ASU women's basketball was back at Seattle's Key Arena on Friday for its quarterfinal matchup against UCLA, but it was the Bruins who advanced to the semifinals after beating the Sun Devils 77-68.
It was an uphill battle for the Sun Devils right from the jump.
“We beat them in the second quarter, the third quarter and the fourth quarter … we just dug way too deep of a hole,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
Nothing went right for ASU in the first half. The Bruins’ defense limited ASU to only 21 points and the Sun Devils couldn’t contain the heat from UCLA junior guard Jordin Canada and junior forward Monique Billings, who combined for 43 points in the game. Simple put, ASU was outplayed.
Name a more iconic duo
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 4, 2017
The Billings block + Canada finish earns the @UCLAWBB @OpusBank #12Best Moment! https://t.co/R4dhre0L0I
The Bruins came out hot in the first quarter going on a 6-0 run. With two minutes to go in the first, UCLA ran away with a 23-4 lead as ASU shot an ice-cold 22 percent.
“They (UCLA) shot lights out and those weren’t just layups, they were three-pointers, jumpers … I mean they were scoring every which way,” Tuner Thorne said. “I thought that was as well as I’ve seen them play.”
ASU’s senior center Quinn Dornstauder and UCLA’s junior forward Paulina Hersler were both given flagrant one foul calls, much to the dismay of Turner Thorne.
By halftime, the Bruins seemed to have locked the game away as they lead ASU 39-21, thanks largely in part to seven Sun Devil turnovers in the half.
However, something sparked in ASU after the half as they started the third quarter on an 11-4 run. The Sun Devils went on to shoot 43 percent from the field and racked up 19 points, two points less than their enitre first-half total
"(After) halftime, we came out really strong and definitely felt we could overcome it,” Turner Thorne said.
Freshman forward Jamie Ruden was the difference maker for ASU as she recorded 12 points. She played 13 minutes in the game — the most played since December.
“It was exciting for me to see what I could do to help, especially for our seniors,” Ruden said.
Sophomore guard Sabrina Haines came away with 14 points and senior forward Sophie Brunner had 13.
In the fourth quarter with 53.8 seconds to play, ASU was only down eight points. However, the lead was too much to overcome for the Sun Devils, eventually falling to UCLA 77-68.
Senior guard Kelsey Moos’ message to her team throughout the whole game was to fight.
“I just tried to keep reminding them, ‘when times get tough are you going to quit … or are you going to lock arms, look each other in the eye and know that we can take this game’,” Moos said.
The Sun Devils now await their seeding in the NCAA D-I women's basketball tournament.
“Games like this really reveal your character and how who you are,” Moos said. “I’m really proud of the team coming out after halftime and we didn’t quit, we did not give up.”
Reach the reporter at kcvalen1@asu.edu or follow @kvalenzuela17 on Twitter.
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