ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils roll New Mexico behind Richardson’s big night

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

The Arizona State Sun Devils (8-2) defeated the New Mexico Lobos (7-4) in convincing fashion, 84-47, Saturday night.

The game started off as game of runs as the Sun Devils and the Lobos went back and forth.

In the first quarter Arizona State used New Mexico’s fast style of play against them, finishing the quarter on a 13-3 ASU run.

The Sun Devils were up 22-9 at the end of the first quarter. Reili Richardson had seven points and was perfect from the field and everyone else was contributing. Seven Arizona State players scored in the first quarter.

The game was looking like a blowout in favor of the Devils in the second quarter, but then the momentum shifted.

The Lobos outscored the Devils 14-10 in the second quarter largely due to their defense. The Lobos defense forced the Devils late into the shot clock numerous times resulting in forced last second shots or bad passes that resulted in turnovers. Arizona State went 4-17 from the field and Charli Turner Thorne said that going into halftime she told the team that the third quarter would be crucial if they wanted to win this game.

“This team is a third quarter team and that’s what I told them. They are at their best in the third quarter. They have been all year long,” Turner Thorne said. “We felt good about our defense, we just had to keep taking away their transition.”

The Sun Devil team was truly at their best in the third quarter, outscoring  New Mexico 27-10, tying their season-high for points in a quarter. Part of the reason the Sun Devils were so dominant was because of their closeout defense. The Devils did not allow the Lobos to make a 3-point shot the entire game, as New Mexico shot 0-18 from behind the arc.

The Sun Devils were fueled by Reili Richardson’s hot shooting as she finished the game with a career-high 21 points and four assists. Richardson’s four assists moved the senior guard past Elisha Davis on Arizona State’s all-time list for career assists, with 485 assists in her Sun Devil career.

Richardson said she believes the extra effort she has been putting in has helped her game progress to this level of play.

“I’m looking to shoot more,” Richardson said. “I get in the gym almost every day and I feel good about my shot right now.”

In the fourth quarter the Sun Devils did not let up. Junior Ja’Tavia Tapley finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, freshmen Sara Bejedi had 16 points and sophomore Jayde Van Hyfte finished with 8 points and six rebounds.

Bejedi was able to score 13 second-half points and said she believes she was able to have success due to her mindset.

“I chose to be positive and just focus on the next possession, next shot and not think about the missed shots,” Bejedi said. “I felt good.”

Overall, it was yet another team performance that carried the Sun Devils to their fourth-straight victory.

“I’m very proud of our team. I thought we really put it together today, especially the second half,” Turner Thorne said. “I thought we had a fantastic defensive effort, but then we kinda combined that with better offense. We were pretty prepared for them.”

Arizona State goes on the road to take on New Mexico State Wednesday, with tip-off scheduled for 11 a.m. MT.

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