Saturday, December 22, 2018

Sun Devils to enter Pac-12 season on seven-game winning streak


By Scott Mammoser
TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 17-ranked Arizona State women’s basketball team wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 68-52 win over Fresno State to improve to 9-2 on Thursday.
Once again, the senior duo of Courtney Ekmark and Kianna Ibis led the way with 17 and 15 points. Ekmark’s scoring primarily came from downtown, where she was 5-of-14.
Sun Devils win 68-52 over Fresno State, improve to 9-2
“One thing we’re focusing on is our leadership and our team leadership,” Ekmark said. “Our coaches can only do so much. We always talk about having a team-led team, especially going into Pac-12 because it’s only going to get harder from here.”
Ibis was 7-of-15 from the floor, and her five rebounds were second on the team behind Charnea Johnson-Chapman’s eight.
“We’re seniors, so we need to bring that sense of urgency,” Ibis added. “We just need to be as aggressive as we can.”
The Bulldogs (6-4) entered the game scoring 73 points per game with single-digit losses to USC and UCLA. They kept it close, only trailing by one after the first quarter and seven at halftime. ASU outscored them 15-7 in the fourth and used a 21-10 advantage from its deep bench to pull away. Aly Gamez led the Bulldogs with 16 points, and Candice White collected 15 points with nine rebounds.
“I told our team this was going to be a good game before the break,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “They have all of their starters back. Different people stepped up, and it’s nice to have other people to step up and do some things, our freshmen stepped up. That’s a luxury we have this year.”
The Pac-12 currently has five teams in the Top 25 and two in the receiving votes category, and Coach Turner Thorne mentioned that she believes it is the nation’s premier league top to bottom and a handful of team could make Final Four runs.
“We just need to keep getting better,” Turner Thorne said of the upcoming part of the season. “We’re not where we need to be in any aspect of our game. It was very odd that we played eight games and didn’t see a possession of zone. Now, we’ve played three-straight games that were almost 90 percent zone (Colorado State, Kansas State and Fresno State). Some of our freshmen were coming along and figuring out stuff, then we needed to shift gears. It was great for us to get the experience.”
The next game for the Sun Devils will be at 5 p.m. on Dec. 30 at Arizona, and the next home contest is at 7 p.m. on Jan. 11 versus No. 8 Stanford. Fresno State has a home game on Dec. 29 against Fresno Pacific before opening the Mountain West Conference schedule on Jan. 2 against San Jose State.
“It’s going to come down to a lot of one-possession games,” Ibis said of the upcoming Pac-12 season, “and we need to work on our keeping possession of the ball.”

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Ekmark scores 19 for Sun Devils in win over Southern

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Courtney Ekmark scored a season-high 19 points, and the No. 17 Arizona State Sun Devils routed the Southern University Jaguars of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, 69-47, on Friday night.

The 19 points Ekmark scored were the second-most by a Sun Devil this season behind the 20 Kianna Ibis collected against Arkansas. Eight of her points came in the fourth quarter.
“My teammates handed me the ball,” Ekmark said. “One of the main things we’re trying to work on right now is playing focused every possession. If we want to be an elite team, we need that.”

The Sun Devils (6-2) found an early lead of 24-6, equaling their best defensive performance in a quarter this season. The 42-19 halftime lead also tied for the least amount of points ASU permitted in a first half, although from a different game than its quarter mark. Three treys in the third, two off Skylar O’Bear’s hand, allowed Southern to outscore ASU, 14-13 in the period. O’Bear finished with 16 points on 4-of-8 from downtown. The Jaguars (2-5) kept fighting until the end, jumping up and down on the bench, as shots narrowed the lead to 20 points in the final minutes.

“I thought we played average tonight,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “They’re a program that is used to winning, and we know we’re getting everybody’s A-game. I tried to spread the minutes better. I tried to balance things, it’s good to get the win and that everybody played. Overall, it was kind of a wakeup call for this team. We need to be a lot tougher to be where we want to be this year.”

