March 3, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. -
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With a 17-10 overall record, the Arizona State Sun Devils head to San Jose, Calif., for the 2004 State Farm Pac-10 Conference Tournament this weekend. As the No. 5 seed in the tournament, Arizona State will take on the fourth-seeded UCLA Bruins Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. Pacific at HP Pavilion in San Jose. The winner of the ASU-UCLA game will play on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. Pacific against the winner of a game between top-seeded Stanford and either Oregon or California (who play Friday night in the 8-9 game). With an 11-7 Pac-10 record, the Sun Devils finished in a tie for third in the league standings with USC and UCLA, the third time in four years that ASU has finished in the top half of the Pac-10. Arizona State heads to San Jose looking to snap a two-game losing streak and avoid the team's first three-game losing streak of the season. UCLA brings a 16-11 overall mark into Saturday's game with the Sun Devils after turning in a 68-64 victory over crosstown rival USC last Sunday. The Bruins have won seven of their last eight games.
In the Series UCLA holds a 38-14 advantage in the series with the Sun Devils, dating back to the first meeting between the two teams in 1976-77. The two teams split a pair of meetings this season with each team winning on its home floor. Arizona State turned in a 73-58 victory over the Bruins on Jan. 15 in Tempe, while UCLA garnered a 73-64 victory in Los Angeles on Feb. 14. The Bruins won both meetings in 2002-03, but prior to that, ASU had turned in a four-game winning streak in the series (back-to-back sweeps in 2000-01 and 2001-02), a stretch which marked the Sun Devils' longest all time winning streak vs. UCLA.
About the 2004 State Farm Pac-10 Tournament The Pac-10 Conference plays the third annual State Farm Women's Basketball Tournament Friday-Monday, March 5-8, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. A total of nine games will be played in San Jose with the champion earning the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
2004 State Farm Pac-10 Tournament Schedule of Games Friday, March 5 Game 1: #7 Oregon State (14-13, 8-10) vs. #10 Washington State (6-21, 2-16), 6 p.m. Game 2: #8 Oregon (14-14, 6-12) vs. #9 California (11-16, 4-14), 8:15 p.m.Saturday, March 6 Game 3: #3 USC (15-12, 11-7) vs. #6 Washington (16-11, 9-9), 11 a.m. Game 4: #2 Arizona (22-7, 14-4) vs. Winner 7/10, 1:15 p.m. Game 5: #1 Stanford (21-6, 14-4) vs. Winner 8/9, 5 p.m. Game 6: #4 UCLA (16-11, 11-7) vs. #5 Arizona State (17-10, 11-7), 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, March 7 Game 7: Game 3 win vs. Game 4 win, 12:38 p.m. (Fox Sports Net) Game 8: Game 5 win vs. Game 6 win, 3:05 p.m. (Fox Sports Net)
Monday, March 8 Game 9: Championship Game, 7:38 p.m. (Fox Sports Net)
ASU in the Pac-10 Tournament Arizona State holds a 3-1 mark in Pac-10 Conference Tournament games. The third-seeded Sun Devils captured the first ever Pac-10 Tournament championship in 2002 in Eugene, Ore., defeating Arizona, Oregon and then No. 2 Stanford that season at Oregon's McArthur Court. Last year, the eighth-seeded Sun Devils fell to California 46-38 on March 7 in San Jose.
Last Time Out Junior Betsy Boardman scored a game-high 19 points as the Sun Devils fell at Washington State 75-72 last Saturday in Pullman, Wash., to end the regular season.
Up 26-25 at the 4:27 mark of the first half, the Cougars ended the opening 20 minutes on a 16-2 run. In the second half, the Sun Devils chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 63 on a three-pointer by junior Kylan Loney with 5:48 remaining. The Cougars responded with a three-pointer of their own to put WSU on top for good at 66-63 with 5:22 left. Freshman Adriane Ferguson's trey sparked a 7-0 WSU run as the Cougars held a 70-63 lead with 4:04 left. Five consecutive ASU points brought the Sun Devils to within two at 70-68 with 2:43 left but Singer made good on a 3-point play to extend the Cougars' lead back to five at 73-68.
ASU threatened with a 4-0 run to close the gap to 73-72 with 18 seconds left, a run capped off by a steal and bucket by freshman Alisha Godette. However, freshman Stephanie Singer clinched the win with a pair of free throws to provide the final winning margin. ASU had a chance to tie on a three-pointer by sophomore Amy Denson, but the shot was off the mark as time expired.
