When the Bruins travel to the desert this weekend, they’ll
be hoping their six-game winning streak doesn’t dry up
against the Arizona schools.
While Arizona State is 3-3 in the Pac-10, they are undefeated at
the Wells Fargo Arena this season and have won 16 of their last 17
home games.
“I’ve seen inconsistencies (in our game) this
season,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “But
we’re more aggressive and confident at home.”
ASU’s offense relies on freshman guard Jill Noe, who
averages 15.3 points per game. Also crucial for the Sun
Devils’ scoring is post player Kristen Kovesdy, who was key
in turning around a nine-point deficit in ASU’s 66-58 win
over Washington State last weekend.
ASU will have to stifle Bruin senior guard Michelle Greco, who
leads the conference in scoring with 19.8 points per game.
“(Greco) was a dominant player before (redshirting last
year),” Turner Thorne said, “but she is truly having an
amazing year.”
“We’ll have to limit her good looks (at the basket)
and keep her off the boards.”
Both ASU and UCLA will look to the strong contributions from
their freshmen. Both Noe and Kovesdy are freshmen Sun Devils, and
Bruin freshmen Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis continue to make their
mark not only by scoring, but rebounding and bringing a strong
defensive presence to the court as well.
The Bruins’ most potent asset, however, is their ability
to play as a unit ““ no doubt something that both teams will
attempt to break through this weekend.
“This will tell us where we stand,” head coach Kathy
Olivier said. “It’s going to be a tough road trip, but
I like this team on the road because they will battle … they have
a lot of new talent and they put a lot of points on the board, so
they scare me a little too.”
While the Sun Devils have a lot of good players, it’s
Arizona who may be the tougher matchup for the Bruins.
The Wildcats’ center, redshirt freshman Shawntinice Polk,
creates a formidable presence on both ends of the court with 18.5
points per game and 11.7 rebounds.
“We’ve noticed UCLA doing a lot of things
we’ll have to adjust to,” Polk said. “We’ll
just have to play hard.”
UCLA will have to adjust its game as well. Recently playing as
many as four guards at once, the Bruins will have to take into
account Arizona’s huge height advantage; half of their squad
is over six feet. “Arizona will probably take advantage of
our guards and post up to take advantage of their big
players,” Olivier said.
Olivier and the Bruins, however, have found success in creating
a game plan of their own. Currently, UCLA leads the Pac-10 at 5-0.
The last time the Bruins won more than six consecutive games was in
1999.
“We just have to worry about our game,” said
freshman guard Nikki Blue. “Hopefully this weekend we can do
what we do best.”