The Sun Devils are at Colorado State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, then will take on Kansas State at the neutral location of La Crosse, Wisc., on Dec. 16. The next home game will be at 2 p.m. on Dec. 20 against Fresno State. Coach Turner Thorne noted that the Colorado State game will be the first time this season that her team will see a zone defense. 

The Jaguars will host Louisiana College on Monday night before taking the road for power conference games at TCU, Texas Tech and Michigan. The team previously played at Kentucky and Baylor, losing both by 50 points. 

Monday, December 3, 2018

Perry High girls basketball opening season with high expectations


By Scott Mammoser

GILBERT, Ariz. – The Perry High School girls basketball team may lack upper class experience, but the Pumas are expected to be one of the top teams in Arizona this season. Dressing six sophomores, one senior and one junior, the team doesn’t stress individualism, despite frequent visits from Division I recruiters.

“They’re so young, we’re really trying to develop them and get their games better,” Perry coach Andrew Curtis said after his team dominated the Phoenix North High School Lady Mustangs 53-19 to improve to 2-0.

Photo by Scott Mammoser
Curtis is in his third year at Perry after coaching boys at Corona del Sol, then Higley girls for a year. One of the players on Corona del Sol was Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 overall pick from the Sacramento Kings.

“They buy in to wanting to get better every day,” Curtis attributed to Perry’s success. “They work hard for a young group. We don’t treat them like sophomore or a girls or boys team, we treat them like a basketball team. They work really hard, and sometimes we don’t let them know it because we want to keep them going.”

Madison Conner, a six-foot guard, and Tatyanna Clayburne, a 5-foot-10 guard, are the two players to keep an eye at this stage in their careers.

“We’re trying to build it up and have a good basketball program for them to learn the game,” Curtis added. “Madison is highly recruited, and Tatyanna Clayburne will have a lot of offers. This sophomore class is really loaded. We’re trying really hard to be interchangeable. We don’t want to key in on anybody, and we want to keep the ball moving. We want to flexible, where everybody can get open and attack. They are really skilled and have high basketball IQs. They have a real feel for how to play the game. They are really crafty players.”

Perry’s first Division I recruit, Olivia Vernon, once scored 53 points in one game. The 5-foot-6 guard is currently in her sophomore season at Canisius College of the MAAC in Buffalo, N.Y.

Coming up, the Pumas, who are in the 6A Arizona Division premier region, will play in a Nike Tournament in the Valley, and after Christmas, they will head for Washington D.C. for Title IX Classic. Perry is in the top bracket and will open with the four-time defending Pennsylvania state champions.

No. 19 Sun Devils win ASU Classic, finishing off Tulsa in the title game


By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – After a tight first quarter, the No. 19 Arizona State women’s basketball team (5-3) figured out Tulsa, earning a 70-52 win on Sunday to conclude the ASU Classic, the annual four-team tournament it hosts.

Photo by Scott Mammoser
The Golden Hurricane (4-2) was within 21-19 after the first period, with Crystal Polk already scoring eight of her 14 points. Tulsa surprised many with its convincing win over Alabama on Saturday, including ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne, who needed to switch her scout plan.

“They don’t take a possession off,” Turner Thorne said of Tulsa. “They know they’re rolls, they know who they are. That was a good test for us, a team that was tough and feisty, worked hard every possession, good team win. We were more locked in after we played to their strengths. That first quarter, we kind of locked in after that. Tulsa is really playing well right now.”

Kianna Ibis led ASU with 14 points and eight rebounds en route to being named tourney MVP. Robbi Ryan and Courtney Ekmark each added 12 points, and Reili Richardson dished out seven assists.

“We were just trying to get locked in on their top three,” Richardson said, “and we take pride on defense. We needed our bench to step up, and they really came up big today. We have really good scorers, so we need to find them and put them in position for them to make shots.”

The deep Sun Devils shot 75 percent in the fourth quarter, while keeping Tulsa off the free throw line during the final three quarters. Morgan Brady, who scored 26 against Alabama on Saturday, was shut down for seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.

