TEMPE, Ariz. – After falling behind by double digits in the first half, the Sun Devil women's basketball team was not able to get back within striking distance in a 70-55 loss to No. 7 USC on Saturday.
The Trojans' size proved to be too much for the Sun Devils (11-19, 3-15 Pac-12) to contend with as USC ended the game with tremendous advantages in points in the paint (42-22), rebounds (54-34), offensive rebounds (16-6) second chance points (21-0) and blocked shots (10-3).
For the second straight game, Jalyn Brown (17 points) and Trayanna Crisp (16 points) were the top scorers for the Sun Devils. Both players also tied second for the team lead in rebounds with five caroms each. In her final game at Desert Financial Arena, Isadora Sousa just missed a double-double with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
One area where the Sun Devils continued to remain outstanding was ball handling as the team had only six turnovers. It was the 12th time in their last 24 games in which they had 11 or fewer turnovers. To take it a step further, ASU concluded the regular season averaging under 10 turnovers (9.6 per game) in its last six games.
The two teams had identical numbers in free throws made and attempted (10-14), made 3-pointers (5) and points off turnovers (6). In addition to USC's aforementioned advantages in paint points and second chance points, the Trojans (40.8 percent/28-69) shot nearly eight percentage points higher than the Sun Devils (32.8/20-61) and made eight more field goals.
The Trojans (23-5, 13-5) jumped out to a 14-3 lead. ASU outscored USC 9-4 over the last three minutes of the first quarter, capped off by a 3-pointer in the final seconds by Crisp to pull within six points, 18-12 after 10 minutes.
The Sun Devils drew even closer after a pair of free throws by Brown decreased USC's lead to 18-14 in the opening seconds of the second quarter.
USC prevented the Sun Devils from inching any closer as it accounted for the next nine points to more than triple its lead to 27-14.
A 3-pointer by Brown later in the quarter got ASU back within single digits, 32-24. As it turned out, that would be as close as the Sun Devils would get the remainder of the game after the Trojans closed the frame with a 7-2 run to take a 39-26 lead at the half.
USC led by as many as 23 in the third quarter before the Sun Devils scored the final seven points to get within 16 entering the final period.
ASU closed the game with a solid fourth quarter, outscoring USC 16-15 over the final 10 minutes.
Saturday's game was Senior Day. Prior to the game, senior Sun Devils Maggie Besselink, Treasure Hunt and Jaddan Simmons were honored by the program and its fans.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a first round game at the Pac-12 Tournament, which commences on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Official tournament pairings will be announced by the Pac-12 on Saturday evening.
The Trojans' size proved to be too much for the Sun Devils (11-19, 3-15 Pac-12) to contend with as USC ended the game with tremendous advantages in points in the paint (42-22), rebounds (54-34), offensive rebounds (16-6) second chance points (21-0) and blocked shots (10-3).
For the second straight game, Jalyn Brown (17 points) and Trayanna Crisp (16 points) were the top scorers for the Sun Devils. Both players also tied second for the team lead in rebounds with five caroms each. In her final game at Desert Financial Arena, Isadora Sousa just missed a double-double with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
One area where the Sun Devils continued to remain outstanding was ball handling as the team had only six turnovers. It was the 12th time in their last 24 games in which they had 11 or fewer turnovers. To take it a step further, ASU concluded the regular season averaging under 10 turnovers (9.6 per game) in its last six games.
The two teams had identical numbers in free throws made and attempted (10-14), made 3-pointers (5) and points off turnovers (6). In addition to USC's aforementioned advantages in paint points and second chance points, the Trojans (40.8 percent/28-69) shot nearly eight percentage points higher than the Sun Devils (32.8/20-61) and made eight more field goals.
The Trojans (23-5, 13-5) jumped out to a 14-3 lead. ASU outscored USC 9-4 over the last three minutes of the first quarter, capped off by a 3-pointer in the final seconds by Crisp to pull within six points, 18-12 after 10 minutes.
The Sun Devils drew even closer after a pair of free throws by Brown decreased USC's lead to 18-14 in the opening seconds of the second quarter.
USC prevented the Sun Devils from inching any closer as it accounted for the next nine points to more than triple its lead to 27-14.
A 3-pointer by Brown later in the quarter got ASU back within single digits, 32-24. As it turned out, that would be as close as the Sun Devils would get the remainder of the game after the Trojans closed the frame with a 7-2 run to take a 39-26 lead at the half.
USC led by as many as 23 in the third quarter before the Sun Devils scored the final seven points to get within 16 entering the final period.
ASU closed the game with a solid fourth quarter, outscoring USC 16-15 over the final 10 minutes.
Saturday's game was Senior Day. Prior to the game, senior Sun Devils Maggie Besselink, Treasure Hunt and Jaddan Simmons were honored by the program and its fans.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a first round game at the Pac-12 Tournament, which commences on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Official tournament pairings will be announced by the Pac-12 on Saturday evening.