TEMPE – Nevaeh Parkinson's first double-double as a Sun Devil and a stingy defensive effort in the fourth quarter helped the Sun Devil women's basketball team overcome a scrappy Penn squad 73-67 on Monday.
Jyah LoVett (16 points) and Tyi Skinner (12 points) also had double-digit scoring performances for the Sun Devils (6-7), who snapped a three-game losing streak by ending Penn's five-game winning streak.
Parkinson scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the first half and tied her career-high with 13 rebounds. She also drained the fourth 3-pointer of her career, her second in as many games.
LoVett led all players with a career high-tying seven assists and also set a career high with seven rebounds. Kennedy Fauntleroy led ASU in steals (3) to go with nine points. Also providing the Sun Devils with strong minutes was Makayla Moore, sho scored eight points on a perfect 3 for 3 from the floor, including a pair of triples.
Penn (8-4) led by two after one quarter and had the same two-point advantage, 56-54, entering the final 10 minutes.
After Mataya Gayle's field goal gave the Quakers a 65-64 lead with 4:14 remaining, both defenses suddenly tightened as the next three-plus minutes produced a combined five points scored by both teams.
With ASU up 68-66, LoVett's turnaround jumper gave the Sun Devils a two-possession lead, 70-66 with 55 seconds left.
The rest of the game's points four points (ASU 3, Penn 1) were scored at the free throw line where the Sun Devils clinched their sixth win of the season.
Clutch scoring and an outstanding performance on the defensive end proved to be the biggest factors in the win. After Penn shot 47 percent through three quarters, it managed to make only 23 percent (3-13) of its shots in the fourth quarter. ASU came up big down the stretch as the Quakers missed their final seven shots of the game.
While the Sun Devils did not fare much better (shot 36 percent during the same stretch) their aggressiveness resulted in several trips to the free throw line where they outscored Penn 10-5 in the fourth quarter.
Equally important as the energy ASU showed on defense in the fourth quarter was the important adjustment it made at the half. The Quakers scored 18 of their 41 points in the first half from beyond the arc where they made 43 percent of their attempts. In the second half, ASU forced Penn to miss all 10 of its attempts from long range. The end result was a 26-point second half for Penn matching the fewest points ASU has given up in the second half this season.
Monday's game was Sun Devil Women's Basketball's first time playing in Mullett Arena, SDA's newest on-campus Multi-Purpose Arena. ASU will play three more of its home games at Mullett Arena this season: vs. Iowa State (Jan. 8), vs. West Virginia (Jan. 22) and vs. TCU (Feb. 19).
The Sun Devils will play their second of three games in six days – and their first Big 12 Conference home game – on New Years's Day when they host Texas Tech (4 p.m. MST) at Desert Financial Arena. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
Jyah LoVett (16 points) and Tyi Skinner (12 points) also had double-digit scoring performances for the Sun Devils (6-7), who snapped a three-game losing streak by ending Penn's five-game winning streak.
Parkinson scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the first half and tied her career-high with 13 rebounds. She also drained the fourth 3-pointer of her career, her second in as many games.
LoVett led all players with a career high-tying seven assists and also set a career high with seven rebounds. Kennedy Fauntleroy led ASU in steals (3) to go with nine points. Also providing the Sun Devils with strong minutes was Makayla Moore, sho scored eight points on a perfect 3 for 3 from the floor, including a pair of triples.
Penn (8-4) led by two after one quarter and had the same two-point advantage, 56-54, entering the final 10 minutes.
After Mataya Gayle's field goal gave the Quakers a 65-64 lead with 4:14 remaining, both defenses suddenly tightened as the next three-plus minutes produced a combined five points scored by both teams.
With ASU up 68-66, LoVett's turnaround jumper gave the Sun Devils a two-possession lead, 70-66 with 55 seconds left.
The rest of the game's points four points (ASU 3, Penn 1) were scored at the free throw line where the Sun Devils clinched their sixth win of the season.
Clutch scoring and an outstanding performance on the defensive end proved to be the biggest factors in the win. After Penn shot 47 percent through three quarters, it managed to make only 23 percent (3-13) of its shots in the fourth quarter. ASU came up big down the stretch as the Quakers missed their final seven shots of the game.
While the Sun Devils did not fare much better (shot 36 percent during the same stretch) their aggressiveness resulted in several trips to the free throw line where they outscored Penn 10-5 in the fourth quarter.
Equally important as the energy ASU showed on defense in the fourth quarter was the important adjustment it made at the half. The Quakers scored 18 of their 41 points in the first half from beyond the arc where they made 43 percent of their attempts. In the second half, ASU forced Penn to miss all 10 of its attempts from long range. The end result was a 26-point second half for Penn matching the fewest points ASU has given up in the second half this season.
Monday's game was Sun Devil Women's Basketball's first time playing in Mullett Arena, SDA's newest on-campus Multi-Purpose Arena. ASU will play three more of its home games at Mullett Arena this season: vs. Iowa State (Jan. 8), vs. West Virginia (Jan. 22) and vs. TCU (Feb. 19).
The Sun Devils will play their second of three games in six days – and their first Big 12 Conference home game – on New Years's Day when they host Texas Tech (4 p.m. MST) at Desert Financial Arena. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.