TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State women's basketball team outscored UC Riverside 27-9 in the first quarter and never looked back on its way to a 73-48 win in Sunday's ASU Classic championship.
Nine Sun Devils got into the scoring column led by Sabrina Haines and Courtney Ekmark, who had 12 points each. Jamie Ruden had a double-figure scoring effort for the fourth straight game with 11 points and Reili Richardson added 10 points for the Sun Devils (7-2), who captured the ASU Classic championship for the 14th time in the last 17 years.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman (eight rebounds), Ekmark (seven rebounds), Sophia Elenga (seven rebounds) and Richardson (five rebounds) combined for 27 rebounds in helping ASU to a plus-nine advantage on the boards. Richardson also added four assists with zero turnovers giving her 46 assists and only 10 turnovers this season.
"It was a good team win. I thought we really controlled the game from the first quarter which we haven't done for a while," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "It was great to be able to get everyone in and get everybody some minutes. UC Riverside is a tough team to play. I was actually very worried about this game because I knew it'd be challenging. I thought our team responded really well. We just came out and got our offense going."
Kianna Ibis, who had ASU's highest, single-game point total of the weekend (18) in Saturday's win over Buffalo, was named the ASU Classic Tournament MVP, joining teammates Haines (ASU Classic All-Tournament) and Richardson and (ASU Classic All-Tournament) as tournament honorees.
ASU held the Highlanders (2-7) to fewer points than what they scored in the first half (51) of their 95-88 win over UNLV. After making 59 percent against the Lady Rebels, UC Riverside managed to shoot only 27.6 percent on Sunday.
"The key was not fouling them, and not giving them second shots, and then not giving them points in the paint," Turner Thorne said of her team's defensive strategy. "They probably scored eight times with less than five seconds left on the shot clock (against UNLV), and they did it to us. They worked it and got a little basket cut at the end. They're just great at it. They shot it really well against UNLV. I thought we guarded them and we didn't leave them wide open. We just took away their points in the paint."
The Sun Devils scored the game's first six points and would end the first quarter with a 12-0 run to give ASU 27-9 lead after 10 minutes. The scoring burst would eventually reach 15-0 after Ruden's 3-pointer less than 90 seconds into the second quarter put ASU up 30-9.
The Highlanders would not go away quietly as Michelle Curry's jumper got the Highlanders within 12 with under five minutes left in the second period. The Sun Devils would respond with eight straight points – a free throw by Johnson-Chapman, a 3-point play by Richardson, a jumper by Ibis and a layup by Elenga – to get their lead back up to 20.
Up 38-20 in the break, the Sun Devils were never seriously threatened in the second half. The Highlanders, who were led by a pair of 16-point outings from Curry (ASU Classic All-Tournament Team) and Lauren Holt, used an 8-2 run to get as close as 15 late in the third quarter. Ekmark made sure that UCR would get no closer as she buried her second 3-pointer of the game in the final minute of the period and then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made a layup to give ASU a 20-point advantage going into the final quarter.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they go on the road to face No. 13 and unbeaten Florida State on Sunday (2 p.m. ET/noon MT). The game can be seen via live stream at ACC Network Extra.
Nine Sun Devils got into the scoring column led by Sabrina Haines and Courtney Ekmark, who had 12 points each. Jamie Ruden had a double-figure scoring effort for the fourth straight game with 11 points and Reili Richardson added 10 points for the Sun Devils (7-2), who captured the ASU Classic championship for the 14th time in the last 17 years.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman (eight rebounds), Ekmark (seven rebounds), Sophia Elenga (seven rebounds) and Richardson (five rebounds) combined for 27 rebounds in helping ASU to a plus-nine advantage on the boards. Richardson also added four assists with zero turnovers giving her 46 assists and only 10 turnovers this season.
"It was a good team win. I thought we really controlled the game from the first quarter which we haven't done for a while," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "It was great to be able to get everyone in and get everybody some minutes. UC Riverside is a tough team to play. I was actually very worried about this game because I knew it'd be challenging. I thought our team responded really well. We just came out and got our offense going."
Kianna Ibis, who had ASU's highest, single-game point total of the weekend (18) in Saturday's win over Buffalo, was named the ASU Classic Tournament MVP, joining teammates Haines (ASU Classic All-Tournament) and Richardson and (ASU Classic All-Tournament) as tournament honorees.
ASU held the Highlanders (2-7) to fewer points than what they scored in the first half (51) of their 95-88 win over UNLV. After making 59 percent against the Lady Rebels, UC Riverside managed to shoot only 27.6 percent on Sunday.
"The key was not fouling them, and not giving them second shots, and then not giving them points in the paint," Turner Thorne said of her team's defensive strategy. "They probably scored eight times with less than five seconds left on the shot clock (against UNLV), and they did it to us. They worked it and got a little basket cut at the end. They're just great at it. They shot it really well against UNLV. I thought we guarded them and we didn't leave them wide open. We just took away their points in the paint."
The Sun Devils scored the game's first six points and would end the first quarter with a 12-0 run to give ASU 27-9 lead after 10 minutes. The scoring burst would eventually reach 15-0 after Ruden's 3-pointer less than 90 seconds into the second quarter put ASU up 30-9.
The Highlanders would not go away quietly as Michelle Curry's jumper got the Highlanders within 12 with under five minutes left in the second period. The Sun Devils would respond with eight straight points – a free throw by Johnson-Chapman, a 3-point play by Richardson, a jumper by Ibis and a layup by Elenga – to get their lead back up to 20.
Up 38-20 in the break, the Sun Devils were never seriously threatened in the second half. The Highlanders, who were led by a pair of 16-point outings from Curry (ASU Classic All-Tournament Team) and Lauren Holt, used an 8-2 run to get as close as 15 late in the third quarter. Ekmark made sure that UCR would get no closer as she buried her second 3-pointer of the game in the final minute of the period and then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made a layup to give ASU a 20-point advantage going into the final quarter.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they go on the road to face No. 13 and unbeaten Florida State on Sunday (2 p.m. ET/noon MT). The game can be seen via live stream at ACC Network Extra.