Devils Upset the Spartans with last second field goal

Mike Stockman

Tempe, AZ (September 8, 2018) The Arizona State University Sun Devils hosted the Michigan State Spartans in Game 2 of the 2018 season.  This was the third time these teams have met with the last game played in 1986.

In the first quarter, the Devils were able to hold the Spartans to 102 yards, allowing a 37  yard field goal.

In the second quarter, the Devils intercepted the Spartans in the end zone, but were unable to capitalize on the turn over.

With less than a minute left in the half, Wilkins dropped back and tossed a high throw over the middle, which was intercepted by the Spartans - ending the drive and any hopes of the Devils tying up a Spartan 3-0 lead before half time.  

In the third quarter, the Spartans drove the length of the field and kicked a 28 yard field goal making the lead 6-0 with 9:37 left in the quarter.

After a solid drive, the Devils were held to kicking a 49 yard field goal, making the score 6-3 in favor of the Spartans.

Spartans score on a 31 yard touchdown pass with 1:27 left in the quarter.

The Devils end the quarter with a 22 yard reception at the Spartans' 7 yard line but were unable to punch it in. They settle for a 24 yard field goal, 13-6 Spartan lead.

With 8:45 left in the game, Wilkins hits Harry for a 27 yard touchdown pass, tying the game 13-13.

Back to back sacks puts Spartans in a very long 3rd down, giving the Devils the ball back with 5:36 left on the clock.

The Devils take the ball, slowly march down the field getting first down after first down until 
lining ball up at the 10 yard line for a last second, 28 yard game winning field goal.

The Spartans next game is on September 22 at Indiana.

The Devils travel to San Diego for their first away game of the season to take on San Diego State University. Kick-off is at 7:30 pm and can be viewed on CBSSN. 

Mercury makes history with comeback win in Game Four of semifinals

By Scott Mammoser

The Phoenix Mercury erased a 16-point Seattle Storm lead in the third quarter on Sunday, to pull out an 86-84 win and became the first team in WNBA history to force a decisive game of a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2. Game Five will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Seattle.

Mercury come from behind to force game five in Seattle

The top-seeded Storm came ready to play in Game Four, with a chance to return to the Finals for the first time since winning the 2010 title. Contrast to Friday’s 17-6 Mercury opening lead in Game Three, the Storm began the game on a 22-8 run, with league MVP Breanna Stewart leading the way.

Storm guard Sue Bird was bleeding after being hit in the face left midway through the second quarter and did not return. The Storm led 53-42 at halftime, despite Brittney Griner already pouring in 19 of her 29 points and grabbing seven of her 12 rebounds. Alysha Clark’s three two minutes into the third made it 60-44, and it seemed like the dagger, until Phoenix staged its comeback.  Diana Taurasi cut the lead to five with an off-balance three and two seconds to play in the third. Camille Little, who won a title with the Storm in 2010, scored to open the fourth, and the Mercury soon found itself trailing by only one. Griner knotted it at 76-76 at the six-minute mark, and DeWanna Bonner gave the Mercury the lead from the line on the next possession. Natasha Howard tied it at 84-84 for Seattle with 35 ticks on the clock, and Bonner grabbed her own offensive rebound and found Griner for the go-ahead basket at the 14-second spot. Out of the timeout, the Storm couldn’t get off a shot on its final possession, and the series shifts back to Seattle.

“We protected our house,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said, “and it went right down to the wire. We’re very excited to play a fifth game. I moved DeWanna Bonner to the three (which was the key to the comeback), she had been great in the four, but she’s been so aggressive. Camille came in and did a great job on Stewie (Breanna Stewart). Hopefully, everyone’s on board. We were not in plays like we should have been in that first half. We had to stay to what our philosophy is and being active and a sense of urgency.”

In addition to Griner’s double-double, Bonner scored 27 with eight rebounds, while Taurasi scored 16.

“We just regrouped and we’re not ready to go home yet,” Bonner said. “With 20 minutes to play, we could give it all we got, or we could go home tomorrow. We just wanted it a little more. They lost a big piece of their puzzle (Bird), and they only lost by two points, so it says a lot about them. They are going to bring it, I felt like they brought it today, it’s hard coming back from all of those leads, it shows a lot of character and heart. Nobody wants to go home.”

Stewart led the Storm with 22 points, Howard added 14 and Clark 13. Jewell Loyd, who has owned the Mercury in recent years, responded from an uncharacteristic 1-of-10 night on Friday and opened the first quarter 3-of-3. She ended 4-of-12 for 11 points.

