Sun Devils complete sweep of military academies, with win over Army

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE – Coach Charli Turner Thorne said she wanted her team to play a more up-tempo style of offense this season, and through the No. 18 Arizona State women’s basketball team’s first two games, her game plan has lived up to its billing.

The Sun Devils scored 34 points off turnovers to defeat Army West Point on Sunday, 83-51, and improve to 2-0. Celebrating Veteran’s Day this week, it was the second time in five days that ASU hosted one of the military academies, coming up victorious against Air Force, 87-56, in its season opener on Tuesday.

#18 ASU improves to 2-0 on the season

“We got better from Tuesday to tonight, we rebounded better,” Turner Thorne said. “We’re clearly young and not sustaining tome things. We could have got to triple digits possibly. I thought everybody got more consistent today. Air Force and Army are tough and athletic, and I love their fight and relentlessness. I didn’t think our perimeter shooting showed up as much as I wanted it to (4-of-21), everybody on the team can shoot.”

At halftime, ASU poised a 48-27 advantage, which is a score we might have seen at the end of the third quarter in years past. A balanced attack, three Sun Devils scored at least eight points at the time, while Lindsey Scamman of Army had all 12 of her team-high points in the first half. The ASU bench actually scored 51 points, which equaled Army’s team total.

Ja’Tavia Tapley, the USC transfer, led the Sun Devils with 18 points in the game.

“I’m glad to be able to bring that to this team,” Tapley said, “to make a difference after not being able to do so the past couple years.”

Jayde Van Hyfte and Robbi Ryan each added 12 points, with Van Hyfte including 10 rebounds in her double-double, while it was the season debut for the previously-injured Ryan, who played 15 minutes.

“It was really fun to be back,” Ryan said. “It’s always fun to be with my teammates.”

ASU will be at No. 23 Minnesota and second-year head coach Lindsay Whalen on Nov. 17, then travels to the Florida Gulf Coast Showcase, beginning with a game against Maine on Nov. 29. The next matchup at Desert Financial Arena will be with BYU at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6.

Stewart Friesen Gets Checkered Flag at Lucas Oil 150

November 8, 2019
Mike Stockman
Photos By Keenan Wright

Friesen wins Lucas Oil 150

Phoenix, AZ - Stewart Friesen won his second of 70 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races when he crossed the finish line at ISM Raceway's 25th Annual Lucas Oil 150 on November 8, 2019.

Friesen, age 36, driver for car No. 52 owned by Halmar Friesen Racing and Crew Chief Trip Bruce, won his second victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2019 after being penalized for jumping the start.

This was Friesen's fourth race at ISM Raceway.  He finished top-10 in three of the four races, including this victory.

Friesen started the race in position 2. At the end of stage one, he slipped to the ninth position. By lap 90, end of stage two, he climbed back up to the fourth position, taking the checkered flag after leading 44 laps, which earned him 49 points putting him in next weekend's Championship 4.

Friesen won his second Truck Series race in 2019

Sun Devils fly away from Air Force in second half to open season

November 5, 2019

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE – The Arizona State women’s basketball team opened its quest for a seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth with an 87-56 win over Air Force at the newly-named Desert Financial Arena on Tuesday. The Sun Devils are ranked 18^th in the nation and return senior guards Robbi Ryan and Reili Richardson from last season’s 22-11 team that fell to Mississippi State in the Sweet 16, although Ryan is in the latter stages of nursing an injury.

Reili Richardson Starts Senior Year Quest 

“The first half was had the classic first game jitters,” said senior forward Jamie Ruden, who scored 14 points. “At halftime, we said to relax and be disciplined, and that carried over to the second half.”

After opening with a 40-29 lead at halftime, the Sun Devils exhausted the Falcons with an increased tempo of play that head coach Charli Turner Thorne said she would like to incorporate. That is a contradiction to her traditionally defense-focused style of play.

“The way we’re playing this year, in the second half, we want to wear teams down,” Turner Thorne said. “The guards need to rebound this year, and then we will play faster. All of our new kids, even the sophomores, did not play as well as they practiced, they were nervous.”

Sara Bejedi, the freshman guard from Finland, who scored 16 points per game in the World University Games this summer, debuted for ASU with 12 points and three assists. Fellow freshmen Eboni Walker and Sydnei Caldwell donned the maroon and gold for the first time on Tuesday, as well as Ja’Tavia Tapley, a 6-foot-3 graduate transfer from USC. Tapley scored 11 and grabbed eight rebounds, while Jayde Van Hyfte scored 12.

Kamri Heath, a 5-foot-7 freshman from Oklahoma, scored 12 in the first half and finished with 16 points in her first career game at Air Force. Emily Conroe added 12 points and eight rebounds, as well.

