Nov. 30, 1997
Sun Devil Women Soar Past Flyers 68-55
TEMPE, Ariz.-- Three Sun Devils reached double figures in scoring -- led by senior forward Stephanie Freeman (Austin, Texas) -- as ASU (1-2) defeated Dayton (2-2) 68-55 Sunday night at the University Activity Center.
ASU's bench combined for 32 points in the win, with 29 from freshman guard Leaf Newman (Perris, Calif.) and junior center Kisha White (Phoenix, Ariz.). Newman sparked ASU with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals, while White added 12 points and four rebounds in just 14 minutes of play.
"Leaf Newman came in off the bench and did a great job," said ASU Coach Charli Turner Thorne. "Kisha White, back-to-back, put together two really solid games for us this weekend. We still need to straighten out our post game but this was a great way to bounce back."
The Sun Devils jumped out to a 20-6 lead early and stretched their lead to 17 points at the 2:07 mark of the first period. ASU led 36-23 at the half. Newman was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the first stanza and the team was a combined 9-for-12 from the charity stripe.
Dayton came within 10 points with just under 17 minutes to play, but ASU took over from there. A three-pointer by Newman with 5:58 left gave the Sun Devils a 20-point edge (58-38), and ASU took its biggest lead on a Newman jumper at the 4:23 mark to go up 62-40.
"Everyone knew we could win this one," Newman said, "we just had to find a way. We knew we could do it. We played together as a team, like Coach (Turner Thorne) has been stressing. We all came together and jelled."
ASU owned the edge on the glass, outrebounding the Flyers 42-36. The Sun Devils connected on a season-high 14 free throws and shot 44.1 percent on the night (26-for-59). Dayton was paced by sophomore forward Jenelle Ristrau, who scored 15 points and grabbed six boards. Ristrau was 5-for-6 with a pair of three-pointers.
The Sun Devils are back in action Friday when they travel to Dallas for the SMU Southwestern Bell/Cotton Bowl Classic. ASU faces host SMU Friday at 7 p.m. MST