“One thing we’re focusing on is playing hard for 40 full minutes. We have showed streaks of it, but then taken the foot off the gas. We want to make you work every full second. Rebounding is also a huge focus for us.”

In the consolation game of the event, Louisiana Tech defeated the Crimson Tide, 79-62. Kierra Anthony scored 25 points with seven rebounds, while Raizel Guinto scored 17 to pace the two-time NCAA champions, not to mention the final AIAW champions from 1981.

The next game for the Sun Devils will be at 6 p.m. on Friday against Southern University at Wells Fargo Arena. Road matches with Colorado State and Kansas State will follow.

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Holiday Swim Festival Poolside Chats

 Mike Stockman



Jarod Arroyo touches the wall in 1st place in 1650 at Holiday Swim Festival

TEMPE, AZ (November 30, 2018) There are times in life when one recognizes being in the presence of dedicated, focused, positive, and hard working individuals.  On November 29, 2018 at Mona Plummer Aquatics Center during the 2018 Holiday Swim Festival, I had an opportunity to chat with two athletes of that quality that shared their techniques, relationships, and their goals. I was in the presence of Jarod Arroyo and Kate McBratney, two 17 year old friends and teammates who swim for Pitchfork Aquatics based in Tempe and Mesa.

Kate commits to BYU

While Jarod was in the pool swimming and leading his heat in the 1650 event on Thursday evening, we sat pool side with Kate, a very bright and humorous Queen Creek star who recently committed to BYU.

In our interview, we found out about Kate's goals, her ambitions, and her devotion to God, family, and a future to help others reach their goals as well. She described herself as a "goofball" and after a few minutes with her I could see why her family, her coaches, and her friends look forward to the daily joke. She shared one with us at the end of the interview. Be sure to watch her interview to the end for her "joke on the spot".

As we chatted - it was difficult to stop, Jarod sat waiting after winning the 1650 event, an event he says "takes a lot of mental focus because of how much time you have to think and having to keep those thoughts focused.".

After Kate and I finished, we sat down with Jarod and had another inspiring chat. 

Jarod commits to ASU
Jarod is an impressive and positive young man with drive and focus of a highly trained athlete with personal passion for success in all areas of his life. He shared how he visualizes his races and his goals, which he keeps posted on his bedroom walls, bathroom mirror, and refrigerator.  He also spoke of his love of cooking and photography. When listening to Jarod and looking into his eyes, you can definitely see a mature person. His energy when he talked of his goals and his dreams of the future was so strong you know he will do no less than succeed at anything in life.

Jarod's interview will also be available so you can experience what we were fortunate to experience.    

Both swimmers will be performing this weekend in the Holiday Swim Festival and then getting ready for an intense, end of year schedule. 

Pitchfork swimmers will be traveling to University of Texas, Austin, Texas to participate in the USA Swimming Winter Junior Nationals being hosted by Longhorn Aquatics/USA Swimming from Dec 5-8, 2018.

No. 19 Sun Devils overwhelm Louisiana Tech to open ASU Classic


By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 19-ranked Arizona State women’s basketball team nearly doubled the scoring figures of Louisiana Tech in its 80-44 dominating win to open the first day of the ASU Classic on Saturday. Senior forward Kianna Ibis shot 6-of-11 for 13 points, while senior guard Courtney Ekmark was 4-of-7 from downtown for 12 points, as the Sun Devils improved to 4-2.

“We definitely were shooting it well,” Ekmark said, “and whenever we are shooting well, that helps our offense a lot. I think I’m normally pretty confident, but it’s nice to come out hot in the first half. Whenever I get a clean look, it looks like it’s going to go in. We had a specific game plan, we knew we wanted to get more paint touches, and our bigs got them, and they kicked it out to us when they missed.”

