Women's basketball falls at home to UCLA
Becca Tobin had 10 points and six rebounds to lead third-place Arizona State (17-9, 9-7), which lost to No. 11 UCLA 61-45 on Saturday night. The Sun Devils lead Arizona and Southern California by one game with two games left in the regular season.
Jasmine Dixon had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 11 UCLA past Arizona State, the Bruins' ninth win in their last 10 games.
Atonye Nyingifa had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bruins (24-3, 14-2 Pac-10), who have already clinched second place in the conference and a spot in the tournament semifinals on March 11. Darxia Morris added 13 points and four assists, and the Bruins outrebounded the Sun Devils 45-30. .
Nyingifa keyed a 17-0 run early the second half after Arizona State had tied it at 28-all with 17:11 remaining. She completed a three-point play, had a layup off a pass from Markel Walker and capped the run that gave UCLA a 45-28 lead with 12:32 left.
Arizona State never got closer than 11 after that decisive 5-minute stretch.
The Bruins' full-court press was trouble for the Sun Devils, who only shot 30 percent (17 of 56) from the field.
Dixon scored 10 points as UCLA took a 24-21 lead that could have been more lopsided with the Bruins holding a 22-13 advantage in rebounds. However, the Bruins committed 12 turnovers, which Arizona State turned into 12 points to help keep the Sun Devils close.