The ASU women's basketball team hadn't played a game in nearly eight months prior to Wednesday night, but the only thing that looked different about these Sun Devils were their slick new Nike threads.
Every one of head coach Charli Turner Thorne's key players from last season returned. Star forward Betsy Boardman began a comeback from yet another knee surgery. Fan favorite Jill Noe was still sitting at the end of the bench due to a second knee surgery of her own. And ASU again saw the debuts of two new players expected to make a big impact.
The only thing that wasn't familiar in the team's first of two exhibition games was the margin of victory, as the Sun Devils destroyed Strakonice -- a traveling team from the Czech Republic -- 84-41 before a thin crowd at Wells Fargo Arena.
The amateur Czechs were fresh off the plane and not quite ready to face a team chomping at the bit to see new competition. Turner Throne's signature defense had the opposition out of sync from the opening tip-off. In the first game of their tour, the Czechs barely shot more than 30 percent and committed 29 turnovers.
"Our defense was a little bit overwhelming for them," Turner Thorne said. "I think they'll win some games on their tour, but we kind of smacked them in the face, so hopefully they'll pick themselves up and recover."
Turner Thorne said it was nice for her team to experience huge success, and it got to do things that wouldn't have been possible in a closer game. The Sun Devils were able to play a myriad of defenses, try new combinations of players and spread minutes throughout the team -- 11 of the 12 Sun Devils who suited up saw double digits in minutes.
However, Turner Thorne said her team got complacent at times, as it committed 23 turnovers of its own.
"I hope our next game is more competitive because it's good to have them in situations where every possession counts," she said. "We wanted to empty out tonight, and they know they had more left. They knew they jogged on some possessions and let up a little bit when they built their lead."
While Turner Thorne is notorious for using every player on her roster, she got to check out her two latest weapons, freshman point guard Reagan Pariseau and redshirt freshman Jacquelyn Johnson. Pariseau, a Washington native, ran the offense for 17 minutes, while Johnson, the NCAA's national champion in the heptathlon for ASU last year, scored four points in 13 minutes.
"Both of them had really nice debuts," Turner Thorne said. "We're expecting to use them a lot."
Boardman scored five points in 14 minutes. She rode a stationary bike when she was not on the court to keep her knee, which was surgically repaired in March, loose. Turner Thorne said Boardman is a month away from being 100 percent.
Junior center Kristen Kovesdy looked sharp after being hampered with a leg injury last season, as she led ASU with 20 points, shooting 10-for-11 from the field.
Kovesdy said the team was as excited for the exhibition as if it counted in the actual standings.
"It felt so good to be out there," she said. "We are all hyped and ready to go. The guards were doing an awesome job of getting the ball inside when I had good position."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
