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.”

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. 

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.

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.