TEMPE, Ariz. – Coming off its first loss of the season, the Arizona State women's basketball team bounced back with a 66-41 win over Cal Poly on Sunday at Desert Financial Arena.
Senior Ja'Tavia Tapley led the way finishing with a career-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds.
With 3:58 remaining in the first frame and the score tied 8-8, the Sun Devils (3-1) went on a 7-2 run to close out the quarter, giving the home team a lead that it would maintain for the remainder of the game.
The Sun Devils had a strong defensive showing, not conceding a single Cal Poly 3-pointer in the contest (0-8) and forcing 27 turnovers. The Sun Devils capitalized on the advantage by scoring 35 points off of Mustang turnovers.
Senior guard Reili Richardson led the defensive effort, notching a career-high six steals along with nine points and three assists.
After the loss at Minnesota, the team put an emphasis on "getting back to our defense...we really came into this came focusing on our defense," said Richardson.
Though shots weren't falling on the offensive end, the Sun Devils made up for it by dominating on the glass for a third-consecutive home game. ASU won the rebounding battle 41-27 with 21 offensive boards, leading to 16 second-chance points for the Sun Devils compared to just six for the Mustangs (1-4). Sophomore Jayde Van Hyfte's career-high 12 rebounds led the team's effort on the glass.
Notes:
• Bre'yanna Sanders led the bench with 6 points, knocking down a career-high two three pointers.
• ASU's depth was on display as the Sun Devil bench contributed 21 points compared to just 10 bench points for Cal Poly.
• The Sun Devil offense moved the ball well with assists on 15 of 23 made field goals (65.2 percent).
• The Sun Devils held the Mustangs to just one made field goal in the second quarter.
A word with Charli Turner Thorne...
Opening Statement: "I thought that was a great team win. In case anyone didn't know, we worked on defense this week. After our last game, when we didn't play any, I was actually pleased. We're young, and it's going to take a while for this team to iron out the kinks."
On the emphasis going into Florida: "We've got three games back-to-back-to-back. We don't have predetermined opponents (beyond Friday), so it's going to be us, going to be continuing to iron out some things defensively. Right now, we're finally figuring out our rotation a bit, and we'll have Kiki back this week, so I think we have good depth. It's a tough question because with this young team there are so many things but certainly our team offense. We did not anticipate, we knew we'd see a decent amount of zone, we did not anticipate 40 minutes of zone, so this is great film for us to breakdown."
Up next for the Sun Devils…
The Sun Devils will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Estero, Fla., where they will be competing in the Gulf Coast Showcase. ASU will play three games in three days beginning on Friday (3 p.m. MT) when they play 2019 NCAA participant Maine. On Saturday, ASU will face either Drake or Purdue at 11:30 am MT or 5:30 pm MT. ASU will close out play on Sunday (time TBD) when it faces Auburn/Middle Tennessee/Gonzaga/Dayton. All the games can be seen via live stream for a fee at www.flohoops.com. The games can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn channel.
Senior Ja'Tavia Tapley led the way finishing with a career-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds.
With 3:58 remaining in the first frame and the score tied 8-8, the Sun Devils (3-1) went on a 7-2 run to close out the quarter, giving the home team a lead that it would maintain for the remainder of the game.
Tay is on ??@flick_wrist with a new career high of 2??3?? points ?? pic.twitter.com/bRBILtd6Jm
— Sun Devil WBB (@SunDevilWBB) November 25, 2019
The Sun Devils had a strong defensive showing, not conceding a single Cal Poly 3-pointer in the contest (0-8) and forcing 27 turnovers. The Sun Devils capitalized on the advantage by scoring 35 points off of Mustang turnovers.
Senior guard Reili Richardson led the defensive effort, notching a career-high six steals along with nine points and three assists.
SWIPIN' BALLS AND TAKIN' NAMES ?? ??@reilirich with a new career high of 6?? steals! pic.twitter.com/SmM5PX1PcA
— Sun Devil WBB (@SunDevilWBB) November 25, 2019
After the loss at Minnesota, the team put an emphasis on "getting back to our defense...we really came into this came focusing on our defense," said Richardson.
Though shots weren't falling on the offensive end, the Sun Devils made up for it by dominating on the glass for a third-consecutive home game. ASU won the rebounding battle 41-27 with 21 offensive boards, leading to 16 second-chance points for the Sun Devils compared to just six for the Mustangs (1-4). Sophomore Jayde Van Hyfte's career-high 12 rebounds led the team's effort on the glass.
Notes:
• Bre'yanna Sanders led the bench with 6 points, knocking down a career-high two three pointers.
• ASU's depth was on display as the Sun Devil bench contributed 21 points compared to just 10 bench points for Cal Poly.
• The Sun Devil offense moved the ball well with assists on 15 of 23 made field goals (65.2 percent).
• The Sun Devils held the Mustangs to just one made field goal in the second quarter.
A word with Charli Turner Thorne...
Opening Statement: "I thought that was a great team win. In case anyone didn't know, we worked on defense this week. After our last game, when we didn't play any, I was actually pleased. We're young, and it's going to take a while for this team to iron out the kinks."
On the emphasis going into Florida: "We've got three games back-to-back-to-back. We don't have predetermined opponents (beyond Friday), so it's going to be us, going to be continuing to iron out some things defensively. Right now, we're finally figuring out our rotation a bit, and we'll have Kiki back this week, so I think we have good depth. It's a tough question because with this young team there are so many things but certainly our team offense. We did not anticipate, we knew we'd see a decent amount of zone, we did not anticipate 40 minutes of zone, so this is great film for us to breakdown."
Up next for the Sun Devils…
The Sun Devils will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Estero, Fla., where they will be competing in the Gulf Coast Showcase. ASU will play three games in three days beginning on Friday (3 p.m. MT) when they play 2019 NCAA participant Maine. On Saturday, ASU will face either Drake or Purdue at 11:30 am MT or 5:30 pm MT. ASU will close out play on Sunday (time TBD) when it faces Auburn/Middle Tennessee/Gonzaga/Dayton. All the games can be seen via live stream for a fee at www.flohoops.com. The games can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn channel.