Jan. 24, 2004
EUGENE, Ore. - Junior Betsy Boardman scored 13 points and had three steals to lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 69-67 squeaker at Oregon on Saturday afternoon.
For ASU, the victory gave the team its first Pac-10 road sweep since getting wins at UCLA and USC in 2000-01 after the Sun Devils' 63-56 win at Oregon State on Thursday. The Sun Devils are 3-2 on the road in Pac-10 play this season after going 1-8 last year. ASU improved to 12-6 overall and 6-3 in the league, while Oregon fell to 10-9 overall and 2-7 in Pac-10 play.
ASU's 6-3 Pac-10 start matches the start of the 2001-02 team which won seven of its first 10 Pac-10 games, tied school records for overall (25) and Pac-10 wins (12). That year, the Sun Devils won the 2002 Pac-10 Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
For the second game in a row, ASU fell behind early in the game, trailing 7-2 five minutes into the ballgame. The Sun Devils then rallied with a 15-1 run to take a 17-8 lead with 7:57 to play. ASU led 21-10 with 6:16 left in the first half, but Oregon knocked down three three-pointers, including a pair by sophomore Chelsea Wagner, and closed the half on a 19-6 run to take a three-point lead into the locker room, 30-27.
Freshman Emily Westerberg pulled down eight of her career-high 10 rebounds in the first half, while Boardman scored seven of her 13 points in the first 20 minutes to lead the Sun Devils.
The second half was characterized by small runs by each team. Sophomore Amy Denson tied things up for ASU by draining her fourth three-pointer of the season 22 seconds into the half. Boardman scored six points over the next two and a half minutes, and ASU took a 40-34 lead with 16:54 to play. The Ducks cut the lead to one a minute later, but ASU responded with a 7-0 run, including five points by sophomore Jenny Thigpin, to go up 47-39 with 12:39 to play.
Oregon cut the lead to one point twice over the next few minutes and tied the game at 53 with 6:36 to play. The Ducks scored 11 of the next 14 points in the game to take a 64-56 lead with 3:59 left in the game.
Arizona State then went to work. Freshman Alisha Godette drove the lane, was fouled and then knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the lead to six. Denson then hit 3-of-4 free throws to bring ASU within three points, and Godette tied the game at 64 with a three-pointer with 1:39 to play.
Sophomore Kristen Kovesdy hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 48 seconds left, while ASU made 5-of-8 free throws over the final 48 seconds to secure the 69-67 win.
Boardman finished the game with 13 points, while Denson scored all 10 of her points in the second half. Westerberg finished with a career-best 10 rebounds. Godette scored nine points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while junior Carrie Buckner and Kovesdy each finished with eight points. Buckner added a team-high four assists and no turnovers.
For Oregon, Wagner finished with a game-high 20 points to lead five Ducks in double figures and knocked down 5-of-9 attempts from three-point land.
The Sun Devils return to Tempe this week, beginning a three-game homestand with the Arizona Wildcats (15-4, 7-1 Pac-10) on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. AZ-TV will televise the game statewide, while it can also be heard locally on NBC 1190 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com with Vince Marotta and Kayte Christensen calling the action.