Maybe it’s the dry heat.
Whatever the reason, opposing teams have not been able to travel
to Tempe, Ariz., and hand the Arizona State women’s
basketball team a loss ““ not in the last 18 games,
anyway.
The No. 18 Sun Devils’ home winning streak, which
stretches back to last season, has helped separate them from the
cluster of Pac-10 teams fighting for their postseason lives.
Add the Bruins (12-9, 7-5 Pac-10) to that continuing list. They
were beaten 87-70 by the Sun Devils on Thursday night.
“They are tough to beat at home,” UCLA coach Kathy
Olivier said. “We learned that one the hard way. I
don’t know why they play with so much confidence at home, but
when they play like that they are an elite team.”
If the home court was an ambiguous advantage, the value of big
bodies in the paint was worth its weight.
UCLA was overwhelmed by Arizona State in the opening minutes,
coming undone by turnovers and defensive lapses that were magnified
by the swarming and ever-changing lineup Arizona State put out on
the court.
“(Arizona State) really came out playing aggressively and
physically,” Olivier said. “The referees were calling a
loose game, and we didn’t take advantage of that.”
The physical dominance for Arizona State of senior forwards
Kristen Kovesdy and Amy Denson was on display early and often. The
two led the Sun Devils (17-5, 8-4) out to a 43-25 halftime lead
that proved to put the game out of reach for the Bruins.
UCLA junior forward Amanda Livingston sprained her ankle and was
removed from the game after only six minutes had lapsed in the
game, leaving a void in the lineup that was not filled.
A team already short on big, imposing bodies was quickly down
after losing its most accomplished post player, and the Bruins had
trouble finding anyone else who could stop Kovesdy or Denson, who
finished with a combined 29 points and 11 rebounds. As soon as
Livingston went down, Arizona State stretched its lead from five to
16 and kept UCLA at arm’s length for the rest of the
night.
“We couldn’t really stop their big players down in
the paint like we did at home last month,” Olivier said.
“We didn’t dictate the pace of the game like we did
back at home.”
Junior guard Noelle Quinn continued her torrid shooting, scoring
a season-high 30 points on 12-for-16 from the field. However, she
received very little support, as only three Bruins scored in
double-digits.
Over the past three games, the junior standout has scored a
total of 80 points, carrying her team to the finish line. But on
Thursday the Sun Devils steamed so far ahead that Quinn’s
output did not matter.
“It’s nice to be playing so well at the end of the
year, when it matters,” Quinn said. “But we just need
to find a way to win these games on the road.”
The loss drops UCLA from second back down to fifth in the
conference standings heading into Saturday’s contest against
Arizona.
“We have to show up to play on the road right when the
game starts,” Olivier said. “It’s on us to do
that against Arizona.”