Sun Devils obliterate Lobos behind Richardson’s career high

December 14, 2019

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Reili Richardson scored a career-best 21 points to lead the Arizona State women’s basketball team to an 84-47 win over New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.

Richardson’s previous best was 18 at Florida State two years ago, and she eclipsed the mark with a three pointer that opened a 20-point lead with three minutes to go in the third.

ASU Crushes New Mexico 84-47

“My teammates have helped me all four years,” said Richardson, who was 5-of-10 from three-point range. “They make the shots, I pass them. We were in a better flow today, and when we get better looks, we make our shots.”

The Sun Devils (8-2) found a quick start and double-figure lead after the first quarter (22-9), something that was missing in its previous two games, rally wins over BYU and Idaho State. ASU led 32-23 at the half, with Richardson already scoring 12, two from downtown. While Richardson rested on the bench for most of the second half, it was a great opportunity for Sara Bejedi, the freshman from Finland, who notched 13 of her personal-high 16 points off the bench in the second half.

“It’s our way of just playing fast,” Bejedi said of the style of play on Saturday. “I came in with a great mindset today, and my team was great. I chose to be positive and focus on the next shot and not the missed shot.”

In addition, ASU forward Ja’Tavia Tapley pulled in another double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Kiara Russell grabbed eight rebounds with five assists. Jordan Hosey led the Lobos (7-4) with nine points. The Sun Devils were 10-of-31 from downtown for the game, and they kept the Lobos to 0-of-18 from long range.

“I’m very proud of our team, we really put it together today,” ASU Coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We made the extra pass a little better in the second half, and it’s something to build on. Hopefully, there’s no looking back for Reili Richardson because she’s one of our best shooters. It loosens up a little bit of everything.”

ASU was fifth in the also receiving votes category of the coaches’ poll this week (30^th) and eighth in the AP Poll (33^rd overall).

Next up for both teams will be the New Mexico State Aggies, with the Lobos hosting at 7 p.m.  Monday in Albuquerque, then the Sun Devils travel to Las Cruces at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. UNM and ASU then play hosts for Big East opponents, Providence (7 p.m., Wednesday in Albuquerque) and Creighton (2 p.m., Friday at Tempe).

The Lobos started the season 6-0, with wins over Houston and Missouri, before losses to West Virginia, Boise State and Wyoming. The program appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments from 1998 to 2008, but it has been absent from the Big Dance since.

Sun Devils need overtime to pull away from Idaho State

December 8, 2019

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State erased a six-point halftime deficit and survived some unique three-point shots to defeat Idaho State, 74-69, in overtime on Sunday.

It was the second tough game this weekend, as the Sun Devils had grinded out a 60-52 comeback win over BYU on Friday.

“I’m proud that we toughed it out,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “There is a lot of inconsistency on both sides of the ball. They were banking in threes and hitting shots they didn’t hit all year. Discredit us for letting them do it. It’s hard when we don’t know our play book, and our younger kids don’t know our playbook.”

ASU wins in OT 74-69 over Idaho State

The Sun Devils hit a free throw in the final seconds of the first quarter to take an 18-17 lead following a tight-knit period. ISU guard Diaba Konate and ASU’s Robbi Ryan each scored eight in the first period. Two minutes into the second, Ryan went down with an injury and did not return. ISU guard Dora Goles scored 10 of her 26 points in the second, none more impressive than her three pointer while falling backwards with 30 seconds left to put ISU ahead, 35-29, at the half.

Mirroring the BYU win, where the Sun Devils trailed 23-17 at the half and by as many as 12, the team rallied back in the third, moving ahead, 46-43. The Bengals never went away, with Callie Bourne’s three cutting the lead to 56-54 with three and a half minutes to play. Goles tied it at 56-56 two minutes later. Reili Richardson then put ASU back ahead with a three at the one-minute mark. Bourne then tossed up a one-handed prayer with 12.8 seconds on the clock that tied it again. The Sun Devils owned ISU in overtime, keeping it off the board for the first three and a half minutes.

“We knew that was our game, so we needed to be the more aggressive team in overtime,” said ASU guard Kiara Russell, who scored a career-high 14 points. “We needed to do the little things and be there for each other. Running our offense was key for us.”

Ja’Tavia Tapley led ASU with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Bourne and Konate finished with 13 a piece for ISU, and Goles was 5-of-7 from downtown.

Prior to its game with the Sun Devils, all of ISU’s wins were by at least 20 points, most recently an 88-61 win at Utah Valley on Dec. 3. The two losses were to power conference teams Oklahoma State and Duke by 18 and 19. It is next at home to face California Baptist on Dec. 16, and after a trip to Utah State on Dec. 19, the Big Sky Conference season begins. The Bengals last won the league title in 2012.

The Sun Devils will return to action at home at 2 p.m. on Saturday against the New Mexico Lobos.

