While the UCLA women’s basketball team refers to the Arizona State Sun Devils as an “overly aggressive” team, any Bruin fan at Saturday’s game might call ASU “dirty.” Fouls, pushing and some side talk characterized Sunday afternoon’s game between UCLA (13-14, 7-9 Pac-10) and No. 10/8 Arizona State (25-3, 15-2 Pac-10). In the last home game for five Bruin seniors, ASU came out on top 80-69.
In the Pac-10 conference, ASU is known for being excessively competitive. Throughout the game, the two teams continued to push each other on the court. ASU committed 24 fouls while the Bruins had 22 of their own.
“Every time we play ASU we know that it’s going to be a battle with scratches,” said senior guard Noelle Quinn. “Anytime we play ASU we’re not going to expect anything less.”
With only one of their starting players over 6 feet, the Sun Devils use their aggressive style of play to compensate for their lack in height.
So far, this strategy has worked well for ASU, as the Sun Devils currently hold the second-place spot in the Pac-10.
“(ASU) will try to get in your face,” senior forward Amanda Livingston said. “They try to outwork their opponents because they are undersized.”
UCLA saw a vast improvement in Sunday’s matchup from the last time they faced ASU. In January, the Bruins fell to the Sun Devils by 40 points in the most lopsided loss of the season.
This time, UCLA kept up with ASU for most of the first half. ASU had its largest lead at 12 points with 3:48 remaining, but the Bruins went on a 10-2 run to cut ASU’s lead to four. At halftime, the Sun Devils led 34-29.
In the second half, ASU went on a 16-4 run as the Bruins began to fall apart. In a six-minute period, UCLA turned the ball over six times. The Sun Devils were able to make some easy baskets as they increased their lead 63-43.
“It’s tough to win a game when you have 24 turnovers ““ and that’s what their defense does to you. It gets disruptive,” said coach Kathy Olivier.
When the Bruins did pick up momentum, the Sun Devils responded right back with baskets of their own.
UCLA scored on five consecutive possessions starting with six minutes remaining, but ASU scored on four out of five of their own possessions to keep their lead over 15 points.
“We were getting good transition and getting shots, and it deflated our momentum (when ASU scored),” said Quinn.
Before the game, the UCLA basketball program honored seniors Quinn, Livingston, guard Shaina Zaidi, center Consuelo Lezcano and forward Julia Pitts in their last game at Pauley Pavilion.
Each senior walked onto the court with her family after an introduction and received a picture and flowers.
“They have given their debts to this program,” Olivier said.
“They have a lot of pride in being Bruins and you could see that in their faces when they came out and got honored.”
All five seniors scored in the game. Quinn led the Bruins with 20 points and five assists. Lezcano tied a career-high nine points and had a career-high six rebounds. Livingston had eight points; Zaidi finished with three points, and Pitts scored two points.