While fellow junior forward Sophie Brunner watched on from the sidelines, Kelsey Moos returned from her concussion on Saturday and provided an important offensive punch for her team.
Thanks to a 13-point, seven rebound performance from Moos, No. 24 ASU women's basketball (5-3) defeated No. 19 Syracuse (6-3) 61-54 in its first true road test of the season.
Three-pointers dictated the game from the beginning, with both teams making four apiece in the first half alone.
ASU got out to an early 9-4 advantage, but Syracuse would respond with consecutive threes to take a 10-9 lead.
The two teams traded threes and the Orange finished the first with a 13-12 lead.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the second quarter. ASU fell behind 24-21 with 3:19 remaining after a series of sloppy plays, prompting head coach Charli Turner Thorne to call a timeout.
Senior guard Arnecia Hawkins took over, rattling off eight consecutive points coming on three outside shots. Her shooting propelled the Sun Devils to a 29-26 advantage at the half, and she finished the game with 12 points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds.
It was ultimately the play of Moos that propelled ASU to victory as she catalyzed an early third-quarter scoring run. A layup and three-pointer by the Sun Devils' leading scorer gave them a 34-26 lead that they would never look back from en route to a seven point victory.
Syracuse gave a valiant effort in an attempt to knot the score up, but never got closer than a four-point deficit despite quality performances from junior guard Alexis Peterson (15 points, three assists) and senior guard Brianna Butler (13 points, two rebounds).
ASU senior guard Elisha Davis struggled to get quality shots up from the field, but continued to stuff the stat sheet with nine points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Sun Devils as four different players committed five or more in this game. Davis, Hawkins and junior center Quinn Dornstauder coughed the ball up six times each against Syracuse.
Cleaning these up while continuing to improve its offensive execution will be the keys for ASU going forward. The next game for the Sun Devils will be on the road on Monday, Dec. 14, against Hartford. Tip-off will be at 4 p.m.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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