ASU will host a second military institution when Army visits Tempe at 5 p.m. MT on Sunday, before a road trip takes the Sun Devils to No. 23 Minnesota on Nov. 17.

The Falcons, who were 8-22 and 10^th of 11 teams in the Mountain West Conference last year, will next face NJIT at home on Friday. The Sun Devils were the only ranked opponent on the Falcons’ schedule this season, but there is a game at Tennessee on Dec. 1. Boise State is heavily-favorited to win the Mountain West this campaign.

Sun Devils close home soccer season with 1-0 loss to Oregon

By Scott Mammoser

October 27, 2019

TEMPE – Ally Cook scored in the 16^th minute to lift the Oregon Ducks to a 1-0 win over Arizona State in the Sun Devils’ home finale on Sunday.

The goal was Cook’s fifth of the season, off a pass from Chardonnay Curran, as Oregon improved to 5-6-5 and 1-5-2 in the Pac-12 Conference. ASU is now 6-8-3 and 0-6-2 in the league, with three matches remaining.

Ducks score in the 16th minute to win 1-0 over the Devils

The Sun Devils had some great opportunities to equalize in the final 10 minutes, with Callie Darst smacking the post at 89:30, but luck was not on their side.

“We need to improve our decision making in the backfield and give the goalkeeper some protection as well,” ASU coach Graham Winkworth said. “Callie hitting the post sums up our season. We’re not where we are because of luck, but we could have used some today.”

Giulia Cascapera made six saves for ASU, while Katelyn Carter made four for the Ducks. 

Sunday also meant Senior Day festivities for the Sun Devils, who will graduate Sydney Day, Christina Edwards, Kylie Miniefield, Adriana Orozco, and Lorato Sargeant.

“The team definitely welcomed me in and supported me on and off the field,” said Sargeant, who is a master’s student and Virginia transfer. “I really made an impact. We can help kind of swing things in these final three games. We need a lot of grit and to be aggressive on the ball. We had that in some games and not in others, and that hurt us.”

The Sun Devils will be at No. 2 Stanford (13-1) at 5 p.m. on Thursday, at California on Nov. 3 and Arizona on Nov. 8. The Ducks will host No. 7 USC on Thursday and No.18 UCLA on Nov.3 before closing the year at rival Oregon State on Nov. 7. The win on Sunday was the Ducks’ first since defeating Buffalo, 2-1, on Sept. 22. At 12-0-3, Virginia is ranked No.1 in the nation, as the Cavaliers look to add to the national titles they captured in men’s basketball and lacrosse this spring.

The Devils Thriller Comeback Over the Cougars

Article by Mike Stockman
Photos by Keenan Wright

TEMPE, AZ (October 12, 2019) - On a fall afternoon in the heart of the valley of the sun, the temperature touched 86 degrees before the Arizona State University Sun Devils took the field to defeat PAC-12 rival Washington State Cougars by a score of 38-34 at Sun Devil Stadium on a last minute scramble by a true-freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels on October 12, 2019.

To start the game, the Cougars hi-octane passing offense scored in five plays on a pass of 35 yards by Anthony Gordon to wide open Travell Harris.

The Cougars added a field goal in the first quarter, which extended the lead to 10-0 going into the second quarter. Gordon ended the first quarter with 111 yards passing, 11-17 completions, and one touchdown pass for the Cougars. He would finish the game with 44 of 64 completions, 466 yards passing, and three touchdown passes.

After a Devils scoreless first quarter, the Devils scored on a 40 yard touchdown pass from  Daniels to Brandon Aiyuk, the first of three touchdown passes between the teammates, bringing the score to 10-7 Cougars with 11:50 left in the half.

The Cougars responded with a 87 yard, three minute-thirty seconds drive, scoring a touchdown from Gordon to another wide open receiver Dezmon Patmon, extending the lead to 17-7 in front of a stunned Devil student section.

With less than two minutes left in the half, Devils' Daniels connects with Aiyuk for an 86 yard touchdown sprint, the longest of Daniels and Aiyuks' college career, making the score 17-14. After stopping the Cougars' next drive, the Devils get the ball and drive down inside field goal range, allowing Christian Zendejas to use his skillful foot to tie game up before the end of the half 17-17.

On the first drive of the second half, Eno Benjamin scored on a 32 yard touchdown run, which put the Devils on top 24-17.

With a little over five and a half minutes left in the third quarter, Cougars' Gordon and Easop Winston connect on a slant route over the middle for a  two yard touchdown, tying the score 24-24.

Before the clock ran out on the third quarter, the Cougars pound it into the end zone on a two yard run up the middle to take the lead 31-24.

