Women's Basketball | Huskies' win streak ends at Arizona St.

TEMPE, Ariz. — It was a frustrating way for a nine-game winning streak to end.

A few more easy shots falling, getting a couple of breaks on foul calls, and the Washington women's basketball team could have extended their streak. Instead, the Huskies (12-5 overall, 5-1 Pac-10) dropped an 88-83 decision to 13th-ranked Arizona State (14-2, 4-1) on Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena before a crowd of 2,826.

The Huskies had several chances to put the game away, and coach June Daugherty, who watched ASU attempt a near-school-record 48 free throws to her team's 22, looked at the loss as a building block, a bump in the road for a team that looks like it could be a serious contender for the conference title.

"The thing for us, we know we're a damn good basketball team," she said. "It's what you do with your losses, and I think you learn more from your losses than your wins, unfortunately. We already have, without going back and watching tape.

"It stings, and we can certainly fix that, and we have to move on. We don't have time to mope. This is a Pac-10 race, and we're right in the thick of it."

The Huskies, who had an 11-point lead with 4:10 to go in the half, let the Sun Devils back into it, and despite having a four-point lead at the break, the loss in momentum was perceptible.

But there was still hope late. With 4.7 seconds remaining, Andrea Plouffe hit a three-pointer to cut the Huskies' deficit to two, 85-83, but ASU hit three foul shots down the stretch to put it away.

"It was really frustrating," said Washington guard Cameo Hicks, who scored 18 points but only four in the second half. "We really wanted this win, but we had some mental lapses at the end of the game, myself included.

"I wasn't making my shots at the end of the game when I needed to be. I had some open looks. I got myself out of the game a little bit because I need to take care of the ball much better. Just all around, I need to step up and play a little bit better."

Stefanie Clark led Washington with 21 points, and other scoring help came from Plouffe with 16 and Breanne Watson with 10. Washington made six more field goals than its hosts, but was outscored by 18 from the foul line.

Emily Westerberg, who played at Central Valley High School near Spokane, led ASU with 22 points, and it was her 10-for-11 effort at the foul line as well as her court savvy that proved instrumental.

ASU's Briann January, a graduate of Spokane's Lewis and Clark High, had nine points. Center Kirsten Thompson of Monroe High and Reagan Pariseau, also a Central Valley grad, each had a point.

Daugherty was impressed with the intensity of both teams, and she said learned lessons would have to be applied with games coming up this week against Stanford and California.

"We know we've got some areas we've got to shore up, especially late in games with some execution ... and we can get better at that."

Percentages: FG .531, FT .591. Three-point goals: 2-9, (Plouffe 2-4, Hicks 0-2, Craddock 0-2, Banks 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 1, (O'Hara). Turnovers: 22, (Watson, Plouffe 3, Florence 2, Hicks 8, Clark 2, Bell 3, Banks 2, O'Hara). Steals: 7, (Watson, Florence, Hicks 2, O'Hara, Mosiman 2). Technical fouls: None.

Attendance: 2,826. Officials: Gator Parrish, Connie Pardue, Joann M. Sather.