#19 ASU Defeats Louisiana Tech in a dominating 80-44 win.
ASU shot 45 percent as a team, including 60 percent in the first quarter as it jumped to a 29-11 lead. Charnea Johnson-Chapman grabbed nine rebounds to complement her 10 points, as the Sun Devils outrebounded the two-time national champion Lady Techsters 51-33. Freshman guard Keiunna Walker led Louisiana Tech (4-3) with 12 points, while senior Kierra Anthony, another 5-foot-6 guard, scored 11.

With 13 Sun Devils putting points on the board and 11 seeing double digits in minutes, coach Charli Turner Thorne was excited about her team’s depth this season.

“Our first half was really good, some of our best team defense,” Turner Thorne said. “They (Louisiana Tech) are a lot better than we allowed them to be today. When you shoot the ball well, life is easy. We are 10 deep for sure this year, and we can come at you with waves, which is something we couldn’t do last year. I think they are buying into it. Our four freshmen are very talented and are going to help us a lot this year. There’s probably not a game I wouldn’t put them in, and they all have their own little super powers.”

The only other previous meetings between the two programs was a 92-54 Louisiana Tech win in the second round of the 1982 NCAA Tournament, of which the team went on to win the championship in the event’s first season.

The Sun Devils were coming off a three-game road stretch that included a two-point loss to No. 5 Louisville in Las Vegas.

“Traveling is such a lot, so it’s good to be at home again,” Ibis said. “We know we can play with anybody, so being able to take adv of every possession, we need to take control of the full 40 minutes, and every game matters.”

In the second game of the ASU Classic, Tulsa upset a favored Alabama team, 80-71. Morgan Brady scored 26 and Alexis Gaulden added 19 points and 11 assists for the Golden Hurricane. Crystal Polk also collected a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sunday at 11:30 a.m., Alabama and Louisiana Tech will meet, followed by ASU and Tulsa at 2 p.m. to conclude the event.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Devils Punish the Utes in a 38-20 Homecoming Victory

Mike Stockman

TEMPE, AZ (November 3, 2018) The Arizona State University Sun Devils hosted the Pac-12 South leader Utah Utes on a beautiful 79 degree Saturday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium on November 3, 2018. After winning last year's game in Utah, this year for homecoming the Devils shocked the #16 ranked Utes by a score of 38-20, increasing the Devils' lead in the series to 22-8-0.
Harry had 3 TDs in the air, Benjamin had 2 TDs on the ground

The Devils started the game strong, scoring twice in the first quarter. Eno Benjamin, who has over 1000 yards rushing on the season, scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 6 yard run. N'Keal Harry, scored his first of three on a 3 yard touchdown pass from Manny Wilkins who ended the game with a quarterback rating of 211.8.

With less than a minute left in the first quarter, the Utes got on the board when Zack Moss punched it in for a one yard touchdown run. 

In the second quarter, the Utes would add a 40 yard field goal from Matt Gay, then take the lead for the first and only time of the game on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Tyler Huntley to Samson Nacua, making the score 17-14.

On the following possession, the Devils drove the length of the field and took the lead back for good with 1:01 left in the half when Wilkins hit Harry for his second of three touchdowns, a 23 yard touchdown pass which gave the Devils the lead 21-17.

In the third quarter, both teams turned the ball over on interceptions in their first possessions. 

With 5:33 left in the third quarter, the Utes' quarterback Tyler Huntley was injured trying to scramble outside the pocket, bringing red-shirt freshman Jason Shelley unto the field. Shelley drove the Utes to the Devils' 13, setting up a 31 yard field goal making the score 21-20.

To start the fourth quarter, Wilkins connected with Harry over the middle for a 61 yard touchdown pass, extending the Devils' lead to 28-20.

With 10:27 left in the game, Harry demonstrated why he's one of the top NCAA receivers, catching a screen on the left side of the field, running back to the right adding to his already impressive stats on the game with 161 yards receiving and three touchdowns, putting Devils in field goal position.  The Devils add to the score, 31-20.

Devils have a chance to win Pac-12 South with upset over Utah
The final score of the game came when Benjamin scored on a 44 yard touchdown run up the middle, Devils lead 38-20.

