Devils in Detail
Fansided

ASU Women’s Basketball: Devils roll-over UTSA in season opener

By Scotty Gange

TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot 'Sparky' performs during the college football game against the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 27-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot 'Sparky' performs during the college football game against the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 27-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

ASU women’s basketball opened up the 2017-18 season Sunday with a dominant win over UTSA 74-42 with the forwards taking front and center.

ASU women’s basketball’s first game of the season started just the way they could have wanted, with a dominating 74-42 win over the UTSA Roadrunners.

The Sun Devils started hot with a 4-point play by Sabrina Haines followed by a steal and score by Kiara Russell to go ahead 12-4 in the first four minutes of the game.

ASU’s scoring attack was started by junior center Charnea Johnson-Chapman, who led all players with eight first quarter points. The Devils took a strong 16-9 lead to close out the first quarter while dominating the paint.

The second quarter featured a little more of Johnson-Chapman, who is primed for a big-time junior season, and a lot more of Kianna Ibis. Also in her third season at ASU, Ibis scored six second quarter points and paired with Johnson-Chapman inside to take control of the ball on both sides of the court.

More from Devils in Detail

The Roadrunners, who scored 97 points Friday night, were held to just 20 first half points in Tempe. Sophia Elenga’s buzzer beater to end the half gave the Devils a 37-20 lead as the Veteran’s Day ceremonies begun.

ASU fired into the second half with seven straight points, as fans got to see the first glimmer of UConn transfer and Arizona native, Courtney Ekmark. She scored two quick buckets and then followed suit to dish an assist followed by a strong block on the defensive end.

Ekmark was forced to sit out last year due to transfer rules. The redshirt-junior will get a great amount of playing time and will be crucial to the Devils’ performance this season.

Ekmark’s strong play paired with Kianna Ibis’ force in the frontcourt gave the Sun Devils a 56-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The final 10 minutes of game featured pushes on both sides of the court to get their final points and work in, as the Devils had a lead that was near impossible to come back from.

Throughout the game, head coach Charli Turner-Thorne would make complete five-player substitutions, giving every player—and fan—an opportunity to get a complete taste and understanding of this year’s team. The seemingly easy win for the Sun Devils let many players get solid minutes and brush off the jitters of a new campaign.

While the Devils continued to play strong, the impressive play by UTSA sophomore Forward Marie Benson caught many eyes in Wells Fargo Arena. She earned a double-double and led her team in points (12) and rebounds (11).

The identity for ASU this year is their strong backcourt, led by junior guard Sabrina Haines. Haines finished the game with 18 total points. But the focus of the game for Haines was Ekmark.

“You know she [Ekmark] can shoot, she can shoot the lights out of the ball” Haines said.

Ekmark closed her first official game with 12 total points, 10 of those in the second half. As the season continues, Ekmark should be a top scorer in every game for the Sun Devils. Turner-Thorne spoke highly on her in the post-game press-conference.

“Courtney is just relentless…and that level of toughness is really going to help us” Turner Thorne said.

Next: ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils embark on new era

With Ekmark scoring 10 second half points, and a total of 48 points in the paint tonight, the Sun Devils look to be in great shape for Turner-Thorne’s 21st season at the helm. Arizona State’s next game will be against Fresno State Wednesday at 4 p.m. MT.