“We put ourselves in some tough situations,” Stewart said. “The ball got a little stagnant, and those lulls don’t help us when we’re playing a team like Phoenix. Being under the basket with BG on you is a tough shot, but still I should have gotten a shot off on the last possession of the game. We got a little rushed and forced and lost the rhythm of what we normally play.”

The Washington Mystics defeated the Atlanta Dream, 97-76, in Game Four of the other WNBA semifinal series in D.C. to set up a decisive Game Five at 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday in Atlanta.

The Devils Start season with penalty ridden win over Roadrunners

Mike Stockman

Tempe, Arizona (September 1, 2018) - The Arizona State University Sun Devils began the 2018 season at home, hosting University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners on Saturday night with the temperature at kick-off cooling off to 99 degrees - one of the warmest season opener games ever played in UTSA history.

The Devils scored quick on the fourth play of the game when senior QB Manny Wilkins connected with junior WR N'Keal Harry for a 58 yard touchdown strike up the middle.

Wilkins earned a 204.6 passer rating with 4 TDs, 237 yards

The Devils defense followed with the next score when on second down for the Roadrunners, sophomore DE Shannon Forman rambled down the sideline for a 25 yard interception.  With less than 2 minutes into the season, the Devils led 14-0 over the Roadrunners.

After one quarter of play, the Devils had six penalties totaling 40 yards but were able to rack up 168 total yards in offense for the quarter to the Roadrunners' 53 yards.

In the second quarter, the Devils' DB Jalen Harvey was ejected for targeting when Roadrunner quarterback Cordale Grundy slid for a first down, giving the Devils their seventh penalty of the game.  

With 4:26 left in the first half, sophomore Eno Benjamin scored on a three yard run up the middle putting the Devils up 21-0.

With less than a minute left in the half on the Roadrunners 10 yard line, Wilkins scrambled to his left and hit Terrel Chatman in the back of the end zone, increasing the lead to 28-0.

Devils Defense scored once and allowed 2 yards rushing 

In the third quarter, the Devils put together a six play drive that took 3:01 off the clock and finished with a seven yard touchdown pass to Eno Benjamin. The Devils lead extended to 35-0. 

The Devils added to the score when Harry caught a pass on the left sideline of the field and ran back to the right dodging around defenders for 31 yards, scoring his second touchdown reception of the game which gave the Devils a 42-0 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Devils Isaiah Floyd scored his first touchdown as a Devil on a five yard run bumping the score to 49-0 with 11:39 left in the game.

The Roadrunners get on the board with 6:03 left in the game after an eleven play, 75 yard drive that ended on a four yard touchdown run by B.J. Daniels.

Coach Herm Edwards' game face with first victory

The Devils finished the night winning 49-7 with 504 total yards offense while the defense held the Roadrunners to 220 total yards, shutting down the running game allowing two total rushing yards.

The Devils ended the night with 11 penalties totaling 95 yards to the Roadrunners 5 penalties for 29 yards.

The Roadrunners (0-1) head back to Texas to take on the Baylor Bears in San Antonio on September 8 at 6pm.

The Devils (1-0) host Michigan State on September 8 in Sun Devil Stadium.

Bonner and Turner push Mercury to fourth game against Storm

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX - Coming off of an overtime loss in Game Two, the Phoenix Mercury staved off elimination with an 86-66 win over the Seattle Storm in Game Three of the WNBA semifinals to force a fourth game at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

DeWanna Bonner piled in 27 points, Brittney Griner scored 21, and the surprise of the game was Yvonne Turner’s 19 to make up for Diana Taurasi’s uncharacteristic night of 3-of-11 shooting. Things were out of the ordinary on the other end, as well, with Sue Bird being held scoreless and Jewell Loyd shooting 1-of-10 for two points.

“It’s just been an unbelievable year,” Bonner said. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done is come back from having twins. We have one more, we can’t settle. We know they are going to come back and make adjustments.”

A little over four minutes into the game, Turner’s three put the Mercury up 17-6, and Phoenix was poised with a 26-16 advantage after the opening quarter, despite Taurasi being held scoreless. The Storm took the lead midway through the second, but it only lasted one possession. Bonner was 7-of-11 with 18 points at halftime, as the Mercury led 42-35.