On the following drive, the Utes drive the length of the field only to be intercepted in the corner of the end zone with 3:11 left in the game.

The Pac-12 South is up for grabs with all six teams showing 3 losses in the Pac-12 each.

The Utes (6-3, 4-3 Pac-12) host the Oregon Ducks at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 10, 2018.

The Devils (5-4, 3-2 Pac-12) host the struggling ULCA Bruins November 10 for the final home game of the 2018 season at noon.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Early goal gives Wildcats soccer victory at Sun Devils


By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Morgan McGarry executed in the sixth minute to give the University of Arizona women’s soccer team an early lead it sustained in its 1-0 win at rival Arizona State on Friday.

After hitting the post twice on the same possession, McGarry earned her third goal of the year on the Wildcats’ third attempt, with Samantha Falasco credited for the assist.

The Wildcats close their regular season at 12-5-2 and 5-4-2 in the Pac-12 Conference, holding a No. 27 RPI, all but ensuring them an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. ASU meanwhile fell to 10-6-1 and 5-4-1 with a No. 40 RPI, placing it squarely on the bubble. There is one more match to play for ASU, however, that could change everything. The top-ranked team in the nation, undefeated-and defending national champion Stanford visits Tempe at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

“Everything is possible,” ASU coach Graham Winkworth said of upsetting Stanford. “When I was at South Alabama, we played Florida State, and they were No. 1. I explained to the girls that if you go a goal down, that doesn’t mean the game is over. But, even if there is a small chance, you need to understand the possibility is alive, it’s 11 players against 11 players. We’re going to go out there and give our best and show it is possible to play Stanford and get a result.”

The Sun Devils were on a four-game winning streak- their second such streak of the season, and Arizona has now won three consecutively against ASU.
“It was a little bit frustrating,” ASU defender Jemma Purfield said. “It’s disappointing because it’s a big rivalry, and we want to win games, and we’re playing for a lot. We’ll bounce back, and I’m so proud of the girls and the fight.”

Although the seniors were honored before the game on Friday, Sunday will be the final time the following players take the pitch at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium: Purfield, goalkeeper Sydney Day, midfielder Adriana Orozco, forward Casey Martinez, midfielder Madison Wolfe, defender Melinda Gutierrez, forward Natalie Stephens, and defender Angela Boyle.

“It was a hard one to swallow, but we’re going to put this one to bed,” Martinez added. “Our season is not over. Our attitudes need to be in the right place. I am so blessed to be here at ASU, it’s been such a transformative year for me, and I love the team atmosphere.”

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Beavers extend Sun Devils’ volleyball losing streak to six


By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Exactly one month after sweeping the Beavers in Corvallis, the Arizona State women’s volleyball team fell at home to Oregon State, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon.
ASU Falls to Oregon State, 3-1 at home

Someone’s losing streak needed to end, and it was Oregon State’s 11-match skid, dating back to a win on Sept. 18 against Seattle University. The Sun Devils have now lost six consecutively in the aftermath of sweeping then- No. 15 Washington, and are 13-11 and 4-8 in the Pac-12 Conference. OSU picked up its first Pac-12 win this season (1-13) and is 11-13 overall.

The Sun Devils breezed through the opening game, 25-18, before the Beavers won both the second- and third sets by four points, 25-21. In the fourth, a late five-point lead was reduced to one on a Maddy Gravley service ace. Five-straight points put OSU in the driver’s seat, and Haylie Bennett killed the winner at 25-22 for the Beavers’ first win in more than a month.

“We had chances to close it, and they wanted it more than we did,” ASU coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “We came on strong. I told them between the first and second sets, we did the same thing against Colorado (lost 3-1 last week), and they’re not going to back off. In the first set, we were getting blocked, but recovered a lot of balls. In the second set, that stopped.”

Carmen Unzue, the senior middle blocker from Madrid, led the Sun Devils with 12 kills.