Aiyuk scored his third touchdown of the game on a 33 yard pass from Daniels, tying to game 31-31 with 11:19 left on the game clock. Aiyuk would finish the game 196 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

The Cougars took the lead 34-31 with 2:30 left the game on a 31 yard field goal by Blake Mazza.

For the second time this season, the Devils come from behind when the freshman leader Daniels does a helicopter into the end zone on a 17 yard scramble to put the Devils up 38-34 with less than 40 seconds left in the game.  Daniels passed for 363 yards and three touchdowns, earning him a quarterback rating of 184.4 for the game.

The Devils defense held on and were able to shutdown the Cougars impressive passing game finishing the game with the victory by a score of 38-34.

The Cougars host PAC-12 rival Colorado at home on October 19, at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

The #18 Devils travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to take on the Utes on October 19, at 3 p.m. for a PAC-12 conference match-up.

Douglas equalizes in 75th minute, as ASU draws with CSUN

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – After several missed chances, Nicole Douglas scored on a penalty kick in the 75^th minute to bring the Arizona State soccer team to a 1-1 tie with CSUN (California State University at Northridge) on Friday. Sun Devils forward Marleen Schimmer was taken down on a breakaway, paving the way for the English sophomore Douglas to take the free kick.

“I just got to put this in the back of the net,” Douglas said of what she was thinking during the free kick. “It meant so much to me and the team that I needed to score. I try not to look at the keeper.”

ASU ties 1-1 with CSUN

The Matadors opened the scoring in the 48^th minute, when Kacie Garrity sailed her first goal of the season over ASU goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera. Just minutes later, CSUN has another great opportunity, when Alexis White stole the ball in the crease, but Bethany Fitzsimmons could not control the pass for a shot. The Sun Devils had a chance to win it in the 88^th minute, when Taylor Culver set up Schimmer, but her blast went high over the net. In total, ASU outshot CSUN 22-7, with Amanda Delgado making five saves for the Matadors, and controlled for 63 percent of the possessions.

“I’m happy with the performance,” ASU coach Graham Winkworth said. “We controlled the front to back, and we had the sense of urgency to win the game, rather than get the point. Once we equalized, I thought there was only one team trying to win the game. We need to be more clinical in front of the goal. We’re in a good place and playing some decent soccer.”

The Sun Devils (6-2-1) open the Pac-12 Conference schedule at 2 p.m. next Friday, Sept. 27, hosting Utah. CSUN (5-1-3) is at Grand Canyon at 1 p.m. on Sunday and plays games at home against Pepperdine and Denver before opening the Big West season on Oct. 3 in Hawaii.

Mercury’s regular season ends with loss to Aces

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX – Over the past few seasons, the Phoenix Mercury has been at its best during the first two single elimination rounds of the playoffs, and after a 98-89 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, the team can now focus on that.

The Mercury (15-19) was already locked into the eight seed before the game, while the Aces (21-13) were tied with Chicago for the fourth seed and final first round bye. As the No.1 Washington Mystics beat the Sky, 100-86, Phoenix heads to Chicago (20-14) for the first round game on Wednesday night.

Brittney Griner was a beast in the first quarter, with 13 points and the shot with the clock expiring that gave the Mercury a 27-25 lead to conclude the period. Scoreless and limited to three minutes in the second with foul trouble, Griner added 10 more points in the third, as the Mercury cut a 27-21 halftime deficit to 76-75. Liz Cambage, who was on an exercise bike during the first half, recorded 11 of her 21 points in the third quarter for the Aces.

“The effort was definitely there,” Griner said. “We couldn’t get the win, but it’s a good game for us to go into the playoffs. Whoever steps on that court, we know we need to beat them.”

DeWanna Bonner, who scored 14 points with eight rebounds, sent the Mercury to an 89-87 lead from the free throw line with three minutes on the clock, but those would be the final baskets for Phoenix, as the Aces cruised to an 11-0 run to finish and won 98-89.

“We had consistent effort tonight for most of the game,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said, “and I was happy with that, but not the result. Briann January:  a really great offensive game for her (14 points). We know she’s great defensively, but she made good decisions with the ball. I thought for the most part, we did a pretty good job today.”

After playing for five consecutive games, Diana Taurasi was out of the lineup for the second time this weekend with a hamstring injury, although Coach Brondello said she might be back for the playoff game on Wednesday. Griner also added that Taurasi being on the bench was an advantage with her knowledge of the game.

A’ja Wilson scored 20 points for the Aces, while Dearica Hamby (12) and Kelsey Plum (10) also scored in double figures. The Mercury is 6-0 in the first two rounds since the league instituted the single elimination playoff format in 2016, including 4-0 on the road. Chicago was 3-0 versus the Mercury this season, with wins of seven points, eight points, and most recently, 105-78 on Sept. 1.