University of Oregon
Arizona State
Duck Defense Nearly Prevails in Desert Duel
01/13/06 | Women's Basketball
The Ducks (10-5, 1-4 Pac-10) had two chances in the waning moments of the contest, but junior forward Eleanor Haring and senior guard Chelsea Wagner narrowly missed respective attempts before the final buzzer.
“It's disappointing, especially since we played such good defense,” Wagner said. “On offense, we did a good job against their pressure and didn't make as many bad turnovers, but it wasn't enough.”
The Sun Devils (13-3, 4-2) snapped a two-game skid and improved to 9-0 at home this season. They accomplished this despite shootng 25.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from the foul line.
The difference in the game ultimately was turnovers, with ASU out-scoring
Junior guard Cicely Oaks was the only Duck to reach double digits, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Haring had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
ASU was paced by senior forward Kristen Kovesdy, who had game-highs of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Westerberg finished with nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.
The Ducks had some success negating the Sun Devils' defensive press by getting into transition quickly, which resulted in easy buckets by Haring and sophomore center Gabrielle Richards.
ASU regained the edge and went ahead 38-35 with
UO answered on its next possession with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Kaela Chapdelaine, who had just returned to the floor after suffering an apparent ankle injury earlier in the half, to climb back within one at 39-38.
Another two-minute stretch elapsed without any scoring before Kovesdy ended the drought with a pair of free throws for ASU, putting her team up 41-38.
A three-ball from Wagner squared things again with under five minutes to play and the game remained tied at 41-all until two free throws from senior guard Brandi Davis gave the Ducks a 43-41 lead.
UO held that lead until Westerburg's three-pointer with 13.7 seconds remaining, which gave Arizona State a 44-43 lead and allowed Oregon the final offensive possession.
The Ducks were also hindered by 10 turnovers and six ASU offensive boards in the opening stanza.
Haring, who totaled eight points over the past two games and nearly didn't start due to a sore knee, scored UO's first four to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead.
The Sun Devils followed with a 7-2 run, helped by three
The Ducks regained the lead at 15-14 with
That sparked a 10-0 run for the Sun Devils, who forced a UO timeout with
Gunderson stopped the bleeding with a three-point play off a deft inbound feed from senior guard Brandi Davis, and another Davis dime to Richards pulled UO within five at 25-20.