“We knew what we had to do, but for some reason we hesitate,” Unzue said. “We want to see the future, and we don’t focus on the present, we want to see us winning, but we just missed our point. I was confident throughout the whole match. I was open to changes and refocusing, and I think that is what is lacking on our team. If we try something that doesn’t work, we need to calm down and try something else. There is no need to rush.”
Amy Underdown led all players with 17 kills for the Beavers, while Maddie Goings collected 10.

ASU will be at the now- No. 21 Huskies at 7 p.m. on Friday, the beginning of a four-match road swing, and returns home on November 16 against No. 20 UCLA. OSU will host UCLA on Friday night. Nationally, BYU (20-0) is ranked first overall, followed by Stanford, Minnesota, Penn State, and Pittsburgh- also undefeated at 22-0 from the ACC.

Coach Tomasevic also elaborated on the larger perspective of things with her players and losing after the match.

“We’re not just coaches, we teach them life lessons,” she said. “If you fail your project, as a person in the work force once or twice, you might have a conversation with your supervisor, but the fourth or fifth time, you’re not having any conversations. You’re gone, and there is someone else coming in.”

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Devils Fall to the Cardinal in Pac-12 Matchup 20-13

Mike Stockman

TEMPE, AZ - The Arizona State University Sun Devils hosted the Stanford Cardinal on a Thursday night, October 18, 2018 Pac-12 match-up at Sun Devil Stadium.

In the first quarter, the Devils scored first on a 30 yard field goal.  Half way through the second quarter, the Devils defense held the Cardinal offense to a total of 64 yards and forced 4 punts while producing 138 yards offense and punting only twice.

With a couple of questionable pass interference calls, the Cardinal drove to the 3 yard line but were forced to attempt a 21 yard field goal which was successful, tying the game 3-3 with 3:43 left in the half.

With 2:05 left in the half, the Devils were driving into field goal range but were shut down when an attempted trick play ended in an interception.


After the interception, the Cardinal drove down to the 13 yard line with :02 left and kicked a field goal, putting the Cardinal up 6-3 at the half.

After receiving the second half kick-off, the Devils drove down the field, but were forced to kick a 24 yard field goal to tie the game up 6-6.

The Cardinal answer by scoring a touchdown on a 28 yard pass with 7:55 left in the third quarter, giving them the lead 13-6.

The Cardinal adds another touchdown in the third quarter on a one yard touchdown dive, extending the lead to 20-6.

In the fourth quarter, the Devils add another touchdown making the final score 20-13.

The Cardinal (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) host Washington on October 27.

The Devils (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12) travel to Los Angeles to take on USC October 27.



Thursday, October 18, 2018

Sun Devils score three times in nine minutes to upset Washington State


By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State women’s soccer team scored three goals between the 72nd and 81st minutes to come back and defeat No. 12 Washington State, 3-1, at home on Friday.

ASU Women's Soccer Upsets #12 Cougars 3-1
It was the first win for the Sun Devils since Sept. 22 at California, as they improved to 7-5-1 and 2-3-1 in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougars, who won the season’s first 10 games- including one at UCLA, have now lost four consecutively and are 10-4 (3-4 in the conference).

“We needed to get something away from this weekend for sure,” ASU coach Graham Winkworth said. “I thought we defended, particularly in our second half, we were excellent. You can see our strikers chasing the ball down, and you can see the organization from our back line in a different formation. We brought a different physicality to the game.”
WSU’s Molly Myers sent her third goal of the season past Sun Devil goalkeeper Nikki Panas with 14 seconds until halftime. Then, freshman Marleen Schimmer equalized on a free kick to begin the scoring flurry in the 72nd minute.

Jemma Purfield found Dutch midfielder Eva Van Deursen less than five minutes later for the go-ahead goal, her second of the season.

“We had great camaraderie, front to back,” Purfield said. “Everyone is helping us to get these results to beat these ranked teams. Everything clicked better today.”
Natalie Stephens, the senior from Anthem Boulder Creek High School, capitalized on a deflection past Emma Dahline for her first goal of the season, in the 81st minute.