Boardman led a quartet of Sun Devils in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while junior Carrie Buckner also knocked down 7-of-10 attempts for 16 points. Boardman drained a career-best five three-pointers and went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the effort but left the game with two minutes left after suffering a knee injury. Loney (14 points) and Kristen Kovesdy (11 points) completed the contingent of Sun Devils in double figures.
Washington State's Bianca McCall scored 18 points to lead the Cougars. Singer finished with 17 points, including five in the final 2:07 of the game, while Ferguson chipped in 15 for WSU.
Spreading the Wealth Arizona State has had five different players lead the team in scoring in the past 11 games. On the year, ASU has had seven different Sun Devils lead the team in scoring in at least one game paced by junior Betsy Boardman who has paced the team seven times and sophomore Kristen Kovesdy with six. During the team's five-game Pac-10 winning streak earlier this season, ASU had a different leading scorer in each of the five games. Here's a look at ASU's leading scorers in the last 11 games:
14 Kristen Kovesdy, at Oregon State, 1/22/04 13 Betsy Boardman, at Oregon, 1/24/04 32 Kylan Loney, vs. Arizona, 1/31/04 15 Carrie Buckner, vs. California, 2/5/04 18 Jenny Thigpin, vs. No. 7 Stanford, 2/7/04 13 Jenny Thigpin, at USC, 2/12/04 16 Kylan Loney, at UCLA, 2/14/04 14 Kylan Loney, vs. Oregon, 2/19/04 15 Carrie Buckner, vs. Oregon State, 2/21/04 12 Kylan Loney, at Washington, 2/26/04 19 Betsy Boardman, at Washington State, 2/28/04
Scoring Defense Including a season-low 40 points by Oregon on Feb. 19, Arizona State has allowed just 59.5 points per game in its last 15 games (833 points). ASU has held 15 opponents to 60 points or less this year and is 12-3 in those contests. The Sun Devils rank second in the Pac-10 in scoring defense at 61.2 points allowed per game. The 40 points by Oregon marked the fewest for an ASU opponent since the team earned a 56-40 win at California on Jan. 24, 2002. That 2001-02 team held three opponents to 40 points.
The Sun Devils held Arizona to 60 points in their Jan. 31 win, 13.2 points below Arizona's season average of 73.1 points per game (first in the Pac-10), while ASU held Stanford to an average of 56.5 points per game in two meetings this year, 15.3 below the Cardinal's average of 71.8 ppg (second in the league), including 60 points on Jan. 8, a total which is still the lowest scoring effort for the Cardinal at Maples Pavilion this year. On Nov. 28, ASU held Kansas State to 59 points, the second-lowest output of the year for the Wildcats who rank 11th in the nation in scoring offense at 76.1 points per game.
Notes from the Charity Stripe Arizona State ranks fourth in the Pac-10 in free throw shooting at 71.9 percent, while the team has shot 75.8 percent from the free throw line in the last 11 games (185-244), including a 96.0 percent effort last week (13-14 at Washington, 11-11 at Washington State). ASU's 71.9 percent effort this season at the line is the best for the Sun Devils since the 1986-87 team shot 72.4 percent from the line. The school record for free throw shooting in a season was set in 1978-79 when the Sun Devils knocked down 74.7 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe.
Individually, junior Kylan Loney and sophomore Kristen Kovesdy are both ranked in the Pac-10's top 10 in free throw percentage with Loney coming in at third at 80.5 percent and Kovesdy ninth at 76.8.
Defending Against the Three Including a 14.3 percent night by Oregon Feb. 19 (1-7), ASU has allowed its last 16 opponents to shoot just 25.9 percent from beyond the arc (38-147). The Sun Devils lead the league in three-point defense for Pac-10 games at 28.4 percent (48-169) and are third for all games at 32.0 percent (81-253). The Sun Devils held Stanford, the league's top three-point shooting team at 37.4 percent and 7.44 treys per game, to just 8.0 percent (2-25) on Feb. 7. ASU allowed no three-pointers by then No. 25 Arizona on Jan. 4 (0-3), Cal on Jan. 10 (0-6) and USC on Jan. 17 (0-4).
Hot Hands The Sun Devils shot 52.1 percent in their Feb. 21 win over Oregon State (13-25), marking the eighth time this year that the team had better the 50-percent mark. ASU is 8-0 this year when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including a season-best 58.2 percent at Holy Cross on Dec. 20 (32-55) and back-to-back 50-percent efforts vs. Cal on Feb. 5 (50 percent) and Arizona on Jan. 31 (53.5). In the last 13 games, the Sun Devils have shot 44.7 percent (294-657), up from their season mark of 42.4.
