University of Washington
Arizona State
Sun Devils Swarm Huskies In Desert
February 16, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. -It was a case of too little, too late for Washington.
Having trimmed a 17-point Arizona State lead to single digits, the Huskies didn't have enough to finish off the comeback at Wells Fargo Arena. And so the postscript to the Sun Devils' 47-41 win goes down as a lost opportunity.
Turnovers were the biggest bugaboo for the Huskies, who finished with 24. Regina Rogers led UW with 13 points and 11 rebounds, her ninth double-double this season, but the Huskies had issues sustaining momentum on the offensive end.
Give some credit to ASU, which held Washington to just 28 percent shooting from the floor. The Sun Devils stayed true to their brand, hounding the Huskies from one end of the floor to the other. When the Huskies could beat their marks, the lengthy Sun Devils' interior swatted away shots. Former UW player Kali Bennett had nine blocks for Arizona State, which broke a school record. The Sun Devils as a team finished with 16 blocks.
Kevin McGuff's message after the game was simple: the season is winding down, and so is the time to capitalize on the opportunity to play in postseason. The Huskies fell to 13-11, 5-9 in the Pac-12 with four games left in the regular season.
In analyzing the game, the first-year Husky coach noted his needed more fire to counteract Arizona State's physical, in-your-face defense. The turnovers, he added, also have to be cleaned up.
"We can't win with that many turnovers, so we have to play with more toughness on the offensive end," McGuff said.
Olivia Major tallied 14 points to lead the Sun Devils on offense. Alex Earl added eight points, punctuating her night with a 29-foot three pointer with nine minutes remaining.
Jazmine Davis scored 12 points for the Huskies, doing most of her damage in a first half where both teams struggled to establish any momentum.
But the Dawgs went to the locker room trailing by just five points at 24-19. That's because the Sun Devils' play was equally as sloppy, marred by passes fired out-of-bounds and shaky ball-handling.
Davis was at times a one-woman show for the Huskies in the first half, curling around screens for jumpers. She came into the game the No. 5 scoring freshman in the nation with 16 ppg, and fourth overall in the Pac-12. She's embraced the challenge McGuff gave her to begin the season - shouldering the scoring load for the Huskies on offense.
Washington finishes the road trip with a Sunday afternoon game at Arizona, which will also be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports Net (ROOT Sports in Seattle area). Tip-off time at the McKale Center is set for 2 p.m. PST.