“Over the last four years,” Stephens said, “I think my defensive game has strengthened, most of all, this season, having these freshmen come in who are very technical, I think my technical game has increased, as well, and my finishing, as well, so being out there, I didn’t have a ton of minutes, but being out there and making something of that time has definitely improved.”

The Sun Devils will host Washington at 1 p.m. on Sunday, while the Cougars will be at the Arizona Wildcats one hour prior to that.

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Cougars sweep Sun Devils in women’s volleyball


By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Coming off a three-match winning streak that culminated with an impressive sweep at No. 12 Oregon, the Arizona State volleyball team struggled in its home conference opener, falling to No. 22 Washington State in three sets, 25-17, 25-21 and 25-17.

Photo by Scott Mammoser
ASU (12-5, 3-2 in the Pac-12 Conference) was in the also receiving votes category of the national poll this week after the win at Oregon, its first over a ranked team in two years and first over the consistent Ducks since 2014.

“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” ASU coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “I’m disappointed how we came out. They were hitting 33 percent in transition, which is a really high number, and we were hitting 2 percent. That’s a big difference.”

The Sun Devils responded to the opening set loss with a 7-0 start to the second set, only to allow the Cougars (12-3, 3-2) to capitalize on seven of the next eight points. ASU was ahead 16-11, before WSU returned on a 6-0 run and won 25-21. There was little room for regrouping in the third set, with WSU cruising to a 17-11 edge and 25-17 victory.

 “I was proud of how they responded,” Tomasevic said of the week in practice. “I was worried after beating Oregon about keeping them on the ground, but they actually didn’t talk much about that. They were dialed in, getting better at things they needed to get better. 

Whenever we play at home, we feel like we have to do something extra, and we just have to play the game we play on the road.”

Megan Beedie led the Sun Devils with nine kills, while Alyse Ford collected eight. Nicole Peterson had 15 assists for ASU, plus Courtney Leffel recorded 15 digs. On the WSU side, McKenna Woodford and Taylor Mims had 11 and 10 kills, while Ashley Brown tossed 32 assists.

“Last season, not winning a single Pac-12 game,” Ford said, “then coming off a win like Oregon and coming home, we have to show everyone who is a Devil fan, we just need to simplify, play smart and hard volleyball.”

ASU won its first five matches this season and dropped the conference opener at Arizona, 3-0, prior to the wins over California, Oregon State and Oregon. The next game will be at noon on Sunday at home against No. 15 Washington, the school Tomasevic led to a national title as a player in 2005.

“We need to stick to our blocking assignments,” Megan Beedie said. “Everything we scouted out, we need to stick to that.”


Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Eno Benjamin's Record Breaking Night Sparks Arizona State Win!

Jeff Demers

The Arizona State Sun Devils have taken a Jekyll and Hyde approach to the season so far as they started out playing extremely well against opponents at home, but then looked completely different on the road.  After a big victory against (then 15th ranked) Michigan State at home, the Sun Devils then took to the road, losing back-to-back games to San Diego State, and 10th ranked Washington Huskies.

Even though both losses were only by a touchdown a piece, the offense struggled and at most times seemed to not have any type of identity.  But now they were back home, where they were 2-0.

Enter Eno Benjamin.

Eno Benjamin gets 312 yards rushing, 3 TDs
With the Arizona State Sun Devils returning home on Saturday night, badly in need of a win, the 5'10" 210lb. Sophomore stepped up in a big way!  But at first, as the Arizona State offense took the field on their first possession, it looked like Herm Edwards wanted to come out with a
good mix of run and pass.  And that's what was shown with 6 passes and 9 rushes, including an 11-yard scramble by quarterback Manny Wilkins.  The Sun Devils would stall on the Oregon State 12-yard line after Eno Benjamin would be stopped on a 3rd and 2 run play.  Benjamin would finish with 23 yards rushing on the Sun Devils first drive as they opted for the field goal to go up 3-0.

Oregon State would be forced to punt on their first possession after only gaining a total of 7 yards on 6 plays.  Their leading rusher, Jermar Jefferson would have 10 yards rushing on his first drive as well.  But the Beavers offense was shut down by Arizona State after a sack and 8-yard loss by Malik Lawal.