Last year, ASU shot 50 percent or better just four times (no Pac-10 games), while six of the team's eight 50-percent efforts this year came in conference games. ASU is shooting 42.3 percent in Pac-10 games this year (third in the league) compared to just 38.6 percent in conference games last year (8th).
Wiping the Glass Arizona State continues to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding defense and rebounding margin and ranks fourth in defensive rebounds. The team has outrebounded (or tied) 10 of its last 14 opponents and held those 14 teams to just 31.2 rebounds per game, including a 40-26 advantage over Oregon (16-7 on the offensive glass) on Feb. 19 and a 34-26 edge over Oregon State (11-7) on Feb. 21. Cal's 25 rebounds on Feb. 5 marked a season low given up by the Sun Devils this year. The Sun Devils are averaging 37.6 boards per game to just 31.7 for their opponents (+5.9). In addition to leading the league, ASU ranks 26th in the nation in rebounding margin.
On the offensive glass, the team is averaging 13.8 rebounds per game, including a season-high 28 against Western Michigan on Dec. 5. Defensively, ASU has held its opponents to just 10.8 offensive rebounds per game, including a season-low six by California on Jan. 10 and seven by both Oregon and OSU two weeks ago. ASU outrebounded Cal 19-6 on the offensive glass on Jan. 10, including a 12-4 margin in the second half.
Individually, sophomore Kristen Kovesdy is first on the team and 19th in the Pac-10 at 5.0 rebounds per game (134 rebounds), while sophomore Amy Denson is second on the team at 4.7 rebounds per game (128). The pair waged a dogfight for the team rebounding lead all last year as well with Kovesdy winning the battle at 6.1 rebounds per game (T10th in the Pac-10, 183 rbs.) and Denson second on the team and 15th in the league at 6.0 rpg (179 rbs.). In fact, the race was so close that ASU's coaches gave both players the rebounding award at the 2003 year-end banquet.
Denson paces the team in rebounding in Pac-10 play, averaging 4.7 rebounds per league contest, while Kovesdy (4.5 rpg) and Buckner (4.3) trail closely behind. Buckner led the team with a season-high 11 rebounds Feb. 21 against Oregon State, while Denson paced the squad with eight boards last week at Washington.
Lauding Loney Junior Kylan Loney ranks second on the team and 28th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 10.3 points per game. She paces the Sun Devil squad in assists (3.0), three-point shooting (40.0 percent) and free throw shooting (80.5 percent). She is also second on the team in scoring for Pac-10 games at 10.8 points per contest. Loney has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, leading the team in scoring in three of the five. In that five-game stretch, she has averaged 12.6 points and 3.0 assists. Loney has also knocked down 44.4 percent of three-pointers in those five games (12-27) and 81.8 percent of her free throws (9-11), including her last nine FT attempts.
Kovesdy Coming On Strong Sophomore forward Kristen Kovesdy continues to lead the Sun Devils in scoring and field goal percentage in Pac-10 play. She leads the league in field goal percentage in conference games, knocking down 58.9 percent of her attempts (73-124), and ranks 17th in the Pac-10 in scoring in league games with 11.0 points per game. She paced the team in scoring for the sixth time this season with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting Jan. 22 at Oregon State.
Kovesdy turned in a career outing in ASU's overtime victory over then No. 24 Washington on Dec. 27. She scored a career-high 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting (also both career bests) and grabbed nine rebounds, just missing the fifth double-double of her career. She turned her third 20-point game of the season with 24 points to lead ASU to its win over UCLA on Jan. 15. She knocked down 10-of-14 attempts from the field and all four of her attempts from the free throw line and added six rebounds, three blocked shots (tying her career high) and one steal.
Kovesdy is third on the squad and 20th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 9.9 points per game. She turned in the fourth double-double of her career and her first of the season with a then career-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 12 rebounds in ASU's Dec. 10 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She was also just one rebound shy of tying her career best in the category.
After starting the season shooting just 19.0 percent in the first four games (4-21), Kovesdy has made 60.4 percent of her field goals in the last 23 (93-154). Kovesdy now ranks third in the Pac-10 in field goal percentage at 55.4 percent (97-175). She also leads the team and is tied for 20th in the Pac-10 at 5.0 rebounds per game, including a team-high eight vs. Arizona on Jan. 31.
