The ASU women’s basketball team receives a huge boost before this Sunday’s game against UA with the return of both redshirt senior Dymond Simon and sophomore forward Joy Burke.
Simon, who has been out since Jan. 29 with concussion symptoms, is back to full strength and actually may have benefitted from the down time, ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
“Her knee got rest, her foot got rest, her whole body got rest,” Turner Thorne said. “It’s great to have her back.”
Joy Burke is also expected to play on Sunday after recovering from a shoulder injury, adding another option in the post, Turner Thorne said.
There was a noticeable difference in the offense last weekend without Simon in the lineup, but the team played some of the best defensive basketball all season. Sophomore Deja Mann and freshman Adrianne Thomas came up big filling in at point guard.
As a result, with Simon now back, the Sun Devils (14-7, 6-5 Pac-10) have even more versatility on the perimeter, Turner Thorne said.
“I think that two-point guard backcourt is really shaping up,” Turner Thorne said. “It just gives us a lot more flexibility with what we want to do, not just offensively but defensively too.”
After watching the thrilling win over Cal from the bench on Saturday, Simon said she is itching to get back on the court.
“Out team has stepped up big this past week,” Simon said. “With all of us on the court together, it’s just going to make us that much more dangerous. I’m excited for these upcoming games.”
But while things are looking up for the Sun Devils, down south UA’s season hangs in the balance. The Wildcats (13-9, 4-7) have dropped their last four games and lost their undefeated home record last weekend, losing by double digits to both Cal and Stanford.
When the teams last met on Jan. 16, ASU grabbed a lead a few minutes into the game and then ran away with it, winning by a 22-point margin. It was one of the Sun Devils’ best shooting performances of the season.
But although it’s a cliché, in a rivalry game anything can happen, redshirt junior forward Kali Bennett said.
“It’s tricky,” Bennett said. “You know coming around the second time through every team is different, every team’s coming to play. And just like we came to play against Cal on our home court, [UA] has just lost two in a row, and we beat them on our home court. If there’s any fire to be lit, it’s already burning.”
The game also carries special significance for both Simon and senior forward Becca Tobin. Neither senior has lost a game to UA during her career for ASU. Keeping that stat alive has become a point of pride, Simon said.
“We definitely want to keep this streak going,” Simon said. “I haven’t lost to them since I’ve been here, and I don’t plan on doing it on Sunday. It’s definitely going to be a big matchup, a big game, and I think we’re all looking forward to it.”
The last time they played, UA’s second-highest scorer, senior forward Ify Ibekwe, didn’t attempt a shot and sat out for most of the game due to illness. Ibekwe is back to full strength now, averaging 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds a game, and will definitely be a factor on Sunday afternoon.
The final key to the game will be to continue playing with the confidence that the team showed in the first half against Stanford and all game against Cal, Bennett said.
“We just have to come with poise,” Bennett said. “If we come with that confidence in ourselves, I think we’ll be good.”
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
