(Photo: Brendan O’Keefe/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils were able to hold on to an overtime victory versus Idaho State by a score of 74-69, Sunday afternoon.
In the first quarter the Sun Devils came out strong. Although the Devils only led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter, it appeared Arizona State were ready to make a run.
Senior guard Robbi Ryan was on fire in the first quarter and everyone else was chipping in. Ryan had eight of the team’s first 18 points on 4-6 shooting.
Then, the Devil’s luck ran out. Robbi Ryan planted awkwardly and fell down with what appeared to be a left ankle injury to start the second quarter. The senior guard did not return for the rest of the game.
In Ryan’s absence, senior guard Kiara Russell stepped up, scoring a career high 14 points to go along with three steals, four rebounds and two assists.
Led by freshmen Diaba Konate and redshirt junior Dora Goles, the Bengals took advantage of the momentum change and entered halftime with a 35-29 lead. Konate and Goles combined for 22 first half points.
Russell said that during halftime coach Charli Turner Thorne pointed out many things that the Devils needed to do if they wanted to come out of the second half with a win.
“Evaluate and adjust. Stop letting them put their head down and drive with no help side. Doing the little things and just being there for each other,” Russell said. “Also, we have to be aggressive right back, running our offense is obviously key for us.”
The Sun Devils did everything Turner Thorne said and opened up the second half with a 6-0 run. The Devils were running the offense through forward Ja’Tavia Tapley and she was finishing strong. Then, the Devils went away from what had been working.
Tapley went scoreless in the fourth quarter and after a costly Sun Devils turnover, Idaho State had a chance to tie the game late. Trailing by three with less than 30 seconds left, the Bengals inbounded the ball, and sophomore Callie Bourne threw up a prayer that banked in to force overtime.
It was the Sun Devils first overtime game since they defeated No. 10 Oregon State last January in Corvallis.
Before overtime started, Turner Thorne said that she told her team that it was time to win the ball game and stop playing around.
“Just step up and take it. That’s it,” Turner Thorne said. “All the banked threes and the roll the ball out and pick it up and chuck it in is done. We’re not giving them any more of that.”
The Devils began overtime with another 6-0 run led by Tapley and never looked back. Tapley finished with eight overtime points and played a crucial role in helping the team close the game. Tapley finished the game with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Even though the Sun Devils got out of Desert Financial Arena with their third straight win Turner Thorne is excited for what the team will be able to accomplish in conference play when they finally put everything together.
“They don’t fully understand what it takes to be a top team yet,” Turner Thorne said. “They’re not doing the little things on the court and they’re not doing the little things off the court and when they start doing that, they’re going to be really good.”
