(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The Arizona State women’s lacrosse team will have one last chance to win a bid for the NCAA tournament this weekend when it heads to Boulder, Colorado for the first-ever Pac-12 conference tournament.
In the program’s inaugural year, the Sun Devils regular season was filled with ups and downs. From starting 5-1 in non-conference play to losing nine of then Pac-12 contests and finishing the season up with a devasting loss to USC, the Sun Devils look to bounce back in the conference tournament. The event’s champion will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
ASU, the sixth-seeded team in the single-elimination tournament, will face USC, ranked No. 20 nationally and No. 3 in the Pac-12, in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Sun Devils are 0-2 against the Trojans this year, including a 19-2 defeat at home this past weekend.
“The experience of USC took over, but I think that our girls showed fight and improvement,” said head coach Courtney Martinez Connor. “We are just excited for the upcoming Pac-12 tournament.”
In the team’s debut campaign, the Sun Devils went 1-9 in conference play and 6-11 overall. The season was marked many records and firsts though, including an overtime win against California 12-11 on Mar. 25 that gave ASU its first-ever conference win.
“It wasn’t how we wanted our record or how we wanted to play some games, but I think in each game there was something to learn from and it’s going to be exciting next year knowing that we have one under our belt,” said junior co-captain Rachel Gregory.
The Sun Devils are filled with underclassmen that have improved a lot throughout the season.
“I think we’ve grown tremendously. They’ve seen pretty much the experience that they have needed to see and now they know like me this is you know this is real and this is tough,” said Gregory. “They know we can’t back down and they’ve got a good taste of Division 1. So, I’m excited to see what goes on in the postseason.”
The season is not done yet though and as the players and coaches look back on the first season and all the firsts that they have had this year, Martinez Connor is excited to see what the end of the season and next season will bring.
“We have a great group coming back. We have a great group coming in. And then a mix of 1 year of experience with another great incoming freshmen class. You know I think we’ll add even more improvements for next year,” Martinez Connor said.
She added, “I think again the whole mantra of you got to keep aspiring as high as you can. Is what we’ll continue telling the girls while secretly giving them little fist bumps.”
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarter-finals (Thursday): No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 5 California, 12 p.m. /// No. 3 USC vs. No. 6 ASU, 3 p.m.
Semi-finals (Friday): No. 1 Colorado vs. TBD (Oregon/Cal), 12 p.m. /// No. 2 Stanford vs. TBD (USC/ASU), 3 p.m.
Championship Game: TBD vs. TBD, 11 a.m.
