Feb. 10, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Four Sun Devils scored in double figures as the Arizona State women's basketball team snapped its four-game losing streak Thursday night with a 73-53 victory over Washington State at Wells Fargo Arena. Arizona State improved to 12-8 overall and 5-5 in the Pac-10, while Washington State fell to 4-16 and 1-9 in the conference.
Senior center Rachel Holt (Buckeye, Ariz.) led the team with 16 points, including a career-best two three-pointers, and eight rebounds to give Arizona State a sweep in the two games with the Cougars this season. Earlier this year, Arizona State defeated Washington State 64-54 on Feb. 15 in Pullman, Wash. The victory also marked ASU's largest over a Pac-10 conference opponent since downing Oregon State 69-49 in Tempe on Feb. 21, 1998.
Arizona State started out strong in the first half, taking a seven-point lead in the first five and a half minutes of the game when Holt hit a three-pointer, just the second of her four-year career. Washington State narrowed that gap to two points over the next 1:15, but ASU used a jumper by junior Liz Paulson (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and another trey by Holt to go ahead again by seven with 10:49 left in the first.
Washington State then took control of the game, capitalizing on its stellar 63.2 percent first-half performance from the field (12-19). The Cougars went on an 11-0 run, fueled by nine points and two steals from WSU senior Jen Kerns, to take a 23-19 lead with 6:26 to play in the first half. The seesaw battle continued over the final six minutes, and ASU held a narrow 36-34 lead at halftime.
In the second half, ASU quickly extended its lead to double figures midway through the period. The Sun Devils led by as many as 22 points and held the Cougs to 19 second-half points en route to the 73-53 victory. Junior Natalie Tucker (Georgetown, Texas) hit two of her career-best three-pointers in the second half.
Sophomore Theresa Jantzen (Medicine Hat, Alberta) finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Tucker and senior Kristine Sand (Oslo, Norway) rounded out the Sun Devils scorers with 11 points each. The Sun Devils notched a season-low 13 turnovers while forcing 19 and outrebounded the Cougars 37-27. Sophomore Rainy Crisp (Shiprock, N.M.) turned in her best performance of the season with a career-best four points and four assists and pulled down three rebounds.
For the Cougars, Kerns finished with a team-high 14 points. Junior Victoria Harrod added eight points, while freshman Kelley Berglund led the team with seven rebounds.
The Sun Devils return to action on Saturday afternoon when they play host to the Washington Huskies at 2 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena as part of "Take a Kid to the Game" day and ASU's Girls and Women in Sports Week. FOX Sports Net will broadcast the game to a national audience, while the game can also be heard on KTKP 1280 AM with Robby Robinson and Jennifer Adams calling the action.