Phoenix grabbed onto its lead during the third quarter, but after Griner was called for an illegal screen on Alysha Clark on midcourt, the team lost concentration and allowed Seattle back into the game, within one. Taurasi finally scored on a finger roll with 6:16 remaining, then added two more three pointers as the Mercury outscored the Storm in the fourth 26-10.

“I thought we were good in the games in Seattle, but we weren’t great,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “We weren’t executing the scout at times. Seattle’s a great team; if you don’t execute what you want to do, they will break you down. DeWanna’s always been a special player, she just continues to impress me. She is built like Diana and has that will to win. She loves challenges. She can defend anyone when she is locked in.”

Natasha Howard, the league’s Most Improved Player and an all-defensive first team selection, (as was Griner), led the Storm with 19 points, with 10 rebounds, while league MVP Breanna Stewart collected 15 and 11. Bird dished 11 assists, which were a playoff career best for her. Bonner and Griner tied Stewart with the game-high 11 rebounds.

“I think the biggest thing was, everyone knows we were up 2-0,” Stewart added, “and Phoenix being down 2-0 on its home court, and they didn’t want their season to be over.”

The Atlanta Dream won at the Washington Mystics, 81-76, to take a 2-1 series lead in the other semifinals series on Friday. Game Four will be on Sunday in Washington.

Mercury runs away from Wings in second half to open playoffs

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz.- Diana Taurasi was undefeated in winner-take-all elimination games with the Phoenix Mercury (12-0), and with 26 points and 12 assists on Tuesday, that  streak survived another test. Combined with DeWanna Bonner’s 29 points and 11 rebounds and Brittney Griner’s 17 points, the Mercury crushed the Dallas Wings, 101-83, in the opening game of the WNBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of Arizona State University.

Mercury advance to second round with win over the Wings

The Mercury will play the fourth-seeded Connecticut Sun in the second round, which is also single elimination at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner of that game will play either Seattle or Atlanta in a best-of-five semifinals series.

“I’m satisfied with the win,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “We had really good energy coming out of the locker room. We picked up aggressiveness on the defensive end. We have a team full of veterans and winners; it was more about being aggressive. We were too aggressive on the ball early on. She (Taurasi) just makes plays, that’s what the greatest scorer off all-time does, she just has that vision. She has to be right up there for the MVP in my opinion.”

After a Glory Johnson three cut Phoenix’s lead to one, Taurasi responded with one of her own with eight seconds to the break, and the Mercury carried a 53-49 edge. And wouldn’t you know it, on the opening possession of the second half, she buried another one for a seven-point lead. By the end of the third quarter, the Mercury built a 20-point lead and finished with a 79-64 lead advantage.

“We knew the circumstances today,” Taurasi said. “It’s been an up and down season for us, but at the core, we know we’re a really good team. At halftime, when you can make in-game adjustments like that, I think that shows the maturity of this team and the experience. Things can get overwhelming some times.”

For the game, the Mercury hammered the Wings from downtown, going 13-of-29, as opposed to 4-of-19 for Dallas, with Taurasi connecting on six and Bonner four.

“As long as they go in,” said Bonner, who was celebrating her 31^st birthday. “This is eight, nine years in the making here. I always know when Diana has the ball, but sometimes she surprises me.”

Liz Cambage, who set the WNBA record with 53 points last month, scored 22 for the Wings, along with grabbing 12 rebounds. Cambage, who also scored 43 on Friday in the win that clinched the final playoff berth, led the league in scoring with 23 points per game and was second in rebounding to Sylvia Fowles with nearly 10 per game. Skylar Diggins-Smith led Dallas with 23 points on Tuesday.

A continuing trend in this late season for the Mercury was the emergence of Stephanie Talbot in the starting lineup. She recorded her first career double-double on Tuesday with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“We knew if we could get the penetration, the three-point shot is going to be there,” Brondello added. “We have great shooters, but we still want to get the best shot every possession. We’re back playing good basketball, July was a tough month for us. This team is driven. This team is very deep and productive.” 

Mercury closes regular season with victory over Liberty

By Scott Mammoser

Mercury wins final regular season game over Liberty 96-85.

PHOENIX - After a tight first half, the Phoenix Mercury (20-14) took care of business, knowing it controlled its own destiny for playoff seeding, and ran away from the New York Liberty, 96-85, on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the Connecticut Sun defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 89-86, to lock up the fourth seed, and gave Phoenix a chance to slide into position No. 5 with a win. The Sparks owned the tiebreakers against the Mercury, so a loss to the Liberty would have matched Phoenix with the defending champion Lynx in the first round as the sixth seed.

