ASU 68 - UA 60
Foul trouble on the road plagued the Wildcats again and stifled their impressive comeback against the Sun Devils Saturday in Tempe, as they fell 68-60 to their rivals.
The Wildcats (16-5, 8-2 Pacific 10 Conference) had the lead early due to the play of sophomore center Shawntinice Polk, who scored the first nine points for the UA. However, Polk and junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler notched two fouls early, confining them to the bench for much of the first half.
Arizona State (13-6, 7-3) took advantage and tied the game at 13, and on a Kylan Loney 3-pointer - one of four 3s in the half for Loney - went ahead 16-13. Wheeler tied the game at 21 with a layup, but ASU never lost the lead again.
Sparked by Loney's 22 first-half points, including a trio of triples on consecutive possessions, the Sun Devils ended the half on a 21-5 run to go up 41-26.
The start of the second half looked just as the first half ended as ASU went on an 8-0 run to open the half, extending the lead to 49-26 with 17:44 remaining.
The Wildcats had seemingly had enough. With the help of eight ASU turnovers, they went on a 19-4 run to cut the lead to eight points just seven minutes later. With 4:49 remaining and a layup by freshman forward Shannon Hobson, the Wildcats had brought the seemingly insurmountable lead to just four points, 57-53.
Loney scored just 10 of her career-high 32 points in the second half, but her career-high-matching fifth 3-pointer came at just the right time. It stuck the dagger in the Wildcats, putting ASU back up by seven.
Also in foul trouble for Arizona was senior guard Aimee Grzyb, who received a technical foul after being called for her third personal. She fouled out with four minutes remaining in the game, scoring just five points.
"It was a very physical game. We allowed them to set the tempo," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "I'm really proud of the way we came back in the second half. ... I really don't like being a second-half team. We need to put together 40 minutes of good basketball."
Three Wildcats - Polk, Grzyb and junior center Danielle Adefeso - fouled out of the game. Polk fouled out with just 1:30 remaining, but did not score a single basket or make a rebound in the second half, finishing with 11 and two, respectively.
Wheeler managed to stay in the game despite having four fouls, and ended with a team-high 22 points.
"I don't even know what they called sometimes," said Bonvicini of the officials.
Bonvicini implied that she's used to her team not getting the calls on the road.
"I can't speak about the refs, but I will say they were consistent," she said.
"It was one game and we are in second place. You don't ever forget a game like this."
The loss drops the Wildcats to second place after enjoying a brief first-place tie in the Pac-10 with Stanford when the Cardinal lost to Southern California last week. The Wildcats face Stanford Thursday in McKale Center.
After Arizona demolished ASU 81-60 in Tucson Jan. 2, Wheeler hopes this is not the last time her team sees ASU this season.
"I definitely hope we see them in the Pac-10 tournament," she said. "We've got to break this tie."