Feb. 6, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State women's basketball team dropped two games on its trip to Oregon, falling 64-51 at Oregon State on Friday night and 66-55 at Oregon on Sunday afternoon. Seniors Rachel Holt (Buckeye, Ariz.) and Kristine Sand (Oslo, Norway) each scored 12 points as the Sun Devils fell to Oregon State Friday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore., in their lowest scoring effort of the year.
Arizona State opened up a 17-7 lead over the first 12 minutes of the game, but Oregon State then put together a 22-8 run to end the half with a 29-25 lead. The Beavers came out strong in the second half, opening up a 10-point advantage over the first 5 minutes. For OSU, sophomore Felicia Ragland had 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half. The Sun Devils struggled offensively, hitting a season-low 24.2 percent in the second half, while Oregon State dominated on the boards, finishing with a 43-31 advantage.
Holt also led the Sun Devils on the boards with six rebounds, while junior Natalie Tucker (Georgetown, Texas) added 10 points in the effort, including a pair of three-pointers. For Oregon State, senior Sissel Pierce chipped in 16 points and a career-high eight blocks, setting the Beavers' career record for blocks.
Two days later, the Oregon Ducks defeated Arizona State in a hard-fought battle at McArthur Court in Eugene. The Sun Devils fell behind early in that game, trailing 16-7 through the first seven minutes of play, but ASU chipped away at that lead with 14-4 run started by Lake Oswego, Ore., native Liz Paulson's three-pointer. The Devils then took a lead of their own and held a 34-26 advantage at the intermission, shooting a sizzling 60.0 percent in the first half.
In the second half, Arizona State extended that lead to 13 points, but Oregon put together an 18-3 run which gave the team a 46-44 lead with 8:04 to play. The Sun Devils shot a season-low 19.1 percent in the second half.
Holt led the Sun Devil squad with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Sand reached double figures for the fourth straight games with 10 points. Senior Kitch Kitchen (Newark, N.J.) pulled down seven rebounds to lead the team which won the battle of the boards 35-26. For Oregon, Shaquala Williams turned in a game-high 25 points.
Arizona State, now 11-8 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-10, returns home to the friendly confines of Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday and Saturday, Feb. 10 and 12 to take on the Washington State Cougars and the Washington Huskies. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Thursday night against the Cougars, while Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m. FOX Sports Net will broadcast Saturday's contest with the Huskies to a national audience. Saturday also marks the culmination of Girls and Women in Sports Week with "Take a Kid to the Game" day.