Courtney Ekmark solid in debut for ASU

[EricLA]

She started, played a team high 26 minutes, scored 12 points, grabbed 6 boards, had 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block.

ASU 74, UTSA 42 box score

Congrats to Courtney. Wishing her much success this season.

 

[Plebe]

She started, played a team high 26 minutes, scored 12 points, grabbed 6 boards, had 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block.

ASU 74, UTSA 42 box score

Congrats to Courtney. Wishing her much success this season.

Great to see her out on the court and playing well. Arizona State has a guard-heavy roster this year, and the fact that Ekmark started and Reili Richardson didn't (Pac-12 all-Freshman honorable mention last year) says a lot.

 

[EricLA]

Great to see her out on the court and playing well. Arizona State has a guard-heavy roster this year, and the fact that Ekmark started and Reili Richardson didn't (Pac-12 all-Freshman honorable mention last year) says a lot.

I'll be curious to see if I can catch a few of their games. Would be fun to see how she plays compared to how she played at UCONN...

 

[Coach]

Thanks for sharing. I love hearing transfers doing well. . . so long as they are not playing UCONN.

 

[JellyBean]

Good for Courtney. Glad to see her stat line looking solid. Wishing her the best.

 

[Huskee11]

Hope she has a great year. On the basketball court, and in moot court.

She is one of three current college players with two NCAA WCBB championship rings as an active roster player. Natalie has two but one was while sitting out as a transfer.

Care to guess the other two?

 

[Zorro]

Bravo Courtney!!

 

[Huskee11]

Courtney scored 14 points on 6 for 7 shooting in 22 minutes last night (Wed. 11/15). ASU victory over Fresno State.

Great to see the transfers doing so well.

 

[winlots]

ERIC: thanks for putting this news up. Good kid, good Husky, and impressive performance by Courtney.

 

[azfan]

I attended the Sun Devil opener against UTSA. Classic mismatch. That said, I wondered if Courtney's health issues are behind here. She was 1 for 7 in the first half as a result of very poor outside shooting. Her adjustment (or more likely Coach Thorne's adjustment) to work in the paint and use her height advantage was successful. However she seemed a step slow on defense and against higher level, more talented guards in the Pac12, I am concerned about her ability to contain. I imagine we will see more Richardson and Ryan in Pac12 play where the guards are much quicker and talented (and taller) than schools like UTSA. Coach Thorne unlike Geno, schedules down in preseason. The Sun Devil's have played SC very close last 2 years but those opponents are rare outside conference. I loved Courtney's game in HS and hope the lingering impact of foot injuries are overcome to allow her greater mobility and speed. I fear her playing time will decline in conference play.

 

[azfan]

Courtney must have thought she was back at Storrs today as the Sun Devils ran by Sacramento State 106-58. While Courtney had a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds she continues to look slow. She was one of seven from the field but eight of nine from the free throw line for her 10 points. I forgot to mention in my previous post that is a graduate school transfer or you might all be interested to know Courtney's in law school. An amazing young woman who's managing the rigors of first-year law school with the rigors of the Pac-12.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Like Maya and some others, Courtney seems to have slow feet. Her strength is accuracy in shooting when she is set. I'm glad to see that she shot FTs well.

As noted elsewhere, she's playing for a top-25 team and attending a top-25 law school. Good for her!

 

[shizam]

Courtney scored 14 points on 6 for 7 shooting in 22 minutes last night (Wed. 11/15). ASU victory over Fresno State.

Great to see the transfers doing so well.

Courtney should have gone to ASU to begin with. No one thought she’d get playing time at UConn. She would have rotted on the bench all 4 years. Great move on her part. She did get two years of being in a quality b-ball environment with her but no playing time.

 

[azfan]

Obviously I'm a huge fan of both ASU and Connecticut women's basketball. I'm not sure the comparison between Courtney and Maya is a useful one. Setting aside basic talent level and physical attributes: Maya perhaps having slow feet had a basic quickness to her game. Her defensive game demonstrated this quickness. Courtney while a set up shooter has physical limitations that I think challenge her on both sides of the ball. That's said she is a very smart player, sees the floor well and in the right offense like the one at ASU has the ability to be a positive contributor. The comment about her decision to attend UConn I think is a valid one.

 

[azfan]

Well ASU had their first stinker of the year. They played down against an unimpressive opponent edging Colgate 65 to 54. Courtney only played 18 minutes as Coach Thorne recognizes her lack of quickness and inability to hit the outside free makes her deficiency. In 18 minutes Courtney was 1 for 7 against a very low level of competition. She did manage five rebounds and four assists and while I really admire this young woman she seems destined to relinquish her starting role and be a role player. Once ASU enters Pac-12 play I can't imagine her starting or playing more than 18 minutes. ASUs other young guards played exceptionally well Robbie Ryan had double figures and eight rebounds and Riley Richardson in 27 minutes had seven assists. All in all it was a dismal performance by the Sun Devils against a very weak opponent. The defense at least stepped up in the second half holding Colgate to 24 points. The devil's sure would have liked to have some of the offense from the previous game.