Nov. 15, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - Junior Betsy Boardman scored 15 points to lead the Sun Devil women's basketball team to a 77-57 victory over the West Coast All Stars, a traveling team of former college standouts, in the team's final exhibition game Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils built an early lead in the game, using a 10-2 run to go up 29-13 with 6:26 to play. ASU led by as many as 23 in the half and went into the locker room with a 41-19 halftime lead. ASU shot 48.4 percent in the first half (15-31) compared to just 25.8 percent for the West Coast All-Stars (8-13) and drained five three-pointers, including two by junior Kylan Loney.
Arizona State continued to build on its lead in the second half, opening the half with a 12-4 run to go up 51-21 with 16:05 remaining in the game. The West Coast All-Stars cut the lead a bit in the second half, capitalizing on 15 second-half turnovers by the Sun Devils, but the Sun Devils came away with the 77-57 victory.
Boardman added five rebounds, three assists and a steal to her 15 points, while sophomore Jenny Thigpin and junior Carrie Buckner each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team. Loney finished with 10 points, three assists and two steals, while junior Lauren Stagg had seven points on 3-of-3 shooting, five assists and three steals. Sophomore YoVanna Rosenthal had four of ASU's 19 steals.
"YoVanna (Rosenthal) and Kylan (Loney) did great on defense tonight," head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Our three-point shooting was good, but we are still rushing a little on offense."
Athena Christoforakis, a former standout at Temple, scored a game-high 22 points for the West Coast All-Stars, while Christoforakis and Brandi Barnes, who played at Villanova, each had 10 rebounds.
The Sun Devils open the regular season Friday, Nov. 21, taking on the Akron Zips at 7:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. Friday night's game will be televised to a statewide audience on AZ-TV, while NBC 1190 AM will also broadcast the game.