Junior guard Peace Amukamara dribbles the ball along the baseline during ASU's 83-54 win over CSU Bakersfield at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19 2014. (Photo by Stefan Modrich)The ASU women's basketball team coasted to an 83-54 victory over CSU Bakersfield at Wells Fargo Arena Wednesday night.
The Sun Devils (2-0) had four starters score in double figures, paced by sophomore forward Sophie Brunner, who led all scorers with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Senior guard Promise Amukamara had 13 points, with redshirt junior guard Katie Hempen and junior guard Elisha Davis each chipping in 10 points."Our team is collectively doing a great job of running the floor and getting open looks," Brunner said. "I think we do a really great job of moving the ball around."
The Sun Devils high-octane offense was in part fueled by its stellar transition defense (eight team steals), and also its ability to shut down the Roadrunners (2-1) in the half court.
Amukamara locked down CSU Bakersfield redshirt senior guard and WAC Player of the Year Tyonna Outland defensively, holding Outland to just 9 points, as she converted just four of 16 attempts.
Amukamara's sister Peace, a junior guard, was a bright spot coming off the bench for ASU, with eight points in 18 minutes played.
6-foot-4 sophomore Quinn Dornstauder also had eight points and added four rebounds, with her height and swift post moves enabling her to be a weapon in the second unit.
"I'm very happy to get a little bench scoring, and Quinn can score too," Turner-Thorne said. "And Peace, that's more of the Peace that we expect to see, and that's more of what we hope she's going to bring game in and game out."
ASU coach Charli Turner-Thorne was pleased with her team's overall balance offensively, though she expects greater production from the bench in the future, particularly from Amukamara and Dornstauder.
Rebounding was another point of emphasis for Turner-Thorne's team, as ASU controlled the glass on both sides of the floor, via a commanding 42-31 margin over CSU Bakersfield.
The Sun Devils will head to Florida to play with the Miami Hurricanes, and then to Estero, Florida in the Gulf Coast Showcase, with the opportunity to play against UConn.
"That would be a really good experience," Brunner said. "They are a really good team, but anyone is beatable."
Turner-Thorne says that the Miami game is the most important of the roadtrip, but the opportunity to play Connecticut would be a great proving ground for her team.
"Miami has a lot of newness, and they're still trying to figure things out," Turner-Thorne said. "To be able to go on the road in a tough environment and win, because (Miami) will be a lot better at home. We want to win every game, but we would love to play (UConn.)"
ASU travels to Miami, Florida to play the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 5:00 p.m.
Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @StefanJModrich
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepressport on Twitter.
