Feb. 27, 2004
PULLMAN, Wash. -
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Coming off a 63-55 loss at Washington on Thursday night, the Arizona State Sun Devils wrap up the regular season Saturday afternoon, traveling to Pullman, Wash., to take on the Washington State Cougars at 2 p.m. Pacific (3 p.m. MST). Arizona State looks to snap a streak of three straight Pac-10 road losses following Thursday night's defeat in Seattle. ASU also looks to extend a streak that has seen the team win 13 straight games over Washington State, including the last six games at WSU's Friel Court. ASU is tied for third in the league standings with an 11-6 Pac-10 mark and could tie the school record for league victories in a season (12-6) with a win on Saturday. Washington State brings a 5-21 overall record and a 1-16 Pac-10 mark into Saturday's game following a 77-72 loss to Arizona on Thursday night. The Cougars have lost their last seven games.
In the Series Arizona State holds a 24-11 advantage in the series with Washington State and has won the last 13 meetings with the Cougars, including a 68-61 victory in Tempe on Dec. 27, 2003, this year's Pac-10 opener for both teams. The Sun Devils also hold a slim 9-8 advantage in games played in Pullman with a streak of six straight wins and head to the Palouse this weekend looking for their seventh straight season sweep of the Cougars. Last year, ASU turned in a 66-58 victory in Pullman on Jan. 11, 2003, and a 70-52 win in Tempe on Feb. 6. WSU's last wins over the Sun Devils came during the 1996-97 season when the Cougars swept both games that year.
Road Warriors After turning in a 1-8 mark in Pac-10 road games last season, the Sun Devils are 3-5 in league road contests this year with victories at California, Oregon State and Oregon. ASU has lost its last three Pac-10 road contests including Thursday night's loss at Washington, but earlier this year, the Sun Devils had won three straight Pac-10 road games, including wins at Oregon State and Oregon, the team's first Pac-10 road sweep since the 2000-01 season.
Notes from the Washington Game Junior Kylan Loney had 12 points to lead a balanced Arizona State scoring attack, but it wasn't enough as the Sun Devils fell to the Washington Huskies 63-55 Thursday night at Bank of America Arena.
After Washington took a 4-0 lead on two straight buckets by freshman Cameo Hicks, ASU used a 9-2 run to go up 18-11 with 10:54 left in the first half. The Sun Devils maintained that advantage through the end of the first half, leading by as many as nine, 27-18, with 3:00 left on the clock. The Huskies cut the lead to three points late in the first half, but Loney drained a long three at the buzzer to give ASU a 36-32 halftime lead.
Washington scored the first six points of the second half to tie the score at 32 with 18:36 to play. The game stayed close over the next few minutes with three ties. Loney knocked down a three-pointer to put ASU up 41-40 with 11:45 to play, but Washington took the lead for good with a three-pointer by Andrea Lalum and a pair of free throws by Giuliana Mendiola to go up 45-41 with 11:09 to play.
UW led by as many as eight points later in the half, but the Sun Devils cut the lead to one point, 50-49, after junior Betsy Boardman made a pair of free throws with 4:11 to play to cap off a 7-0 run. Washington, however, made 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to take the 63-55 victory.
Mendiola finished with a season-high 31 points, making 16-of-20 free throws. UW experienced a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 25-of-35 attempts at the charity stripe compared to just 13-of-14 for the Sun Devils. Lalum added 15 points for Washington, while Jill Bell had 13 rebounds.
Loney led the Sun Devils with 12 points, while junior Carrie Buckner and sophomore Amy Denson each had nine points. Denson had a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore Kristen Kovesdy and freshman Aubree Johnson each pulled down seven rebounds.
Quick Notes on the Sun Devils
- Junior Kylan Loney has led the Sun Devils in scoring in three of the last four games, including 12 points at Washington on Thursday night. In the last four games, Loney has averaged 12.3 points per game, up from her season average of 10.2 points per contest.
- Freshman Aubree Johnson has started the last three games and has played 28.3 minutes per game in those three contests, up from her season average of 16.9 minutes per game. She has averaged 5.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the three games.
- Arizona State has allowed just 58.4 points per game in its last 14 games. ASU has held 15 opponents to 60 points or less this year and is 12-3 in those contests. The Sun Devils rank second in the Pac-10 in scoring defense at 60.7 points allowed per game.
- The Sun Devils lead the league in three-point defense for all games at 31.1 percent (43-160) and have held Pac-10 opponents to a league-best 26.9 percent (43-160). Including a 28.6 percent night by Washington on Thursday (2-7), ASU has allowed its last 15 opponents to shoot just 23.9 percent from beyond the arc (33-138).
