SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Jade Loville became the fourth Sun Devil women's basketball player to score 30 or more points since 2000, as the 2021 All-Mountain West honoree dropped 34 points in the Sun Devil women's basketball team's 79-60 win over San Diego on Saturday.
Loville (12-15 FGs, 4-4 3FGs), who transferred to ASU from Boise State last spring, and Mael Gilles (17 points, 6-9 FGs, 2-2 3FGs) combined for 51 points and collectively shot 75 percent from the floor, including a perfect 6-6 from beyond the arc.
-------------- On Saturday, Jade Loville became the fourth Sun Devil to score 30 or more points since 2000.
Jade Loville - 34 points at San Diego 12/18/21
Kylan Loney - 32 points vs. Arizona 1/31/04
Kianna Ibis - 30 points at Utah 12/31/17
Amanda Levens - 30 points vs. St. Peter's 11/17/01 --------------
Saturday's win over San Diego (7-3), was ASU's first of the season on the road after a pair of tough losses at BYU (55-44) and at Creighton (69-62) in games that were both decided in the fourth quarter.
"Obviously, we've had some really tough opponents on the road, we haven't had any real easy road games and I think we've been building towards playing better and better," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Our defense was not where we wanted it to be against Creighton. It was a great team effort, we really kept our rotation going which helped us keep our energy going which is a big difference for us. And we played through some adversity. We wanted to score 70 and hold them to 50, and so we are getting there."
Loville scored 23 of her 34 points in the second (12 points) and fourth (11 points) quarters, the same two quarters in which ASU (6-5) outscored the Toreros 44-27.
"When she is on, she is on, and that's what we've seen since we've had the honor to coach her and she was on today," Turner Thorne said of Loville. "That is something we have not had in a while; where we just have someone that can go off like that and that certainly makes everyone's jobs easier."
Loville scored ASU's first four points of the second quarter and then hit a triple in the final minute of the half to give ASU a 41-33 lead after 20 minutes.
Four different players – Loville (four points), Taya Hanson (four points), Jaddan Simmons (four points) and Gilles (three points) – helped the Sun Devils outscore San Diego 15-12 in the third quarter, giving them an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter. The Toreros scored the last four points of the quarter to stay within striking range.
San Diego got within 10 points on four different occasions in the fourth quarter, but was unable to ever cut ASU's lead to a single digits. After getting within 10 one final time (67-57) with just over three minutes remaining, Loville hit a 3-pointer that ignited a 12-3 run to close out the game.
Loville's 34 points are the most scored by a player in the Pac-12 this season. Loville scored a career-high 40 points while with Boise State.
In addition to her scoring contributions, Gilles also paced ASU in rebounds (seven) and tied with Simmons for the team lead with four assists.
The Sun Devils return to action on Tuesday when they host UC Irvine at 12 p.m. MST. The game can be seen via ASU Live Stream and heard on KDUS AM 1060.
Loville (12-15 FGs, 4-4 3FGs), who transferred to ASU from Boise State last spring, and Mael Gilles (17 points, 6-9 FGs, 2-2 3FGs) combined for 51 points and collectively shot 75 percent from the floor, including a perfect 6-6 from beyond the arc.
-------------- On Saturday, Jade Loville became the fourth Sun Devil to score 30 or more points since 2000.
Jade Loville - 34 points at San Diego 12/18/21
Kylan Loney - 32 points vs. Arizona 1/31/04
Kianna Ibis - 30 points at Utah 12/31/17
Amanda Levens - 30 points vs. St. Peter's 11/17/01 --------------
Saturday's win over San Diego (7-3), was ASU's first of the season on the road after a pair of tough losses at BYU (55-44) and at Creighton (69-62) in games that were both decided in the fourth quarter.
"Obviously, we've had some really tough opponents on the road, we haven't had any real easy road games and I think we've been building towards playing better and better," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Our defense was not where we wanted it to be against Creighton. It was a great team effort, we really kept our rotation going which helped us keep our energy going which is a big difference for us. And we played through some adversity. We wanted to score 70 and hold them to 50, and so we are getting there."
Loville scored 23 of her 34 points in the second (12 points) and fourth (11 points) quarters, the same two quarters in which ASU (6-5) outscored the Toreros 44-27.
"When she is on, she is on, and that's what we've seen since we've had the honor to coach her and she was on today," Turner Thorne said of Loville. "That is something we have not had in a while; where we just have someone that can go off like that and that certainly makes everyone's jobs easier."
Loville scored ASU's first four points of the second quarter and then hit a triple in the final minute of the half to give ASU a 41-33 lead after 20 minutes.
Four different players – Loville (four points), Taya Hanson (four points), Jaddan Simmons (four points) and Gilles (three points) – helped the Sun Devils outscore San Diego 15-12 in the third quarter, giving them an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter. The Toreros scored the last four points of the quarter to stay within striking range.
San Diego got within 10 points on four different occasions in the fourth quarter, but was unable to ever cut ASU's lead to a single digits. After getting within 10 one final time (67-57) with just over three minutes remaining, Loville hit a 3-pointer that ignited a 12-3 run to close out the game.
Loville's 34 points are the most scored by a player in the Pac-12 this season. Loville scored a career-high 40 points while with Boise State.
In addition to her scoring contributions, Gilles also paced ASU in rebounds (seven) and tied with Simmons for the team lead with four assists.
The Sun Devils return to action on Tuesday when they host UC Irvine at 12 p.m. MST. The game can be seen via ASU Live Stream and heard on KDUS AM 1060.