TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State University head women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne today announced that Sara Bejedi has signed a letter of intent to study and play basketball at ASU.
A 5-7 point guard, Bejedi will be coming to Tempe by way of Helsinki, Finland, where she has accumulated a wealth of international experience representing her home country in FIBA events. Most recently, Bejedi has played with the Finnish senior national team each of the last two years. Bejedi averaged 18.5 points and 5.0 assists in U18 play and was part of a team that captured the Nordic championship. Bejedi earned Eurobasket.com All-European Championships U18 Division B second-team honors after posting per-game averages of 17.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals in the eight-game tournament.
"We are thrilled to have found such an incredibly talented scoring point guard to join our program," Turner Thorne said. "Sara has the ability to impact the game not only by being a three-level scorer, but she is a tenacious defender who will also help ignite our full-court defense and transition offense. Her combination of skill, athleticism and IQ are exceptional.
"Sara is an outstanding student and we love how much her family values the total student-athlete experience – being a great basketball player, student and leadership development."
Bejedi has been playing for the Helsinki Basketball Academy since 2016. In 2018-19, she helped lead her squad to the playoffs for the first time in program history after averaging 21.7 points (third in league play), 4.6 assists (fifth in league play) and 6.5 rebounds (18th in league play). The most recent campaign included scoring performances of 34 points and a career-high 38 points.
Between 2015-17, Bejedi averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 24 games of FIBA competition – eight games each at the 2015 U16 European Championship, 2016 U16 European Championship, 2017 U18 European Championship.
The Sun Devils are coming off a 2018-19 campaign in which they set school records for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (six) and 20-win seasons (six). Last month ASU won a pair of games in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time since 2005.
A 5-7 point guard, Bejedi will be coming to Tempe by way of Helsinki, Finland, where she has accumulated a wealth of international experience representing her home country in FIBA events. Most recently, Bejedi has played with the Finnish senior national team each of the last two years. Bejedi averaged 18.5 points and 5.0 assists in U18 play and was part of a team that captured the Nordic championship. Bejedi earned Eurobasket.com All-European Championships U18 Division B second-team honors after posting per-game averages of 17.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals in the eight-game tournament.
"We are thrilled to have found such an incredibly talented scoring point guard to join our program," Turner Thorne said. "Sara has the ability to impact the game not only by being a three-level scorer, but she is a tenacious defender who will also help ignite our full-court defense and transition offense. Her combination of skill, athleticism and IQ are exceptional.
"Sara is an outstanding student and we love how much her family values the total student-athlete experience – being a great basketball player, student and leadership development."
Bejedi has been playing for the Helsinki Basketball Academy since 2016. In 2018-19, she helped lead her squad to the playoffs for the first time in program history after averaging 21.7 points (third in league play), 4.6 assists (fifth in league play) and 6.5 rebounds (18th in league play). The most recent campaign included scoring performances of 34 points and a career-high 38 points.
Between 2015-17, Bejedi averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 24 games of FIBA competition – eight games each at the 2015 U16 European Championship, 2016 U16 European Championship, 2017 U18 European Championship.
The Sun Devils are coming off a 2018-19 campaign in which they set school records for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (six) and 20-win seasons (six). Last month ASU won a pair of games in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time since 2005.