The post-Tim Moser era began with a thumping Sunday for the UAA women's basketball team.
In their first game since the resignation of the coach who turned them into an NCAA Division II national powerhouse, the Seawolves absorbed a 72-42 pounding from Arizona State in an exhibition game in Tempe, Ariz.
The Seawolves struggled in nearly every aspect, getting outrebounded 49-28, shooting a meager 17.5 percent in the first half and committing 26 turnovers.
To be fair, their opponent was a Division I team that has made 13 straight trips to the postseason. Furthermore, even Moser's teams endured some big losses in preseason games against Division I teams -- remember the 100-32 loss to Duke back in 2009, or the 63-37 setback to Toledo in 2010?
The game marked the debut of new coach Ryan McCarthy as well as three freshmen. One of the freshmen, 5-foot-8 guard Jenna Buchanan from Galena, came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points.
Sasha King, a senior point guard who is one of UAA's top two returners, added 11 points but had nine turnovers to her three assists.
UAA's other top returner, Alysa Horn, picked up two fouls two minutes into the game and was whistled for a third foul four minutes into the game. She finished with seven points, six rebounds and one block in 24 minutes.
Only three others scored for the Seawolves, who shot 28 percent for the game (14 of 50).
Arizona State shot 45.8 percent and got a great game from sophomore guard Promise Amukamara. She poured in 20 points on 9 of 9 shooting and scored five points in the final 25 seconds of the first half to lift the Sun Devils to a 30-15 halftime lead.
Arizona State opened the second half with an 8-0 run that buried the Seawolves.
The Sun Devils dominated the Seawolves with size and depth. They had nearly as many offensive rebounds (19) as UAA did defensive rebounds (19) and they blocked a total of six shots.
At 6 feet, Horn was the tallest player wearing green and gold. Arizona State countered with 6-5 Joy Burke (seven points, six rebounds, three blocks) and 6-3 Janae Fulcher (six points, five rebounds) in its starting five and a bench that grabbed 25 rebounds.
UAA is coming off a 30-5 season but suffered major losses in the offseason -- besides Moser, four players quit the team, including two who won Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason honors -- newcomer of the year Haley Holmstead and freshman of the year Gritt Ryder.
The Seawolves, ranked 22nd in Division II, open the season for real on Friday when the host Colorado School of Mines, a Division II team, at 7 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
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