utah (Sun., Jan. 31 at noon MT).
"It feels great," Ekmark said of her performance against Arkansas. "I've been trying to stay with things and stay positive even though shots haven't been falling as much as I'd like for them to be at the beginning of the year. You just have to keep shooting, and my teammates kept finding me the ball and finding the hot hands, so it's really fun."
The Sun Devils (9-3) turned in a defensive gem as they forced 23 turnovers against an Arkansas squad that came into the game second in the nation in turnovers per game (10.3). In the first half alone Arkansas (8-4) had more turnovers (18) than points (14).
Jamie Ruden, who scored a career-high 19 points in Monday's win against Idaho, came back with 14 more on Thursday while Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman had 13 points each. Ruden (career-high four 3-pointers/4-4) and Ekmark (7-10) combined for 11 of ASU's 12 makes from downtown and connected on 79 percent (11-14) of their long-range attempts.
Reili Richardson (nine assists, zero turnovers) and Kiara Russell (six assists, zero turnovers) were flawless in their execution on the offensive end as they accounted for 15 of ASU's 27 assists while not committing any turnovers. Russell also added a career-high-tying nine points and four rebounds.
"We had our team prepared for a one-possession game," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Arkansas has been on a roll. We didn't let (Malica) Monk and (Devin) Cosper get going today. We also knew they haven't been pressured and if we put pressure on them we would have good success.
"It was awesome for Courtney (Ekmark) to break out today and Jamie (Ruden) to do what she does. This is what we need going into Pac-12s. We need people taking turns. It is great to see our offensive roles develop and grow, along with seeing them have confidence."
Ekmark (4-6/12 points) and Ruden (2-2/six points) were responsible for 18 of ASU's points in the first quarter. The duo connected on a trio of triples as part of an 11-0 run over the last 2:12 to give ASU a 26-8 run after the first 10 minutes.
The Sun Devils came up with an even more impressive display of explosive offense and stifling defense in the second quarter as they did not allow Arkansas to score the last 6:30 of the half as part of a 20-0 run that gave them a 52-14 lead at the break.
The Sun Devils shot 54 percent the first two quarters, including 69 percent from beyond the arc (9-13). As has been the case throughout the season ASU used its defense to create offense as it scored 25 points off the Razorbacks' 18 first-half turnovers.
"At halftime, I told the team that it was a great half, but Arkansas is a second-half team, they have been down by 20 and have come back to win," Turner Thorne said. "We were definitely trying to get better and not let up."
Ekmark's only field goal of the third quarter – a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining – was her seventh triple of the game and tied her with current ASU assistant coach Briann January (at UC Davis, Dec. 3, 2008), Crystal Cobb (vs. Oregon, Feb. 2, 1991) and Ryneldi Becenti (vs. Washington State, Feb. 13, 1993) for the most 3-pointers made by a Sun Devil in a single game.
"I had no idea," Ekmark said about the 3-point record. "They actually just told me that I tied the record with Briann. I was mad that I didn't beat it, but it's okay because there's more games. It's kind of cool that she did that when she played here."
Freshman Bre'yanna Sanders scored all of her season-high seven points in the fourth quarter to help the Sun Devils close out the win.
The Sun Devils, who are now 49-10 in regular season, non-conference games since 2013 (.831), will begin Pac-12 play next week when they travel north to take on Colorado (Fri., Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. MT) and Utah (Sun., Jan. 31 at noon MT).