Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

ASU collapses in second half against USC

SWATTED AWAY: ASU junior forward Becca Tobin goes for a block on a shot by USC senior guard Heather Oliver during the Sun Devils’ 62-52 loss Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Steve Rodriguez)
SWATTED AWAY: ASU junior forward Becca Tobin goes for a block on a shot by USC senior guard Heather Oliver during the Sun Devils’ 62-52 loss Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Steve Rodriguez)

The ASU women’s basketball team would probably like to go back and redo the final five minutes of its two contests against USC this season if it could.

Two months after blowing a nine-point lead to the Women of Troy in the game’s last five minutes, the Sun Devils were unable to connect from the field in that same time frame on Saturday afternoon, which allowed the Women of Troy to come back and beat the Sun Devils 62-52 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles in both teams’ regular-season finale.

“This is March — you’ve got to be tough and you’ve got to step up and you’ve got to make shots,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “You’ve got to make good decisions with the ball and you’ve got to box out. We didn’t do those things. This team did not do the things you have to do to win in March.”

ASU’s nine conference losses are the most since the 2002-03 season and marks the first time since that same season it was swept by the Los Angeles schools.

The Sun Devils (17-12, 9-9 Pac-10) will have the No. 5 seed in this week’s Pac-10 Tournament and will first take on California in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.

After building a 33-26 halftime lead and getting 24 of those points in the paint, ASU made just five of its 19 field-goal attempts (26.3 percent) in the second period to let USC (18-11, 12-6 Pac-10) overtake the game.

“We rushed and settled and people made bad decisions,” Turner Thorne said. “[USC] denied a little bit in the post. We just got away from what we were doing in the first half and we didn’t get the ball inside as well.”

Following a free throw by junior forward Becca Tobin that allowed the Sun Devils to regain a 46-45 advantage, a layup by USC senior guard/forward Aarika Hughes on the Women of Troy’s next possession gave them the lead it would never relinquish.

The Sun Devils did not convert a field goal in the final five minutes and turned the ball over five times, as USC ended the game on a 17-6 run to pull away with the victory.

“[The turnovers were] absolutely the difference in the game,” Turner Thorne said. “It wasn’t necessarily because of any incredible pressure [defense from USC] — it was just us not making great decisions with the basketball. And it’s everybody — it was our seniors, it was our young kids. It was everybody taking turns making mistakes.”

ASU jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on back-to-back jumpers by sophomore center Kali Bennett and held that advantage until USC sophomore guard Ashley Corral drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game at 16 with 8:27 left before the break.

Another trifecta by Corral put the Women of Troy up 20-19 at the 6:29 mark of the first half, but ASU responded with a steal and a basket by sophomore wing Kimberly Brandon and a layup by freshman guard Sabrina McKinney to regain the lead it would hold for the rest of the period.

The Sun Devils closed the half on a 5-0 spurt in the final minute, including an old-fashioned 3-point play by junior guard Tenaya Watson with a second remaining, to take a 33-26 cushion into the locker room.

ASU maintained its lead for the first the first 10 minutes of the second frame before a layup Corral capped a 6-0 run by USC to grab a 45-43 advantage with eight minutes remaining.

A jumper by Tobin with 5:19 to go tied the game 45-45, and her free throw on ASU’s next possession gave the Sun Devils the lead before USC’s final run to end the game.

In all, the Sun Devils committed seven more turnovers (23) than the Women of Troy and could not out-rebound an undersized USC team (34-34).

“[There was] just some real lack of executing passes, which has been a weakness of ours,” Turner Thorne said. “We are not a good passing team, and lately it has definitely been a struggle. This weekend it hurt us in both games. We’re just throwing it at the wrong angles.”

Senior guard Danielle Orsillo scored 13 points for ASU, while Watson added 11. Tobin had nine points and grabbed six rebounds.

Corral led all scorers with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Freshman forward Christina Marinacci added nine points and seven rebounds, and Hughes also chipped in with nine points.

Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.