Redshirt senior guard Deja Mann handles the ball during a game. The Sun Devils defeated Providence 86-65 on Saturday afternoon. (State Press Staff)
ASU women’s basketball fans aren’t used to watching such a high-powered offense in Tempe.
But for the third time in four games, the Sun Devils broke the 80-point mark, defeating Providence Saturday afternoon 86-65.
The last time the Sun Devils scored 86 was Jan 2., 2011 against Oregon.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s fun to have a team that can put the ball in the basket and just hit open shots,” coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
Five different Sun Devils scored in double digits, and freshman forward Kelsey Moos earned her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“She’s deceptively quick to the ball,” Turner Thorne said. “Rebounds that other people on our team aren’t going to get to, she gets to.”
ASU as whole dominated the boards as well, outrebounding the Friars 48-32.
“This is our best rebounding performance by far,” Turner Thorne said. “We haven’t really dominated the boards yet in any game. We took a little step further in establishing an inside game because that’s what’s been kind of elusive for us.”
Redshirt senior center Joy Burke scored 14 points and hauled in nine rebounds before going down with a foot injury. Turner Thorne said they initially feared Burke broke her foot, but that she is okay.
Freshman center Quinn Dornstauder filled the gap, scoring four points and grabbing four boards in relief.
“She’s deceptively athletic,” Turner Thorne said. “That drive that you see down the lane line, you’re going to see it a lot.”
Both ASU and Providence started slowly because of countless fouls and turnovers. Eventually, both teams picked up the pace, but it was ASU that closed out the first half with a 10-2 run.
ASU never relinquished its lead in the second half, exploding on a 15-0 run to build up more than a 20-point advantage. Sophomore guard Elisha Davis scored nine straight points in the middle of that streak.
“I remember my coach telling me when I get in the game ‘I need you,’” Davis said. “She gave me that look like we’re counting on you right now because we have other people in foul trouble. For some reason I just thought go and don’t think, just play.”
The Sun Devils tightened up the defense, too, in the second half, limiting the Friars to just 29 points.
“We’re learning how to kind of put people away and step on the jugular,” Turner Thorne said. “I think we wore them out and they faded.”
Providence, who averaged over 85 points entering Saturday, shot just 36 percent from the field.
“After Texas Tech, we were not happy with our defense,” Turner Thorne said. “We worked really hard on it this week and we knew we were playing a really good offensive team.”
Additional Game Notes
-ASU will compete in the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, playing Illinois, North Carolina and Arkansas State before returning to Tempe for the ASU Classic. “We haven’t really played good size yet,” Turner Thorne said. “We’re going to start next week with that with Illinois and North Carolina. Because we are a little undersized but that hasn’t really shown yet I don’t think.”
-Redshirt sophomore guard Katie Hempen took a rough charge with 7:32 remaining in the first half. She was looked at by team trainers but returned less than three minutes later. Hempen totaled just 4 points in 18 minutes. “She got beat up pretty good. She seems to be okay,” Turner Thorne said. “The fun thing is, Katie really hasn’t even got going yet.”
-Freshman forward Sophie Brunner, who sprained her ankle at Texas Tech Sunday, played limited minutes in the victory.
-The Sun Devil bench outscored the Friars’ reserves 40-6. “There’s not five starters, everyone can be a starter at any time,” Davis said. “You don’t focus on the minutes, you don’t focus on if you started. We don’t focus on minutes or stats or anything like that.”
Reach the reporter at bmargiot@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @BenMargiott.
