December 6, 2019
By Scott Mammoser
TEMPE, Ariz. – Coming home from the Gulf Coast Showcase, the
Arizona State women’s basketball team fought with BYU for 25 minutes, until an
offensive outpouring led the Sun Devils to a 60-52 win.
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| ASU defeats BYU 60-52 |
“I thought that was a good team win,” said Charli Turner
Thorne, who earned her 450th win as coach of the Sun Devils. “We
were struggling offensively, and we had great looks, we were just rushing. We
went in at halftime, saying we could not be any worse offensively. I think we
knew were going to come out and be a lot better.”
BYU (3-3) kept the Sun Devils (6-2) off the board for the
game’s first five minutes and jumped to a 12-4 lead and one of 16-10 after the
first quarter. Taya Hanson opened the second with a three, and an Iris Mbulito
jumper from the foul line put the Sun Devils in the lead at 17-16. BYU regained
its composure and enjoyed a 23-17 halftime advantage. The Cougars outscored
ASU, 14-6, in the paint at the time, although a majority of its points came
from guards Paisley Johnson and Brenna Drollinger, 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-8.
“We were taking shots early in the shot clock, which is not
something we do,” Turner Thorne added. “Clearly, we are a work in progress with
a very young team. I am proud of them for fighting.”
The Cougars opened the second half on a 6-0 run and another
Sun Devils’ timeout. Threes from Reili Richardson on two different possessions
twice sent ASU into the driver’s seat, then another big Richardson shot from
downtown made it 39-33. ASU outscored BYU 24-10 in the third and 24-4 after the
timeout. The closest BYU would ever be again would be after a three pointer cut
the lead to two with 26 seconds left.
“Our offense was a little shaky in the first half and I look
to be aggressive,” said Richardson, who finished with 15 points. “I practice
shooting every day, and I can knock down those shots. I just looked to shoot
the ball when I was open.”
Ja’Tavia Tapley scored 11 points with a career-high five
assists to go along with her 18 rebounds (14 on the defensive), which were the
most by a Sun Devil in the past 20 years.
“Preparing for this game, we knew they were going to be
bigger,” Tapley said. “We are a smaller team than most teams in the Pac-12, so
that was something we focused on. I concentrated more on that (rebounding) than
scoring; my shot was not dropping.”
Johnson ended with 18 points for BYU, and Drollinger scored
14 with eight rebounds. The Cougars previously lost to Pac-12 teams Washington
State and Utah, and they have another big matchup with No. 5 Oregon State on
Dec. 19 in Maui. Their next game will be at Boise State on Dec. 11.
ASU has another home game this weekend, when it tips off
with Idaho State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, then plays New Mexico at the same time at
Desert Financial Arena on Dec. 14.
“If you look at our schedule, every team left will probably
be fighting for its conference championship,” Turner Thorne said.
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