(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
After falling out of the AP top-25 Monday, the Arizona State women’s basketball team returned to the floor Friday night against their archrival from down south, the Arizona Wildcats.
ASU upended Arizona at Wells Fargo Arena Friday night 75-50 in a game where the Sun Devils had to mix and match with a small bench.
Sophomore guard Kiara Russell was in uniform Friday night for ASU, but she did not play in the contest.
With just one point guard and an already limited roster, the Devils were forced to experiment.
“We had to be a little out of the box and we had to find a way,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We were prepared to move Kianna (Ibis) to the three, and we kind of just prepared to do what we needed to do without Kiki (Kiara Russell).”
Redshirt junior forward Courtney Ekmark, sophomore guard Reili Richardson and sophomore guard Robbi Ryan all played over 30 minutes Friday night, and with a lot of minutes, all three players showed out.
Ryan ended Friday’s game with 24 points en route to a new career-high, while Ekmark tallied 17 points on 6-10 shooting.
The backcourt was electric in the second half, and they continued to attack Arizona at will in a third quarter in which the Sun Devils outscored the Wildcats 25-5.
“I just kept trying to stay aggressive and my teammates created great opportunities for me so I just took them when they were available,” Ryan said.
In addition to big point totals, Ryan and Ekmark flourished in an unfamiliar area.
With Russell being out of the lineup, Ryan and Ekmark were forced to fill minutes as temporary point guards for spurts of the game while Richardson rested for short periods to gain a breather.
Together, the backcourt combo aided in filling time to allow Richardson to gain some rest.
“Charli talked to us before the game and said that we are going to need to play a little bit as a point guard, both of us, when Reili is out,” Ekmark said. “It was fun.”
Both Ryan and Ekmark did not bat an eye when they slid into the point guard position, and it assisted in allowing Richardson to earn some well-deserved rest.
Nevertheless, help is on its way as Turner Thorne noted that Russell is still listed as game-to-game, but things look “really good” in regards to her return in ASU’s rematch against the Wildcats Sunday.
“I thought they (Ekmark and Ryan) held down the fort well when they needed to,” Turner Thorne said. “It’s kind of ironic. We are the program that likes the two point guard backcourt, and we had the no point guard backcourt for a few stretches tonight, but I think those two are just such great competitors.”
Aside from the short bench and the actual game action, ASU took part in a tail of two halves. After the first two quarters, ASU led Arizona 27-23 in a half that had periods of stagnant play from the Sun Devils.
The Wildcats led the game at two points in the first half, yet ASU managed to take the lead heading into the locker room.
Then in the second half, the Sun Devils exploded, going on a 21-1 run to end the third quarter. The team came out revitalized and they never looked back.
The scoring run spurred ASU to the victory, and Arizona could never recover following a third quarter that was filled with dazzling displays of offense from the Sun Devils.
“We did a fantastic job in the second half of taking care of the ball,” Turner Thorne said. “We were turning it over too much in the first half and forcing things…and it was us just not executing. I thought in the second half, we played like a veteran team.”
It is worth noting that Arizona has struggled this season. The Wildcats are 6-19 overall and just 2-12 in conference play. However, Friday night’s game proved to be a challenge in and of itself with an injured roster.
Regardless, ASU came away with a victory in a rivalry game that cuts deep into the hearts of the Sun Devil faithful.
With a win following back-to-back losses against UCLA, ASU was elated to be back on its home floor.
While Friday night’s home win was satisfying for ASU, the team gets right back to action and make the short trek down to Tucson for the second game of a home-and-home set with Arizona Sunday.
Although fatigue might set into the minds of a roster that played a lot of minutes Friday, the thought of a Territorial Cup sweep will look to power the Sun Devils through while playing down south.
Aside from ASU, Arizona had four players who played more than 30 minutes Friday. On Sunday afternoon, the will to win will be at the forefront of the rivalry.
“I think we are both in the same boat with the lack of depth,” Turner Thorne said. “In a game of this magnitude in the rivalry game, you will get over it. You are going to be tired, but you are going to dig deep. This game just means too much.”
The rematch between ASU and Arizona is set for this Sunday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. MST from the McKale Center.
