The Arizona State Sun Devils are 2-0 after beating former Big Sky Champion Montana State this evening. ASU beat the Bobcats 75-62.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Arizona State was led by Guard Jaddan Simmons and Forward Kaddia Toure, who dropped 17 points and seven boards. ASU also got major production from Journey Thompson. In 32 minutes off the bench, Thompson posted a 13-point and 12-rebound double-double.
Here’s how the game went.
First Quarter
This was the quarter in which ASU won the game. Arizona State shot 60% from the field. They scored 30 points this quarter, double that of any other quarter.
Montana State took an early 3-1 lead before ASU made three straight baskets to take a 7-3 lead they would never relinquish. It only took Arizona State 5 more minutes of excellent shooting and solid defense to get that lead to double-digits. Montana State tried to make a run late in the quarter, bringing the lead to as low as 7, but Treasure Hunt almost immediately after. Going into the second quarter, it was already 30-19.
Jalyn Brown led the Sun Devils in scoring this quarter with 10. Simmons had 8, and Toure had 7. Simmons and Brown each shot 4-6 from the floor this quarter. It was Marah Dykstra for Montana State who kept them in it. She had 9 points this quarter.
Second Quarter
No points were scored in the first three minutes of this quarter, but when they finally did come, they went ASU’s way. Trayanna Crisp knocked down two three-pointers to allow ASU to score the first nine points of the quarter and balloon their lead to 20, 39-19.
Crisp scored eight points in a row for the Sun Devils, and when Montana State started to score in the second half, Journey Thompson made back-to-back jump shots to stop their runs. A Thompson basket with 13 seconds in the half gave the Sun Devils a 45-27 lead going into the half.
Thompson and Crisp combined for 14 of the Sun Devils 15 points in the second quarter. As for Montana State, they only had 8 points this whole quarter, and ASU held first-quarter hero Marah Dykstra to 0 points.
Third Quarter
Arizona State started the scoring in this quarter with a Toure layup. Right when it looked like Arizona State could run away with it. Montana State finally showed life. Katelynn Limardo scored six points, and Dykstra sunk a layup to bring the score to 51-45. The lead was now only six.
Arizona State built the lead back up to 12 with a couple of great free-throw line trips for Hunt and Thompson. However, Limardo got an and-1 to finish the quarter, and the ASU lead was now only eight headed into the final frame.
This was the only quarter Montana State outscored ASU. They did so 25-15. Limardo had 12, Dykstra had 6, and Lexi Deden had 5. For ASU, Toure had 5, and Thompson and Hunt had four a piece.
Fourth Quarter
This quarter started with Montana State scoring four in a row to bring the lead to its lowest point since early in the first quarter. However, that was the closest it got. Arizona State went on a 10-0 run thanks to eight points by Toure and Simmons.
The Sun Devil defense finished this game off, holding Montana State to one more basket the rest of the way, and Arizona State would hold on for the win 75-62.
Simmons led the Sun Devils with six in the fourth quarter, and Hunt and Toure added four each.
With this win, the Sun Devils advance to 2-0. The Bobcats fall to 0-2.
Arizona State will face the 1-1 Dons of San Francisco at Desert Financial Arena on Monday.
