Thursday, March 28

Women’s basketball defeats Arizona State in first conference win of the season


Redshirt junior guard Lindsey Corsaro made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help propel UCLA women's basketball to victory over Arizona State. Corsaro finished tied for a team-high 14 points, and also chipped in five rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes of action. (Axel Lopez/Daily Bruin senior staff)


Women's Basketball


No. 9 UCLA63-59
Arizona StateScore

The Bruins found themselves in a scoring drought at Desert Financial Arena beginning in the second quarter.

Plays from redshirt junior guard Lindsey Corsaro restored conditions for the team.

Corsaro’s three late 3-pointers allowed No. 9 UCLA women’s basketball (2-1, 1-1 Pac-12) to close out its trip to the Grand Canyon State with a 63-59 win over Arizona State (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12). The Bruins secured their first Pac-12 victory after falling short against No. 7 Arizona two days prior.

Corsaro said she relied on her offseason training to stay focused when hitting three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after not scoring a single field goal in the Bruins’ previous game.

“It was hard to start the season in a little bit of a slump,” Corsaro said. “Trust the work that you do in the offseason and the work that you do in practice every day that it’ll fall eventually, and it fell at the right time, which was nice.”

Throughout the first quarter, UCLA held the lead, forcing Arizona State to commit six turnovers and doubling the home team’s score with a 22-11 lead at the end of the period.

The Sun Devils closed the deficit in the second quarter, shooting 36% from the field while holding the visitors to 16% from the floor. Simultaneously, the Bruins experienced a dry spell in terms of scoring, and the team’s double-digit lead earlier in the game decreased to a mere five-point advantage with 1:36 left in the quarter.

Coming out of halftime, Arizona State continued to strip away at UCLA’s lead, ending the third quarter at a tied game, 47-47.

Sophomore guard Charisma Osborne, who chipped in 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field, said she recognized that changes need to be implemented to prevent the team from slipping into these undesirable game situations.

“We learned that we just need to be tougher,” Osborne said. “We need to be consistent through that and start the third quarter stronger.”

UCLA would go on to outscore Arizona State 16-12 in the fourth and final frame, resulting in the four-point win.

For coach Cori Close, this victory contributed to a milestone achievement – her 200th career victory.

However, she said her focus remains on the team and how it can maximize its performance and effectiveness in coming games. Close also commended Arizona State for its resilience, as she believed her team’s toughness lacked in comparison to the previous game.

“I thought we showed toughness on the defensive end of the floor when we were at Arizona for a higher percentage of the time, and I didn’t think we allowed our defense to be our anchor tonight,” Close said.

Close added that for her team to correct the errors she recognized, she needs commitment from the players.

“I do really trust this team’s hearts, but I was very direct,” Close said. “We’ll find out with our response. I don’t really need perfect words. I need actions that are willing to show me that you are willing to be different.”

UCLA will take on UC Santa Barbara Dec. 9 at Pauley Pavilion.

Sports contributor

Chen is currently a Sports contributor on the beach volleyball beat. She was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and women's volleyball beats.


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