(Photo: Brooke Faber/WCSN)
After taking care of UCLA on Friday, Arizona State hopes to sweep this Los Angeles road trip when they play USC later today. On the other hand the Trojans look to build on their two game winning streak and finish strong on the season by beating the #12 team in the country, ASU.
Arizona State and USC have very similar playing styles, and both offenses like to spread the ball, rather than rely on one player, because neither team has that one breakout star.
USC’s leading scorer is Alexyz Vaioletama, who averages 12.1 points per game, which isn’t far off from ASU’s top scorer, Katie Hempen who averages 12.3 points per game. The Sun Devils only average .3 more points per game than the Trojans.
Keys to the game
-Be Strong on Defense Without Moos
The real advantage the Sun Devils have over the Trojans is their defense, which only gives up 56 points per game while USC gives up 64.3 per game. Kelsey Moos is an anchor in ASU’s defense, an anchor that has been missed the past couple of games and will be gone again today. ASU has been struggling a bit on defense without her, and the Sun Devils will once again have to overcome her absence.
-Play in the Paint
ASU can be a little reliant on the three, especially from Katie Hempen, and if that isn’t going for them early on, they need to adjust fast. ASU has been struggling to hold on to leads at the beginning of a game recently, and something that could help is if they become more aggressive and attack the paint more. Make USC play defense in the paint, draw fouls, and make free throws.
-Dornstauder Needs to Shoot
Quinn Dornstauder has been a secret weapon for ASU and has helped them stay in and win games. However sometimes she elects not to shoot a lot in a game, which has only hurt the Sun Devils. In the game where ASU has been upset, against Cal, Dornstauder only shot three times.
Prediction:
This will probably be another close game for the Sun Devils, but they will emerge on top. ASU gets the win, sweeping USC on the season and putting them in great position to finish the season without another loss.