Notes From Beyond the Arc Arizona State has continued to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc, knocking down a season-best 50.0 percent of its three-pointers (6-12) Jan. 31 against Arizona. The Sun Devils rank third in the Pac-10 in three-point shooting, knocking down 35.3 percent of their attempts. With 116 three-pointers made in 27 games so far this year, the team has already surpassed its total from all of last year (105 in 30 games). The Sun Devils tied the school record with nine treys (9-22) in their Dec. 27 win over Washington State, a feat that has been accomplished four other times in school history.
After knocking down 4-of-6 three-pointers Feb. 14 at UCLA and 3-of-5 last week at Washington, junior Kylan Loney leads the team and is tied for fifth in the Pac-10 at 40.0 percent (42-105). Loney has 42 three-pointers this year, while junior Betsy Boardman has made 39. Loney already ranks ninth on the ASU single-season chart for three-pointers made while, Boardman is tied for 10th on that list.
Boardman knocked down a career-best 5-of-6 attempts last week at Washington State, while Loney tied her career highs with five treys and nine three-point attempts Dec. 27 vs. Washington State and matched the feat with five three-pointers made Jan. 31 against Arizona. After starting the season shooting just 15.4 percent from the three-point line (2-13) in the first five games, Loney has shot 43.0 percent in the last 22 tilts (40-93). In Pac-10 play, Loney is fifth in the league at 42.5 percent (31-73).
Boardman and Loney both already rank on the ASU career lists for three-pointers made and are just the fourth and fifth Sun Devils to knock down at least 100 treys in their careers. Boardman ranks fourth on that list with 112, while Loney is fifth with 100 (see page 3 for the career list). Boardman has knocked down two or more treys in nine games and has had at least one trey in all but four games this season. Loney has had more than one three-pointer fall in 10 contests this year.
ASU Single-Season Three-pointers Made 1. 60 Amanda Levens, 2000-01 2. 57 Amanda Levens, 2001-02 3. 56 Crystal Cobb, 1990-91 4. 52 Ryneldi Becenti, 1992-93 5. 49 Crystal Cobb, 1991-92 6. 47 Molly Tuter, 1996-97 7. 44 Kylan Loney, 2002-03 44 Stephanie Freeman, 1997-98 9. 42 Kylan Loney, 2003-04 10. 39 Betsy Boardman, 2003-04 39 Jill Noe, 2002-03
On Board with Boardman Junior Betsy Boardman continues to lead the team and is ranked 16th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 10.6 points per game, including a game-high 19 points last week at Washington State. She knocked down 7-of-10 attempts from the field, including a career-best 5-of-6 from beyond the arc last week against the Cougars.
Boardman has led the team in scoring seven times and scored in double figures 15 times in 26 games this season, including a career-best 20 points against Western Michigan on Dec. 5, when she knocked down 4-of-7 attempts from three-point land, and 16 points in ASU's Dec. 20 win at Holy Cross. She knocked down a season-best 75.0 percent of her attempts at Holy Cross (6-8) and was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Quick Notes
- Arizona State leads the Pac-10 and is ranked 22nd in the country with an average of 16.7 assists per game, including 20 Feb. 19 against Oregon State and a season-high 27 in its Dec. 20 win at Holy Cross. Junior Kylan Loney leads the team and is tied for ninth in the Pac-10 at 3.0 assists per game (81 assists), while juniors Carrie Buckner (73) and Betsy Boardman (69) trail right behind. For Buckner, her 73 assists are more than she had in her first two seasons combined (58), while Loney is already ranked ninth on the ASU career list with 289 assists in her three seasons.
- Buckner would rank third in the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.87 but falls just short of league minimum of 3.0 assists per game to be listed in the league statistics.
- ASU's bench continues to produce in every game and has been outscored just eight times in 27 games this season. The Sun Devil bench players are turning in an average of 25.6 points per game this year, while a Sun Devil has led the team in scoring off the bench five times this season. Freshman Emily Westerberg (6.3 points per game) is leading the scoring off the bench, while sophomore Amy Denson (5.8), freshman Alisha Godette (4.5) and sophomores Jenny Thigpin (4.0) and YoVanna Rosenthal (3.5) are all turning solid scoring efforts in relief.
- Freshman Aubree Johnson has started the last four games and has played 28.0 minutes per game in those four contests, up from her season average of 17.3 minutes per game. She has averaged 4.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in the four games.
