Even Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi couldn't stop the ASU women's basketball team Monday night.
Forwards Emily Westerberg, Amy Denson and Aubree Johnson combined for 41 points, lifting ASU to an 80-44 victory over Taurasi-led Team Concept in the exhibition finale at Wells Fargo Arena.
Westerberg posted a game-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. Johnson had 14 points and Denson had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds in an efficient 4-for-5 effort.
The Sun Devils (2-0) also got eight points from senior guard Betsy Boardman, who drained back-to-back three-pointers in a game-opening 9-0 run. Senior guard Carrie Buckner added seven points, five rebounds and four assists.
Playing for Team Concept, a West Coast traveling squad that consists of former college players, Taurasi scored nine points, four of which came on pull-up jumpers in the first half. She shot 4 for 10 from the field and grabbed six rebounds.
The convincing win sat well with ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne, whose team opens the season Thursday against Virginia at the Women's Sports Foundation Classic in Baton Rouge, La.
"We're just working through things," said Turner Thorne, who used all 12 active players. "We spread our minutes out, we got to look at some different combinations and we mixed up our defenses."
ASU showed good ball movement, generating 19 assists off 28 field goals. It committed just 11 turnovers and forced 27 turnovers through heavy pressure, especially on the perimeter.
"One of our biggest goals is to get points off transition and to play in-your-face defense," Westerberg said. "We want to make them not comfortable in their offense. That is something that will almost turn over a game. If we're not having a great time on offense, we'll start to get defenses sealed, and that will set the fire."
The Sun Devils pulled away on a 13-4 run to close the first half. Freshman guard Reagan Pariseau nailed a three-pointer during the seven-minute burst, and ASU got baskets from Johnson and Denson.
Westerberg helped the Sun Devils build on their 31-18 halftime lead with buckets on consecutive possessions early in the second half. Junior forward Kristen Kovesdy also scored on a pair of layups, including a driving basket after an Alisha Godette steal.
"Sometimes when we're in a huddle, Charli and the coaches say something to refocus us, and we get so fired up," Westerberg said. "We don't want to be mediocre. We get fired up and we really get refocused, and we can do anything we want."
ASU's starting lineup consisted of senior guard Kylan Loney, Buckner, Denson, Westerberg and Kovesdy. Turner Thorne said Boardman, who is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, won't be rushed back into the starting lineup.
"We need her for the long haul, and I am trying to be really smart about pressing her," Turner Thorne said. "I never thought she would be doing what she's doing now. I wasn't sure she would be ready to play by this first game."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
