Jan. 22, 2004
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Sophomore Kristen Kovesdy scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 63-56 victory at Oregon State Thursday night.
With the victory, Arizona State improved to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-10 and snapped a four-game losing streak at Oregon State's Gill Coliseum. Oregon State fell to 10-7 and 4-4 in the league with the loss.
ASU got off to a slow start in the game, turning the ball over on seven of its first 11 possessions to fall behind 10-2 with 14:12 to play. The Sun Devils then broke the game open with a 19-0 run over the next nine minutes to go up 21-10 with 5:34 left in the half. Arizona State held Oregon State to just two field goals in the final 14 minutes of the half. The team led by as many as 15 points, but Oregon State hit 9-of-10 free throws over the final three minutes of the half and ASU had a 30-22 halftime lead.
Oregon State scored the first six points of the second half to cut the ASU lead to two points, 30-28 with 17:52 to play. Arizona State went back up by six points a minute later, but the Beavers took their first lead since early in the game over the next six minutes, going up 38-37 with 11:13 to play. ASU went on a 7-0 run to lead 46-39 with 7:46 remaining, while Oregon State answered with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the game at 46 with 6:10 to play.
The Sun Devils solidified the victory by scoring the next five points, including a three-pointer by junior Kylan Loney, to regain a lead they would not relinquish en route to the 63-56 victory.
Kovesdy led four Sun Devils in double figures with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while freshman Emily Westerberg had eight of her 13 points in the second half. Loney added 12 points, while junior Betsy Boardman had 11 points and a game-high six rebounds.
Arizona State outrebounded Oregon State 38-29 but had 26 turnovers in the victory.
The Sun Devils return to action on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Eugene, Ore., to take on the Oregon Ducks (10-8, 2-6 Pac-10) at 12 p.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Mountain). Fox Sports Net will broadcast the game to a national television audience, while the game can also be heard locally on NBC 1190 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com with Vince Marotta calling the action.