Two streaks were broken on Thursday night. It’s time to start some new ones.
The ASU women’s basketball team broke both its home and Pac-12 win streaks when they lost 60–48 to USC Thursday night.
Players and coaches said their lack of intensity caused loss.
ASU came into the half up by one point, which was surprising after shooting only 30 percent in the second half.
The Sun Devils defense stepped it up in the first half of action, holding USC to 34.8 percent. The ASU bench also came up big in the first half.
The reserves outscored USC 20–5 in the game, and the bench had 12 points in the first half to keep the Sun Devils in the game.
Sophomore guard Adrianne Thomas led the second unit from the point guard position. She finished the night with seven points in 15 minutes on the floor. She said her plan was to jumpstart the team when her number was called.
The ASU starters seemed to take a note from the bench and came out strong at the start of the second half. About five minutes in, the Sun Devils made three baskets in a row to put them up 32–26.
The Sun Devils looked poised to run away with the game; however, a lead only lasts as long as you make it.
USC introduced a full court press, which stifled the ASU offense. The Trojans shots then began to fall, and USC tied up the game up with 11:43 to go.
USC then went on a 16–4 run to put them up by 12. As the USC lead continued to increase, ASU’s energy continued to decrease.
Thomas said she was disappointed in the team’s energy level at the start of the half.
“Our energy level did not come as fast as we would like it to,” Thomas said. “I think we started off the second half a little slower than what we thought we wanted to.”
Senior forward Kimberly Brandon said that USC capitalized on ASU’s lack of energy to increase their offensive production.
During the Sun Devils’ struggles, senior forward Kali Bennett was called for a technical foul after there was a small scuffle underneath the basket.
Coach Joseph Anders said that he believes his player did not say anything after the play and that the foul hurt the morale of the team.
“When Kali got the foul and the technical, it deflated our team,” Anders said. “That was a huge blow, and we were not able to … muster up very much (after that).”
ASU has a quick turnaround as they face UCLA this Saturday.
Anders said in conference play that he always hopes the team wins both games in a weekend series, but it is imperative they at least split and get one victory.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
