When it comes to rivalry games, records no longer matter. Instead, these match-ups come down to which team plays with the most intensity and heart.
The Arizona State women’s basketball team showed their potential during back-to-back rivalry games against the University of Arizona, and head coach Charli Turner Thorne said she was pleased with her team’s performance.
“We just don’t have a lot of players who have been through this rivalry before, and I thought they were really fired up and took it to heart. They did a good job.” Turner Thorne said.
After an 81-77 double-overtime loss to ASU at their home court this past Tuesday, U of A came into Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday looking to even the score.
Haley Videckis and her teammates had a different plan though.
With 22 seconds left in the game, Videckis hit a three pointer to give the Devils a 59-58 victory over the Wildcats.
“It was a great assist on my teammate. I mean we can’t do that alone. It was just important for us to get this win because we just worked so hard all game,” Videckis said.
From the opening tip-off, the Lady Devils started off strong and went on a 6-0 run with Joy Burke scoring all three baskets. ASU also never trailed in the first half, and they were up by as much as twelve points after an Adrianne Thomas steal led to a Videckis lay-up with 12:43 left.
ASU led at the half 35-27, but like previous Pac-12 games this season, the lead did not last in the second half.
With 7:41 remaining in the game, Arizona guard Davellyn Whyte tied the game at 48 with a game-changing three pointer, and then she made a free throw to give the Wildcats their first lead. From there on out, the intensity was high on the court as both teams battled back and forth for the lead.
However, it was the play when Thomas found Videckis wide open behind the perimeter that sealed the deal.
“It was certainly the assist of the year, and Haley has been obviously really hot lately and just really kind of getting into a groove in terms of scoring in the PAC-12 and at this level. That’s who we probably would have wanted to take the shot so it was great,” Turner Thorne said.
Videckis finished with 13 points in the game and shot 60 percent behind the arc. Burke led the Lady Devils with 14 points and Micaela Pickens added 11. Whyte led the Wildcats with 18 points.
Despite the fact that ASU shot only 38.3 percent from the field and was outrebounded, their effort was there. This young team is continuing to improve from game to game, and as long as they continue to play hard good results will continue to happen.
“I’m really happy for this team because they have really been learning to just find ways to win,” Turner Thorne said.
