Thanks to the thousands of enthusiastic schoolchildren that attended the Sparky’s Kids to College Field Trip Game, Thursday’s ASU women’s basketball matchup against WSU was the loudest home game this season.
The atmosphere before the game was electric, with cheers and screams drowning out the PA announcer as he read the starting lineup. With every basket the Sun Devils made, the noise level rose, and for every shot the Cougars knocked down, there was a chorus of boos.
As the Wave got under way towards the end of the first half, you could see the looks of incredulity upon the faces of the WSU players. It was that loud.
The appearance of Big Red, the Cardinals’ mascot and Baxter the Bobcat at halftime whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and the noise reached a crescendo at the start of the second half when ASU took a brief lead.
Whether or not the atmosphere affected the game was unclear, but the frantic pace seemed to suggest both teams were reacting to the crowd. And despite the 70-65 ASU loss, everyone watching the crowds file out walked away with a smile.
And buzzing ears.
