Ja’Tavia Tapley had a highly unusual, yet remarkable, performance on Sunday and propelled No. 20 Arizona State women’s basketball to an 81-53 drubbing of Army.

Tapley had 18 points on 7-12 from the field as well as six rebounds and a game-high four steals.

It was a performance one may think would take 30 minutes of on-court action.

Not for Tapley.

The graduate-transfer forward from USC put up those gaudy numbers in just 15 minutes on the floor Sunday.

It was a game Tapley said she has never had before.

“…I didn’t even notice…,” Tapley explained. “But I’m glad I can bring that to this team after not being able to the last couple of years. I appreciate coming here and making a difference and my teammates have my back and they trust me on the court so that helps as well. That helps my momentum keep going.”

The level of “efficiency” for Tapley was something ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne had only seen one time before all the way back in the Amy Denson era.

“Amy Denson played 14 minutes, had 18 points,” Turner Thorne recalled. “I think she had close to that. She might have even had a few more stats and one less minute. It just goes to show you…all you young basketball players out there that need more time, you don’t. It’s called going in there and making the most of your every touch and every opportunity and being efficient…That is up there with one of our all-time efficient performances. She had a great game. She’s really working hard.”

When asked if Tapley is her version of Zylan Cheatham, the standout forward for ASU’s men’s team last season who is now with the New Orleans Pelicans and was as a fifth-year senior last year, Turner Thorne hesitantly agreed. She said Tapley is “more than helping out” and will be “massively impactful.”

It was not just Tapley’s effort on Sunday for the Sun Devils.

Sophomore forward Jayde Van Hyfte had her first career double-double, putting up 12 points on 6-10 shooting and adding 10 rebounds, seven of which were offensive.

“I’m definitely grateful for this opportunity to play this hard at this level,” Van Hyfte said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates tonight…just being relentless on the court is what I mainly focus on.”

The rebounding numbers for not just Van Hyfte, but the team as a whole, were a big contributor to the blowout.

After the Sun Devils did not rebound particularly well on Tuesday against Air Force (just a 42-36 advantage), they came out with a mission to dominate the glass on Sunday.

ASU grabbed 56 rebounds to the Black Knights’ 25 and had a 30-3 advantage on the offensive glass.

“Yeah we focused on that in practice and we also talked about it before the game,” Tapley stated. “We made sure we set a goal and we actually met that goal…”

Senior guard Robbi Ryan made her season debut after sitting out Tuesday’s game precautionary measure and was a big factor in the game.

Ryan, who will most likely start the majority of games this season, came off the bench Sunday to score 12 points on 5-8 from the field including 2-2 from the three-point line.

“It was just really fun to be back,” Ryan said. “We had a good crowd…It’s just always fun to play with my teammates and to play basketball so I’m glad to be back.”

Van Hyfte said it was great having her senior leader back out there.

“It was nice having Robbi back,” Van Hyfte stated. “She brings a great presence to the team. She pushes the ball up the floor. She’s a senior so she knows what to do and she helps a lot.”

ASU’s defense shined again on Sunday just as it did against Air Force. The Sun Devils forced 25 Air Force turnovers, 15 of which came off steals. ASU won the points off of turnovers battle 34-15 and had a 24-8 fast-break advantage.

The game was nearly over before it even started on Sunday. The Sun Devils immediately opened the game with a 15-2 run in the first 4:01.

Air Force fought back a little bit in the first quarter as forward Lindsey Scamman put up nine of her team-high 12 points in the opening period. ASU led 24-15 at the end of one.

The second quarter was when ASU really started to come on, holding Air Force to just nine shots in the period which the Black Knights made just three of.

Air Force turned the ball over seven times in quarter No. 2 and ASU and Tapley scored six of her points, extending the Sun Devils’ lead to 48-27 heading to the break.

In the third quarter, it was more of the same as ASU held Army to 2-9 shooting and just nine points in the entire period.

ASU pumped the breaks in the fourth quarter, surprisingly losing the quarter 15-12. The Sun Devils allowed the Black Knights to shoot 50 percent in the frame and just shoot 27 percent themselves. However, it was far too late and ASU came away with the massive win.

ASU never trailed in the game and lead by as much as 37.

“Well I thought we got a little better from Tuesday night to today,” Turner Thorne said. “I mean we’re rebounding better. “We’re still clearly very young and not sustaining things the way that we want to…I thought it was a good team win.”

Seniors Jamie Ruden and Reili Richardson were both sidelined for most of the second half. Richardson tweaked her knee and did not return while Ruden was in a boot dealing with what Turner Thorne said was a foot issue the team will keep an eye on throughout the season.

ASU travels to Minneapolis next Sunday for maybe its toughest non-conference opponent in the Lindsey Whalen coached No. 23 Minnesota Golden Gophers.