WSU Can’T Keep Up

Women’s basketball

Arizona State used a 9-2 run to break open a close game at the start of the second half and coasted to a 73-53 win over Washington State in Pac-10 women’s basketball Thursday in Temple, Ariz.

Four different players contributed field goals for Arizona State (12-8, 5-5 Pac-10) during the run that gave the Sun Devils a 45-36 lead with 15:26 to play.

Arizona State’s lead was still nine, at 55-46 with 10:52 remaining, before the Sun Devils outscored the Cougars 18-7 the rest of the way to improve their record at home to 9-1 on the season and snap a four-game losing streak.

Washington State (4-16, 1-9 Pac-10), which shot 63 percent (12 for 19) in a first half that featured four ties and four lead changes, connected on a mere 27 percent (7 for 26) of its field-goal attempts after intermission.

To make matters worse, the Cougars made only two of 17 attempts in the last 10:52.

Senior Jen Kerns led the Cougars with 14 points to move into 20th on the Cougars’ all-time list with 787 in her career.

Arizona State had four players score in double figures, led by Rachel Holt’s game-high 16 points. Holt added a game-high eight rebounds.

Theresa Jantzen had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils, and Natalie Tucker and Kristine Sand added 11 points each.

WSU concludes its road trip at Arizona Saturday at 1 p.m. PST.

Arizona St. 73, WSU 53

Washington St. (4-16) - Harrod 3-6 2-2 8, Volkman 3-7 0-0 7, Dietel 2-5 1-2 5, Nyseth 1-3 0-0 2, McNeely 2-5 0-0 5, Collins 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Kerns 4-7 5-6 14, Berglund 1-3 3-4 5, Ottmar 3-4 1-2 7. Totals 19-45 12-16 54.

Arizona St. (12-8) - Jantzen 5-10 2-2 12, Holt 7-12 0-2 16, Leonard 1-4 1-5 3, Kitchen 2-4 2-2 6, Tucker 3-4 2-2 11, Paulson 1-1 0-0 2, McFadyen 0-1 4-4 4, Combs 0-2 0-0 0, Sand 4-9 1-2 11, Allen 1-3 0-0 2, Crisp 0-5 4-4 4, McDanal 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 25-56 16-25 73.

Halftime-Arizona St. 36, Washington St. 34. 3-Point goals-Washington St. 3-9 (Volkman 1-1, McNeely 1-2, Kerns 1-2, Dietel 0-1, Smith 0-3). Arizona St. 7-16 (Tucker 3-4, Holt 2-2, Sand 2-5, Kitchen 0-1, McFadyen 0-1, Allen 0-1, Crisp 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Washington St. 27 (Berglund 6), Arizona St. 37 (Holt 8). Assists-Washington St. 14 (Nyseth, Kern 4), Arizona St. 18 (Tucker 5). Total fouls-Washington St. 22, Arizona St. 14. A-707.

Loyola 74, Gonzaga 59

Turnovers plagued the Bulldogs down the stretch in the loss to the Lions in West Coast Conference action at Martin Centre.

The Zags (9-13, 2-7 WCC) have dropped four in a row, including back-to-back losses against LMU (13-9, 6-3).

The Bulldogs led 53-50 with 10 minutes left, but Bryn Britton took charge after that, scoring 13 of the Lions’ final 18 points to seal the win.

Gonzaga’s Syd Perno finished the game one-point shy of her career-high with 18 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. The 6-1 senior knocked down 8 of 11 field goal attempts.

Gonzaga returns to action Saturday against Pepperdine. Tip-off at the Martin Centre is 7 p.m.

(16) Arizona 96, UW 81

In Tucson, Ariz., Reshea Bristol celebrated her 22nd birthday by scoring a season-high 18 points as the Wildcats beat the Huskies.

Bristol made her first six shots and finished with six rebounds as Arizona (19-3, 8-2 Pac-10) improved to its best start ever in conference play.

Angela Lackey scored 17 points, Tatum Brown added 15 and Elizabeth Pickney and Lisa Griffith had 13 apiece for the Wildcats.

Washington (7-15, 3-7) was led by Megan Franza’s 18 points. LeAnn Sheets added 14 and Loree Payne 13 for the Huskies.

Washington (7-15) - Autrey 1-3 0-0 2, Sheets 4-9 6-8 14, Gray 0-3 0-0 0, Franza 7-15 0-0 18, Payne 4-13 2-2 13, Erickson 2-6 2-4 6, Duncan 3-5 0-0 9, Conley 0-1 0-0 0, O’Neill 1-1 0-0 2, Diggins 0-1 0-0 0, Pimley 0-3 3-4 3, Halpenny 2-5 2-2 6, Reichmann 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 27-70 15-20 81.

Arizona (19-3) - Pickney 4-6 5-6 13, Brown 5-8 5-8 15, Griffith 4-7 1-2 13, Bristol 7-12 3-3 18, Willis 2-5 0-0 4, Brase 2-2 0-0 6, Sturdivant 0-2 0-0 0, Crank 0-3 0-0 0, Bozeman 0-0 1-2 1, Lackey 7-10 3-3 17, Taylor 2-4 3-6 7, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 34-61 21-30 96.

Halftime-Arizona 49, Washington 40. 3-Point goals-Washington 12-26 (Franza 4-8, Duncan 3-5, Payne 3-7, Reichmann 2-2, Erickson 0-1, Pimley 0-1, Gray 0-2), Arizona 7-11 (Griffith 4-6, Brase 2-2, Bristol 1-2, Willis 0-1). Fouled out-Taylor. Rebounds- Washington 40 (Erickson 10), Arizona 45 (Bristol, Pickney 6). Assists-Washington 17 (Gray 4), Arizona 26 (Willis 9). Total fouls-Washington 21, Arizona 18. A-2,001.