After a week off since its last game on November 24 in a win over Southern Illinois, ASU women’s basketball was not out of shape today, easily blowing out Louisiana Tech 80-44 in the Sun Devils first game of the 2018 ASU Classic at Wells Fargo Arena.
Three Sun Devils scored double-digit points this afternoon. Courtney Ekmark scored 12 points while Charnea Johnson-Chapman had 10 points and Kianna Ibis added 13 points.
ASU started the game on fire, scoring 29 first-quarter points on 60 percent shooting from the field with five three pointers. Meanwhile, LA Tech only scored 11 first-quarter points and committed seven turnovers, despite shooting 42% from the field.
The Sun Devils would continue their first-half outburst, scoring 20 second-quarter points while extending their lead to 30 at the half. LA Tech simply could not keep up with the Sun Devils on offense, only scoring eight second quarter points to make the score 49-19 ASU at halftime. Ekmark was especially hot from behind the arc in the first half, connecting on four threes on 5 three-point attempts in the first-half.
“We were definitely shooting it well,” Ekmark said. “Whenever we are shooting it well, it helps our offense a lot.”
The offensive game plan revolved around a healthy mix of three-point looks as well as getting the ball inside to ASU’s bigs. Johnson-Chapman and Ibis consistently were given plenty of opportunities to pound their defenders inside and finish them with hook shots.
The inside presence boded quite well for ASU whenever perimeter shooters like Ekmark and Jamie Ruden were open. This inside-outside attack is something the team has been working on as of late.
“We knew we wanted to get our paint touches,” Ekmark said. “Our posts did a great job of finishing when they got them and when they doubled, they kicked it out and we were hitting threes. That’s pretty tough to guard.”
With ASU up by such a large margin at the end of the first-half, it allowed head coach Charli Turner Thorne to utilize all parts of her bench and keep the players even more fresh in the second half. Eva Rubin and Bre’yanna Sanders both got minutes while ASU’s four freshmen would all team up to play as a unit for a certain period of time, giving starters such as Ibis, Ekmark, and Reili Richardson extra rest. With the exception of Ekmark, no ASU player played 20 minutes or more in Saturday’s contest.
“It was great to just balance out our minutes. It was nice to get everybody in and have a good team win and not be too tired for tomorrow,” Turner Thorne said. “I’m subbing because we are up big. But I am trying to keep people fresh.”
With tomorrow’s game versus Tulsa, it was especially important for Turner Thorne to make sure her players did not play too long. The improvement in depth has been a big reason why the Sun Devils can put out fresh units that can play with a lot of effort this season.
The four team ASU Classic tournament in Tempe put ASU versus Louisiana Tech while Alabama took on Tulsa. Saturday’s game marked ASU’s first home game since a November 8 contest against Incarnate Word. The players were happy to be back playing in the friendly confines of Wells Fargo Arena.
“It’s so nice [to be back at home],” Ibis said. “Traveling is just a lot so it’s finally good to be at home again.”
ASU will play another home game tomorrow afternoon in the championship game of the ASU Classic against Tulsa after they defeated the Crimson Tide 80-73 following ASU’s game. Tip off between ASU and Tulsa is slated for 2 pm.