Tapley’s 18 rebounds and Richardson’s three from downtown move ASU ahead of BYU in third quarter

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.

ASU defeats BYU 60-52

“I thought that was a good team win,” said Charli Turner Thorne, who earned her 450^th 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.

Sun Devil volleyball wraps up home slate with decisive loss to Trojans

November 27, 2019

Sun Devil volleyball wraps up home slate with decisive loss to Trojans

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State women’s volleyball team could not sustain a 2-1 lead and concluded its home schedule with a five-set loss to USC on Wednesday to fall  to 16-13 and 8-10 in the Pacific-12 Conference.

ASU loses to USC falling to 16-13 and 8-10 in Pac-12 play 

The Trojans (16-12, 10-8 Pac-12) captured the opening set, 25-19, although the Sun Devils did rally back to make the ending more interesting. ASU saved three set points in winning the second, 30-28, and each team faulted on a potentially-winning serve. The momentum carried into the third set, with the Sun Devils leading throughout and opening up a 25-20 victory. It was the opposite in the fourth, with USC jumping on a 15-5 lead and another 25-19 win. USC continued to take charge and posted an 8-3 advantage as the teams changed sides, before running away with a 15-5 fifth and deciding set.

“It’s a tough way to end the season at home, not the way we wanted to perform,” ASU coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “It’s like working through the weaknesses and getting mentally tougher too. My hope is to continue improving. We have room to improve, you can tell from this match. I haven’t seen them this sad after a match in a long time.”

This was Tomasevic’s third season with the program, improving from 10-22, (0-20 Pac-12) to 14-18 and 5-15 in 2018 and now over .500 and on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. She added that a win over a top-50 team like USC would have really helped her team’s chances. The Sun Devils collected two wins over a ranked Washington State team, most recently at home on Nov. 21, likely their two biggest wins of the season.

Khalia Lanier, the former National High School Player of the Year at Scottsdale’s Xavier Prep and the daughter of Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, was stellar for USC on Wednesday with 33 kills.

“We knew her tendencies,” Tomasevic said of Lanier, “but she’s a great player and blocks shots. She was hitting deeper and harder. She’s not afraid to take big swings. I’m glad I’m not going to be watching her from the opposing side anymore.”

Ivana Jeremic led the Sun Devils with 16 kills in her final match at Desert Financial Arena, with Andrea Mitrovic adding 15 and Jada Burse 11. The Sun Devils have one more match, at Arizona at noon on Saturday and won the previous match with the Wildcats in Tempe in September, 3-0.

Territorial Cup Stays in Tempe Another Year

Mike Stockman
Photos by Keenan Wright

Tempe, AZ - The Arizona State University Sun Devils hosted the University of Arizona Wildcats in the 93rd Duel in the Desert on Saturday, November 30, 2019 at Sun Devil Stadium. The Devils defeated the Wildcats 24-14 to keep the oldest rivalry trophy known as the Territorial Cup for another year in Tempe.

In a traditional battle in the desert that's proven to be a game in which season statistics make no difference and the underdog typically prevails, fans and players gave it their all with big hits, big plays, and fun for all ages.

In the first quarter, both teams fought valiantly to get a score, but even a missed field goal left the fans wondering who would get on the board first.

Zendejas scored 10 points in 24-14 victory over Wildcats

The second quarter proved to be more exciting than the first as the Devils got on the board first with a Christian Zendejas field goal from 33 yards. He added another field goal to close out the half from 24 yards, allowing the Wildcats to lead 7-6 at the half.

The Wildcats scored mid-way through the second quarter to take the lead going into the half on a 48 yard touchdown pass from Khalil Tate to Jamarye Joiner.

Statistically, the Wildcats led in all areas at the half, with a total offense 220 to the Devils' 146 total offense.  The Wildcats converted 6-11 third-downs to 1-7 for the Devils.

In the third quarter, Eno Benjamin crossed the goal line twice, once from six yards and once from one yard to put the Devils on top 21-7.  Benjamin would be named Most Valuable Player of the game, ending the night - possibly his last in Sun Devil Stadium - with 168 yards rushing, two touchdowns, and finished the season breaking 1000 yards.

Eno Benjamin earns MVP, scores twice in victory over Wildcats

The Devils defense stepped up during the third quarter producing two interceptions on the Wildcats' side of the field, which set up the drives in which Benjamin scored.

The fourth quarter was owned by the Devils, who were able t score another Zendejas field goal with 7:16 left. The Wildcats finished the scoring for the game on a two yard touchdown pass from Tate to Joiner with less than five minutes left in the game.

The Devils would finish the game in the victory formation and the victory 24-14. 

The Wildcats finished their season 4-8, 2-7 Pac-12. This was Kevin Sumlin's second year as Arizona's Head Coach, who now has a record of 9-15 leading the Wildcats.

The Devils are waiting to hear which bowl game they will be playing after finishing the
regular season 7-5, 4-5 Pac-12.