- ASU ranks third in the Pac-10 in steals with 9.8 thefts per contest. Junior Carrie Buckner paces the Sun Devils and is ninth in the Pac-10 at 1.70 thefts per game (46), while junior Betsy Boardman is 10th at 1.69 (44).
- With an 11-7 Pac-10 mark (tied for third), the Sun Devils have turned in the third-best Pac-10 record in school history. In 2000-01 and 2001-02, ASU turned in a school-record 12-6 league mark, tying for first in 2001 and tying for second in 2002. In 2001, ASU earned a share of the team's first ever Pac-10 title, while in 2002, the team won the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament.
- ASU's five-game Pac-10 winning streak earlier this year was the first since since the team won a school-record seven consecutive league games in 2000-01. The Sun Devils turned in a school-record 12-6 Pac-10 mark in both 2000-01 and 2001-02,
- After starting three true freshmen and two sophomores last year, the 2003-04 Sun Devil active roster is still a very young one featuring just four juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. ASU's only senior, Jen Albert, is out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear suffered on Dec. 27. Sophomore Jill Noe, a Pac-10 All-Freshman selection and ASU's leading scorer last year, has been out all season after suffering an ACL tear in early October.
This Year Against UCLA
ASU 73, UCLA 58 * Jan. 15 * Wells Fargo Arena Sophomore Kristen Kovesdy scored 24 points and junior Betsy Boardman added 16 to give Arizona State a 73-58 win over UCLA Jan. 15 in Tempe, the team's ninth straight home victory.
Kovesdy made 10-of-14 field goals from the field, grabbed six rebounds and tied her career high with three blocked shots.
The Sun Devils outrebounded the Bruins 44-27 in the game and outshot them 54.0 percent (27-50) to 36.7 percent (22-60). Sophomore Amy Denson grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds and freshman Aubree Johnson pulled down nine boards. Junior Carrie Buckner added 13 points, a career-high-tying six assists and three steals for the Sun Devils.
Arizona State went on a 14-3 run late in the first half to take a 31-18 lead with 3:05 left and led 35-24 at halftime. Kovesdy made 6-of-8 shots in the first half for 12 points. The Sun Devils then ran off 11 straight points early in the second half to pull away and led by as many as 24 points en route to the 73-58 win.
For UCLA, freshman Noelle Quinn had 15 points and four steals, and freshman Amanda Livingston added 13 points for the Bruin team, which had won three in a row. Arizona State held the conference's eighth-leading scorer, sophomore Nikki Blue, to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting.
UCLA 73, ASU 64 * Feb. 14 * Pauley Pavilion UCLA freshman Noelle Quinn scored 24 points to lead the Bruins past Arizona State 73-64 Feb. 14 in Los Angeles.
ASU jumped out to the early lead in the contest and took an 8-0 lead with 18:06 remaining in the first half. UCLA got on the scoreboard at the 16:50 mark on a pair of Nikki Blue free throws. A basket by junior Kylan Loney gave ASU a 15-8 lead with 13:19 remaining. UCLA then outscored the Sun Devils 20-4 over the next seven minutes to go ahead 28-19 with 6:19 to play. Quinn had 10 of the Bruins' 20 points during the run. Arizona State went to the locker room at the half down 38-30.
UCLA started the second half on a 7-2 run and led 45-32 at the 17:07 mark. ASU narrowed the margin to nine points four times in the second half but never got closer as UCLA won its fifth straight game.
Quinn finished the day with a game-high 24 points and was joined in double figures for UCLA by Blue, who had 13, and by Lisa Willis, who totaled 16 points. Loney led four Sun Devils in double figures with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Freshman Emily Westerberg had 11 points, while sophomores Kristen Kovesdy and Amy Denson each finished with 10.
March Madness in Tempe Arizona State and Wells Fargo Arena have been selected as one of 16 host sites for the first and second rounds of the 2004 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. ASU will play host to games on March 20 and 22 in Tempe. If the Sun Devils earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2003-04, they will get the opportunity to play at home for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. It will mark the first NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament games at Wells Fargo Arena since the Sun Devils hosted first-round games in both 1982 and 1983. Arizona State and Wells Fargo Arena have also been selected as the host of the 2005 NCAA Women's Basketball West Regional.
Tickets for the 2004 NCAA Tournament are available by calling the ASU ticket office at (480) 965-2381.