ASU Basketball: Balanced scoring attack leads Sun Devils past Arkansas

ASU basketball bounced back with an 88-85 road win over Arkansas as four finished in double-figures as freshman Iris Mbulito had her first breakout game.

Head coach Charli Turner Thorne has praised this freshmen class saying they are ready to contribute immediately.

On Sunday, they proved her right as the Sun Devils defeated Arkansas 88-85 in a hard-fought, offensive shootout.

Freshman Iris Mbulito was a standout performer for Arizona State having the best game of her young collegiate career posting a stat-line of 13 points, four assists and three rebounds in 16 minutes.

Mbulito was aggressive in attacking the smaller Razorbacks in the paint and finishing at the rim or drawing contact. She would have even had a bigger game if she didn’t shoot 5-for-11 from the free throw line.

In total, the freshmen quartet of Mbulito, guards Taya Hanson and Jamie Loera and forward Jayde Van Hyfte combined for 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Forwards Kianna Ibis and Sophia Elenga also had strong games with Ibis leading the team with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with five rebounds.

With starting center Charnea Johnson-Chapman in foul trouble most of the night, Elenga had one of the most complete games of her Sun Devil career finishing with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds (career-high).

It’s the first double-double of Elenga’s career.

Also finishing in double-figures was guard Robbi Ryan who had a season-high 13 points as she still works her way back to 100 percent from offseason ankle surgery.

The Sun Devils led the game for 36:50 but their lead never got bigger than nine due to Arkansas’ quick firing offense. Less than 10 of their shot attempts came after there was 15 seconds or less on the shot clock.

Arkansas guard Alexis Tolefree scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting with her backcourt sidekick Malica Monk scoring 13 points.

Arizona State got out to a quick start building a 29-25 lead after one quarter. They would maintain their four-point lead at halftime.

The Razorbacks outscored the Sun Devils 43-42 in the second half, but were unable to squeeze out the win due to ASU’s depth and paint presence.

Arizona State scored 42 bench points compared to Arkansas’ 11 points while outrebounding the Razorbacks 43-35. ASU also outscored Arkansas 44-40 in the paint.

The Sun Devils also got a handful of offensive rebounds off missed free throws allowing for more time to come off the clock and extra possessions.

An area the Sun Devils will no doubt look to improve is their free throws. Arizona State shot 21-for-33 from the stripe and with No. 5 Louisville as the next opponent Friday, the Sun Devils need to convert their free throws when given the opportunity.

The aforementioned Louisville Cardinals is the next opponent for Arizona State as they’ll meet in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas.

It will be ASU’s second top-five opponent in less than two weeks as they face a Women’s Final Four team from last year returning four starters, including National Player of the Year candidate Asia Durr.

The Sun Devils will look to lean on another balanced effort from everyone in hopes of securing  a big resume win. Tip off for Friday’s game is set for 3:30 p.m. MT.