It would be an understatement to say there was more to the story than the scoreboard on this Thursday night.
While a final score of 53-38 in favor of UCLA might conjure up thoughts of a pristine, dominant performance by the Bruins against Arizona State, it was hardly easy. Truth be told, the product on the floor was often groggy and grimy, with UCLA down 20-8 midway through the first half. But to their credit, the Bruins mustered just enough down the stretch, taking advantage of the Sun Devils' lackluster shooting to seal the victory. The post-game takeaways are below:
'Bows and Whistles
The tension was unmistakable. For stretches in the game, it essentially became a matter of which team would be first to cede to the physicality. Rebekah Gardner was often at the center of the near-altercations, the elbows and tugs explicit enough to draw the ire of the officials. And if it wasn't the senior guard, younger sister Rhema Gardner had to deal with a fair load of the tussling, what with ASU constantly looking to score their points from the paint.
"I never want us to lose our focus out there, but I loved how Rebekah and Rhema played feisty," UCLA head coach Cori Close said. "I loved that they said, 'Hey, I have your back' and played with that spirit. They weren't going to let anyone cross us."
Considering the Sun Devils' preference to dump the ball into the post and Rebekah Gardner's tendency to attack the basket, the chippy play was to be expected. After all, much of the extracurricular activity stemmed from both teams going after putbacks and defensive rebounds.
"Arizona State is probably the most physical team in our conference, and they're known for that," Close said. "Credit ASU; they made Rebekah work so hard for every catch, but the key was that Rebekah was able to get Arizona State's Alex Earl in early foul trouble."
Sun Devils Cold in the Clutch
As mentioned above, Close noted that the key moment was when Earl, arguably the Sun Devils' most reliant shooter, picked up her fourth foul with 12:07 left in the game and took a seat on the bench. That, in turn, enabled the Bruins to heighten the defensive pressure against Arizona State's bigs, and the Sun Devil guards just couldn't buy a basket. The result? Forced entry passes into the post, with the Bruins taking advantage. In the last 15 minutes of the game, ASU's inability to score allowed UCLA to go on a 24-7 run and essentially ice the game. By game's end, the Sun Devils shot just 2-for-14 from beyond the arc.
"We noticed that they weren't looking to take the outside shots, so we really just emphasized packing our defense into the paint," Rhema Gardner said.
While a final score of 53-38 in favor of UCLA might conjure up thoughts of a pristine, dominant performance by the Bruins against Arizona State, it was hardly easy. Truth be told, the product on the floor was often groggy and grimy, with UCLA down 20-8 midway through the first half. But to their credit, the Bruins mustered just enough down the stretch, taking advantage of the Sun Devils' lackluster shooting to seal the victory. The post-game takeaways are below:
'Bows and Whistles
The tension was unmistakable. For stretches in the game, it essentially became a matter of which team would be first to cede to the physicality. Rebekah Gardner was often at the center of the near-altercations, the elbows and tugs explicit enough to draw the ire of the officials. And if it wasn't the senior guard, younger sister Rhema Gardner had to deal with a fair load of the tussling, what with ASU constantly looking to score their points from the paint.
"I never want us to lose our focus out there, but I loved how Rebekah and Rhema played feisty," UCLA head coach Cori Close said. "I loved that they said, 'Hey, I have your back' and played with that spirit. They weren't going to let anyone cross us."
Considering the Sun Devils' preference to dump the ball into the post and Rebekah Gardner's tendency to attack the basket, the chippy play was to be expected. After all, much of the extracurricular activity stemmed from both teams going after putbacks and defensive rebounds.
"Arizona State is probably the most physical team in our conference, and they're known for that," Close said. "Credit ASU; they made Rebekah work so hard for every catch, but the key was that Rebekah was able to get Arizona State's Alex Earl in early foul trouble."
Sun Devils Cold in the Clutch
As mentioned above, Close noted that the key moment was when Earl, arguably the Sun Devils' most reliant shooter, picked up her fourth foul with 12:07 left in the game and took a seat on the bench. That, in turn, enabled the Bruins to heighten the defensive pressure against Arizona State's bigs, and the Sun Devil guards just couldn't buy a basket. The result? Forced entry passes into the post, with the Bruins taking advantage. In the last 15 minutes of the game, ASU's inability to score allowed UCLA to go on a 24-7 run and essentially ice the game. By game's end, the Sun Devils shot just 2-for-14 from beyond the arc.
"We noticed that they weren't looking to take the outside shots, so we really just emphasized packing our defense into the paint," Rhema Gardner said.
Playing without Costa
Given Arizona State's post-centered game plan, the size and length of Corinne Costa figured to play a major factor coming into this one. But the sophomore center wound up playing just three minutes after going down with a leg sprain early in the first half. Close later acknowledged that she was given the clearance to play Costa in the second period, but decided not to take any chances. Had Costa been at full strength, ASU's post players likely wouldn't have been such an influence, especially in the first half.
Given Arizona State's post-centered game plan, the size and length of Corinne Costa figured to play a major factor coming into this one. But the sophomore center wound up playing just three minutes after going down with a leg sprain early in the first half. Close later acknowledged that she was given the clearance to play Costa in the second period, but decided not to take any chances. Had Costa been at full strength, ASU's post players likely wouldn't have been such an influence, especially in the first half.
But be that as it may, UCLA again got solid minutes from Rhema Gardner, who scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds and a pair of steals.
