Feb. 8, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - Sophomore Carrie Buckner scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half to lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 62-56 upset of No. 20 Washington Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
With the win, the team's third of the year against a ranked team, the Sun Devils improved to 14-8 overall and 6-7 in the Pac-10. Washington fell to 17-5 and 9-4 in the Pac-10 and lost its fifth game in six tries at Wells Fargo Arena.
Arizona State took the early lead, going up 11-7 with 12:20 left in the first half after sophomore Jen Albert knocked down a three-pointer. Washington, however, outscored ASU 20-7 over the next eight minutes to take a 27-18 lead with 4:31 to play in the first half. The Sun Devils cut the lead to four points on two occasions, but Washington hit three late free throws to take a 32-25 halftime lead. Arizona State got balanced scoring in the first half with freshman Kristen Kovesdy leading the team with five points and six Sun Devils scoring at least three points. Washington junior Giuliana Mendiola led all scorers with 16 points, knocking down all six attempts from the field.
The Sun Devils set the tone to start the second half, getting three quick steals and opening the half with an 8-0 run to take a 33-32 lead with 16:19 to play. The next nine minutes saw seven lead changes and two ties until Washington got a three-pointer and a pair of layups to go up 50-45 ith 6:12 remaining. The Sun Devils answered with a 7-0 run to go up 52-50 with 3:55 to play. Mendiola tied the game on the next possession at 52, but freshman Amy Denson turned in a layup and knocked down a free throw and Buckner got a steal and layup to give ASU the lead for good. The Huskies got within one point down the stretch, but Arizona State knocked down five of six free throw attempts over the final 19 seconds of the game to secure the 62-56 victory.
Buckner turned in 10 of her team-leading 12 points and all six of her career-best six steals in the second half to lead ASU to the victory. Buckner also added six rebounds, while Denson turned in 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Freshman Jill Noe finished with just three points but led the team with nine rebounds and six assists. Six Sun Devils finished with at least six points in the victory.
After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half, Arizona State made just three turnovers in the second half for a season-low 13 in the game. The Sun Devils also turned 10 of their 13 steals in the second half en route to their third straight home win, a streak that has included two upsets of ranked teams.
For Washington, Mendiola finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists but had just four points in the second half. Senior Loree Payne turned in 16 points and five rebounds.
Arizona State returns to action next weekend, traveling to Los Angeles to take on the USC Women of Troy on Friday, Feb. 14 and the UCLA Bruins on Sunday, Feb. 16. Both games can be heard on ASU's flagship station, NBC 1190 AM, or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com.