The Sun Devils would get the ball back on their own 43, where Eno Benjamin would really start to heat up.  He would start the drive with rushes of 5 and 8 yards, but after an incomplete pass by Wilkins, Benjamin broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run, giving the Sun Devils an early 10-0 lead over the Beavers.

On Oregon State's next possession, the Sun Devils defense would once again get to Conor Blount with a combined sack by Jalen Bates and Merlin Robertson.  This would bring up a 2nd and 18.  Jermar Jefferson would get 9 of those yards on the ground for the Beavers, but they would be forced to punt once again.

ASU would receive the ball again after a punt on their own 38.  Eno Benjamin would again do his thing on this drive with runs of 2 (for a first down), 9, 20, and then capped it off by receiving a touchdown pass from Wilkins for an 8-yard score, giving the Sun Devils a 17-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter.

Jermar Jefferson ran for 254 yards, 2 TDs on 31 rushes
Oregon State, badly in need of some offense, any offense, would lean on their starting running back Jermar Jefferson once again.  Jefferson would get the ball seven times on the Beavers drive, with runs of 12, 21, 2, 3, 3, 5, and 3 yards.  This would push the ball down the field enough to allow Oregon State to get on the board with a Jordan Choukair 36-yard field goal, making the score 17-3.

Arizona State would respond with the Eno Benjamin show as the four play, 75-yard scoring drive was highlighted by runs of 21 yards (to start the drive), and 47-yards to score the touchdown.  This gave Arizona State a commanding 24-3 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter.

The Beavers would respond with a 75-yard drive of their own, capped off by Jefferson on the drive's last 3 plays with runs of 15, 6, and 11 yards.  This score cut down ASU's lead to 24-10.

After forcing an ASU punt, the Beavers would again drive down field, using Jefferson to complete two 3rd down plays, and he also would cap the drive off with another nice touchdown run of 27-yards.  This brought Oregon State to within one score of the Sun Devils.  It was also becoming apparent that this game was becoming a track meet between Jefferson and Benjamin.

With only 1:02 remaining in the half, Arizona State would get the ball on their own 25.  And then the Sun Devils took to the air.  Benjamin would have two receptions on the drive of 5 and 14 yards, but it was capped off by a nice pass from Wilkins to Williams for the 19-yard score with just :14 remaining on the clock.  This gave the Sun Devils a 31-17 lead heading into the half.

Coming out of the half, the Sun Devils defense would force a punt by the Beavers, and the ASU offense would drive down field for their first score of the 2nd half, with Wilkins finding N'Keal Harry for the 6-yard touchdown.  This gave ASU a 38-17 lead over the Beavers.

But the Oregon State Beavers would not simply lay down as they scored on their next possession, which included a big run by Jermar Jefferson of 47 yards.  OSU would score on a 6-yard pass by Blount to Noah Togiai, bringing the score to 38-24.

But that would be the last time the Beavers offense would reach the end zone on the night as ASU's defense would lock them down the remaining quarter and a half.

ASU's offense, on the other hand, would poor it on with two more scoring drives.  The first of the three drives would again be highlighted by Benjamin with rushes of 15, 22, 23, and a touchdown run of 10 yards, pushing the ASU lead to 45-24.

Devil's offense scores 52 points in Pac12 victory
And the second drive would be started off with Benjamin runs of 4, 5, and 19 yards.  This gave Eno Benjamin the overall Arizona State single-game rushing record of 312 yards to go along with his 3 rushing touchdowns.  He also added 27 yards receiving and a touchdown reception.  The final score came on a 47-yard pass from Manny Wilkins to N'Keal Harry, bringing the final to 52-24.

Jermar Jefferson would finish the game for the Oregon State Beavers with a nice 254 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 31 rushes.

Up next for the Arizona State Sun Devils another big road test against 21st ranked Colorado. That game is a day game, starting at 1:00 AZ time.