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.