ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — What a difference a day makes.
Less than 24 hours after struggling on both ends of the floor in a loss to No. 12 Texas at the Paradise Jam, the Sun Devil women's basketball team responded with remarkable resilience in dominating and defeating 2023 NCAA Tournament participant and Round of 32 finisher South Florida 66-49 on Friday.
Trayanna Crisp (career high-tying 17 points), Treasure Hunt and Jalyn Brown (14 points each) combined for 45 of ASU's points.
Hunt and Sandra Magolico (first career start) each made their first start of the season while Brown, who started the first two games of the season, was back among the first five for the first time since an injury caused her to miss two games. Magolico's impact was swift as she scored eight points and – equally if not more important – led ASU's rebounding effort with seven boards.
Magolico (also tied for team high with three steals), Maggie Besselink (six rebounds, two assists) and Kadidia Toure (nine points, six rebounds) all played a starring role in helping the Sun Devils finish plus-six on the boards (38-32) against a South Florida squad that entered the game among the Top 50 teams in the nation in rebounding margin (+10.8).
Another category where the Sun Devils (5-2) had a 180-degree turnaround from their performance vs. Texas was in turnovers where they tied a season low with 11 and converted those miscues into 17 points. Jaddan Simmons had a team-high four assists (zero turnovers) and also tied for the team lead with three steals.
ASU's top three scorers – Crisp (2-4 3FGs), Hunt (2-2 3FGs), Brown (2-3 3FGs) – were responsible for all six of ASU's triples and collectively shot 67 percent from long range (6-9).
Crisp's jumper with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter gave the Sun Devils a 24-12 lead.
Feeling the game might be getting away from them, the Bulls (5-2) closed the half with their largest scoring run of the game (9-0) to cut ASU's lead to 24-21 at the half.
ASU's performance in the third quarter was arguably its best frame of the young season as it outscored the Bulls 24-6. Brown scored 10 of her points and hit both of her three pointers during the 10-minute stretch. The Sun Devils shot 56 percent from the floor while limiting the Bulls to only 13 percent.
After Toure's free throw once again put ASU up by 12 midway through the quarter, the Sun Devils clamped down and made sure nothing resembling the end of the first half would transpire. In fact, the Bulls did not score a point over the last seven minutes of the decisive quarter. The Sun Devils scored 15 points during the same stretch giving them a 48-27 lead after 30 minutes.
The Bulls got no closer than 18 points the rest of the game as the Sun Devils closed strong, by shooting 50 percent in the final quarter.
The Sun Devils close out play at the Paradise Jam on Saturday (3:45 pm MST) when they take on High Point. The game can be seen on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and heard on KDUS AM 1060 (pregame coverage will start at 3:15 p.m.).
Less than 24 hours after struggling on both ends of the floor in a loss to No. 12 Texas at the Paradise Jam, the Sun Devil women's basketball team responded with remarkable resilience in dominating and defeating 2023 NCAA Tournament participant and Round of 32 finisher South Florida 66-49 on Friday.
Trayanna Crisp (career high-tying 17 points), Treasure Hunt and Jalyn Brown (14 points each) combined for 45 of ASU's points.
Hunt and Sandra Magolico (first career start) each made their first start of the season while Brown, who started the first two games of the season, was back among the first five for the first time since an injury caused her to miss two games. Magolico's impact was swift as she scored eight points and – equally if not more important – led ASU's rebounding effort with seven boards.
Magolico (also tied for team high with three steals), Maggie Besselink (six rebounds, two assists) and Kadidia Toure (nine points, six rebounds) all played a starring role in helping the Sun Devils finish plus-six on the boards (38-32) against a South Florida squad that entered the game among the Top 50 teams in the nation in rebounding margin (+10.8).
Another category where the Sun Devils (5-2) had a 180-degree turnaround from their performance vs. Texas was in turnovers where they tied a season low with 11 and converted those miscues into 17 points. Jaddan Simmons had a team-high four assists (zero turnovers) and also tied for the team lead with three steals.
ASU's top three scorers – Crisp (2-4 3FGs), Hunt (2-2 3FGs), Brown (2-3 3FGs) – were responsible for all six of ASU's triples and collectively shot 67 percent from long range (6-9).
Crisp's jumper with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter gave the Sun Devils a 24-12 lead.
Feeling the game might be getting away from them, the Bulls (5-2) closed the half with their largest scoring run of the game (9-0) to cut ASU's lead to 24-21 at the half.
ASU's performance in the third quarter was arguably its best frame of the young season as it outscored the Bulls 24-6. Brown scored 10 of her points and hit both of her three pointers during the 10-minute stretch. The Sun Devils shot 56 percent from the floor while limiting the Bulls to only 13 percent.
After Toure's free throw once again put ASU up by 12 midway through the quarter, the Sun Devils clamped down and made sure nothing resembling the end of the first half would transpire. In fact, the Bulls did not score a point over the last seven minutes of the decisive quarter. The Sun Devils scored 15 points during the same stretch giving them a 48-27 lead after 30 minutes.
The Bulls got no closer than 18 points the rest of the game as the Sun Devils closed strong, by shooting 50 percent in the final quarter.
The Sun Devils close out play at the Paradise Jam on Saturday (3:45 pm MST) when they take on High Point. The game can be seen on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and heard on KDUS AM 1060 (pregame coverage will start at 3:15 p.m.).