Devils in Detail
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ASU WBB: Devils Lose Ugly One to Rival Arizona

By Jordan Kaye

Mar 7, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Kelsey Moos (24) fights for the ball against Stanford Cardinal guard Amber Orrange (33) during the semifinals of the Pac-12 Women
Mar 7, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Kelsey Moos (24) fights for the ball against Stanford Cardinal guard Amber Orrange (33) during the semifinals of the Pac-12 Women /
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For the first time in three years, ASU basketball fell to Arizona as the Wildcats eeked out a 62-58 victory over the Sun Devils.

ASU lost a heartbreaker, 62-58, in their first meeting with rival Arizona down south in Tucson.

In a wild back and forth game, as the Devils came back from a 9-point deficit midway through the second quarter, to eventually take the lead. The fourth quarter consisted of six lead changes with Arizona making a strong run in the last three minutes, capitalizing off two missed Quinn Dornstauder free throws and a Dornstauder traveling call.

Arizona State was harassed late by Arizona’s great frontcourt tandem of Breanna Workman and LaBrittney Jones. The two scored 14 of the Wildcats 18 fourth quarter points and contributed to key defensive stops. They led the Wildcats with 15 points each and a combined 15 rebounds, out-hustling ASU on multiple occasions down the stretch.

The Devils did not get any help from their frontcourt, the five underclassman guards only contributed to a combined 15 points. They committed key turnovers and were unable to move the ball to create space. They could not seem to hit an easy jumper all game, going 4-24 from the field.

“Take all the guards shots, and it’s like 20 percent if that, and that’s how it’s been most of the games like this and even games that we’ve won” Coach Charli Turner Thorne told reporters after ASU’s loss, “Its hard, you’ve got to have some perimeter shooting, you gotta have a little.”

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In the second half, the Sun Devils started pushing the ball down low to Sophie Brunner, who started to get isolation and going to work in the paint. She hit clutch shot after clutch shot for Arizona State, tallying up 14 second half points and 18 for the game. She was the workhorse late for the Devils as she always is, but it wasn’t enough.

“Sophie and Quinn do a lot of great things, it’s just hard, they don’t have a lot of margin for error, because everybody else is so inconsistent,” Turner Thorne said.

ASU started playing sloppy when they needed it most, getting called for a 10-second violation, traveling, twice losing the ball on the inbound, and missing key free throws. This young team has had almost a full season together still has not been able to gel together and work as a unit.

On the bright side for Arizona State, it was their first game since early January with forward Kelsey Moos in the lineup. She was able to space the floor and add perimeter defense that ASU has been lacking. Moos hit one three and finished with 4 points on a limited night.

“Getting Kelsey back is really going to help us, again this is her first game, and she’s going to make a big difference every game,” Turner Thorne said. “I feel bad for her because she was probably the most consistent person on our team.”

Down the stretch ASU could not put in their key free throws, shooting only 57 percent on the night and letting the Wildcats make six more then them. This was most evident with the Devils down one with a few minutes to play and senior Quinn Dornstauder missing both of her free throws, taking away the Sun Devils momentum.

Next: ASU WBB: #23 Arizona State Falls to #10 Washington

The Sun Devils will have less than 48 hours to get ready to face the same opponent in Tempe. It will be a real test for this mostly young team after an ugly, painful loss.