- With an 11-6 Pac-10 mark, the Sun Devils need one win to tie the school record for Pac-10 victories. ASU tied for first in the league with a 12-6 mark in 2000-01 and matched that wins total in 2001-02 (tied for second). Currently in third place, ASU will be attempting to finish in the top half of the Pac-10 for the third time in four years and exceed the preseason poll predictions of both the league's media members (fourth) and coaches (fifth).
- Arizona State continues to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding defense and rebounding margin, is third in defensive rebounds and fourth in rebounding offense. The team has outrebounded (or tied) 11 of its last 13 opponents and held those 13 teams to just 31.5 rebounds per game, including a 38-35 advantage over Washington on Thursday night.
- Individually, sophomore Kristen Kovesdy is first on the team and 19th in the Pac-10 at 5.0 rebounds per game (124 rebounds), while sophomore Amy Denson and junior Carrie Buckner just behind at 4.8 and 4.6 rebounds per game, respectively. Denson paces the team in rebounding in Pac-10 play, averaging 4.7 rebounds per league contest, including a team-high eight boards at Washington on Thursday night.
- The Sun Devils have shot 74.7 percent from the free throw line in the last 10 games (174-233), including a season-high 92.9 percent effort on Thursday at Washington (13-14). ASU is fourth in the league in free throw shooting at 71.4 percent.
- Three Sun Devils are ranked in the Pac-10's top 10 for free throw percentage with junior Kylan Loney ranked third in the Pac-10 at 79.5 percent, sophomore Kristen Kovesdy ninth at 76.1 percent and junior Betsy Boardman 10th at 74.0 percent.
- Including her 3-of-5 effort from beyond the arc on Thursday, junior Kylan Loney leads the team and ranks fourth in the Pac-10 in three-point shooting at 40.8 percent (40-98). In Pac-10 play, she is fourth in the league at 43.9 percent (29-66). She has knocked down 40 three-pointers this year, which ranks ninth on the ASU single-season list for three-pointers made.
- Loney also needs just two more three-pointers to become just the fifth Sun Devil to knock down 100 career treys. Junior Betsy Boardman ranks fourth on the ASU career list for three-pointers made with 107, while Loney is fifth on that list with 98 career treys.
- After starting the season shooting just 15.4 percent from the three-point line (2-13) in the first five games, Loney has shot 44.1 percent in the last 21 tilts (38-86).
- Sophomore forward Kristen Kovesdy continues to lead the Sun Devils in scoring and field goal percentage in Pac-10 play. She leads the league in field goal percentage in conference games, knocking down 59.0 percent of her attempts (69-117), and is 16th in the Pac-10 in scoring in league games with 11.0 points per game. Kovesdy ranks third in the league in field goal percentage in all games at 55.4 percent (93-168).
- After starting the season shooting just 19.0 percent in the first four games (4-21), Kovesdy has made 60.5 percent of her field goals in the last 22 (89-147).
- ASU is 10-0 on the year when scoring 70 points or more.
- ASU's bench continues to produce in every game and has been outscored just seven times in 26 games this season. The Sun Devil bench players are turning in an average of 26.1 points per game this year, while a Sun Devil has led the team in scoring off the bench five times this season. Freshman Emily Westerberg (6.3 points per game) and sophomore Amy Denson (5.8 ppg) are the top scorers off the bench. Eight Sun Devils have started at least one game this year.
- After starting three true freshmen and two sophomores last year, the 2003-04 Sun Devil active roster is still a very young one featuring just four juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. ASU's only senior, Jen Albert, is out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear suffered on Dec. 27. Sophomore Jill Noe, a Pac-10 All-Freshman selection and ASU's leading scorer last year, has been out all season after suffering an ACL tear in early October.
Last Time Against Washington State Junior Kylan Loney scored 24 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Arizona State past Washington State 68-61 on Dec. 27 in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.
Junior Carrie Buckner added a season-high 15 points for the Sun Devils (7-3). Senior Bianca McCall had 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting for the Cougars, while Stephanie Singer added 12 points for WSU.
ASU took advantage of 29 WSU turnovers, scoring 28 points off those miscues. The Sun Devils overcame a 34-percent shooting night (21 of 62), making 9 of 22 from beyond the 3-point line to tie the school record for three-pointers in a game.
Washington State led 35-30 at the half and 43-28 with 12:32 remaining, but Arizona State went on a 14-5 run over the next six minutes and led the rest of the way.
For Arizona State, the victory marked its first win in a Pac-10 season opener since opening the 1999-00 season with a victory over Stanford. In addition to her 24 points, Loney tied her career bests with five three-pointers and nine three-point attempts. Buckner added four steals for the Sun Devils, while junior Betsy Boardman knocked down three three-pointers and added 11 points, seven assists and four steals.
Up Next Following Saturday's game at Washington State to wrap up the regular season, the Sun Devils head to the third annual Pac-10 Tournament March 5-8 in San Jose, Calif. Pac-10 Tournament pairings will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 29.