(Photo: Nicole Hernandez/WCSN)
The Arizona State Women’s Basketball team is taking on the USC Trojans after the Sun Devils split last weekend’s series with their rival, the Arizona Wildcats.
Even though ASU lost a close one in their first matchup against the Wildcats in Tucson, they bounced back and dominated them on Sunday night in Tempe. The Sun Devils led the entire game and ended up winning 67-54.
The Sun Devils’ defense was fantastic against Arizona. ASU had 13 steals, four blocks and forced 25 turnovers. The team will need great defense as they try to make a run in March.
The Trojans are lead by Kristen Simon, who is the team’s top scorer with an average of 14.8 points a game. USC is coming off a tough, 13-point loss against the Washington Huskies.
This season USC has struggled for the most part in the Pac-12. While the team is 14-13 in their overall record, they are a very disappointing 5-11 in Pac-12 play.
Last time the Trojans and the Sun Devils matched up was January 29 in Los Angeles. The final score was surprise, as USC upset Arizona State 65-55. The Sun Devils were ranked No. 16 in the AP Top 25 at the time, but you wouldn’t be able to tell if you watched the game.
Arizona State struggled throughout the game to get points on the scoreboard. They had 18 turnovers, shot 38 percent from the field and shot a terrible 22 percent from behind the three-point line. Sadie Edwards from the Trojans had a great game and scored 17 points, nearly double her average number of points per game. On top of that, Edwards only missed one shot from the field.
As both teams enter the final weekend stretch of the regular season, the Sun Devils are ranked right in the middle of the conference standings at 6th while the Trojans are closer to the bottom at 9th. While these last two games may not impact either teams’ position in the Pac-12 standings, they do want momentum going into tournament where they hope to turn some heads.
Arizona State and the USC Trojans will face off Friday with tip off at 8:00 p.m. MST at Wells Fargo Arena. The game will be available on Pac-12 Networks.