Kia Nurse scored 22 of her 28 points in the first half and played the entire 40 minutes for the Liberty. The game was even at 27-27 after the first quarter, and the Mercury held a 49-46 edge at the break. The team stormed out of halftime with a Stephanie Talbot three pointer and outscored New York, 29-13, to take a 78-59 lead, while holding Nurse to two points. 

Talbot, who broke her nose early in the game, returned to score 18 points, second-most on the Mercury to DeWanna Bonner’s 23. Bonner also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

“We knew we didn’t bring enough intensity for that first half and obviously Kia Nurse was on fire,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “We just needed to pick up our intensity and focus, and we’ve done that a lot over our past few games. It was all about getting that momentum at the right time.”

The Mercury shot 15-of-31 from downtown for the game and took a high lead of 21 points during the spurt.

“It’s important to us to get in the playoffs and make a run,” said Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, who scored 16 and passed Tamika Catchings as the WNBA’s career leader in made free throws on Sunday. “We’ve won three championships, so we know what it takes. It’s not easy, but we are willing to sacrifice and get it done.”

The New York Liberty definitely did not look like a team that was 7-27 during the first half. Even with former All-Stars Epiphanny Prince and Shavonte Zellous sidelined with injuries, the Liberty fought until the end. Nurse, the rookie from UConn who will play for Canada in the World Cup next month, found praise from Liberty coach Katie Smith following the game.

“She’s done a nice job,” said Smith, who will be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a player on September 7. “She came in as a three baller, and she’s done a better job putting the ball on the floor, doing some of the things her coaches tell her to do. Her aggressive nature on both ends, she’s always bringing energy around the floor. Good things happen from start to finish, and I’m also impressed with the way she’s stepped right in with the mental approach, as well.”

The Mercury returns to the playoffs for the sixth-consecutive season at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of Arizona State University. A win sends it to Connecticut for the second round, which is also single elimination, on Thursday. The Sparks will host the Lynx, in a rematch of the past two Finals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Seattle and Atlanta are the top two seeds and have double byes, while Washington is the third seed.

Mercury’s win over Dream clinches home playoff game

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX- Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner seem to be peaking just in time for the playoffs. The All-Star trio all recorded double-doubles to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 104-95 win over the Atlanta Dream on Friday. The win puts the Mercury (19-14) in sixth place entering the final regular season game at 3 p.m. on Sunday against the New York Liberty (7-26). The Dream (22-11) is in Las Vegas (14-19) at the same time on Sunday, and it is holding on to the tiebreaker with the Mystics (22-11) for the second seed and double byes.

Mercury Clinches Home Playoff Game in Victory over Dream

Guaranteed either a fifth-or-sixth-place finish now locks the Mercury into a single elimination home playoff game on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of Arizona State University. This time and opponent are to be determined.

“We’re shooting the ball well and we have that confidence,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “Every game is a new challenge for us, and I think we did a good job of executing the scout for the most part.”

In addition to scoring 27 points, Taurasi equaled her career high of 14 assists. In her 15-year Hall of Fame career, you only need to go back to Sunday’s win over the Sparks to find the only other time Taurasi dished out 14.

“Atlanta has been playing really well,” Taurasi said. “And, we’ve been on a little roll lately, just playing better. A lot of people are getting more comfortable with certain things we are trying to do. Our spacing is getting better, we’re concentrating on where we want to trap and doing a better job exploiting that.”

Griner scored 33 with 18 rebounds, going over 3,000 points for her career, while Bonner scored 21 and equaled her career best with 16 rebounds and seven assists.

Also stepping up for the Mercury was Briann January with 16 points, and the ASU assistant coach will return to play on the court where she played collegiately for the playoff game.

The Dream, playing in the wake of losing two-time Olympic gold medalist Angel McCoughtry for the season, also lost Brittney Sykes, the second-year player from Syracuse averaging 10 points per game, who was ejected midway through the third quarter. Alex Bentley led Atlanta off the bench with a season-high 24 points and personal-best 6-of-8 performance from downtown. Tiffany Hayes scored 21, as well.

“We are just focused right now,” Bonner said. “We’re getting there, you can never just say we’re getting there. You can’t get too high or too low, we know what we need to do, it’s a grind, and right now, we are just riding the wave because we can’t have any mishaps at this point of the season.”