Jan. 6, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Senior Kristine Sand (Oslo, Norway) scored 15 points, including nine over the last five minutes of the game, to lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 74-68 victory over Stanford Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena. For the Sun Devils, it was the first victory over the Stanford Cardinal since Feb. 27, 1992 and the first in a Pac-10 Conference season opener since the 1990-91 season.
The Sun Devils came out firing early in the game, taking an early 15-8 lead with 12:12 left in the first half. Stanford, which is receiving votes in both national polls, made a run of their own and tied the game at 24 with 4:58 left in the half, but the Sun Devils converted a pair of steals into baskets and Sand hit a three-pointer to give ASU a 37-35 lead at the half. The Sun Devils shot 51.7 percent (15-29) and hit 50 percent of their three-point attempts (4-8) in the first half.
In the second half, the game continued to be a seesaw battle with six ties and four lead changes. The Sun Devils regained the lead for good with 3:07 when senior Rachel Holt (Buckeye, Ariz.) hit a layup to put ASU ahead 67-66. Stanford pulled within one point with 2:03 left in the game when Lindsey Yamasaki hit a jumper, but Holt sunk two free throws to give the Sun Devils a three-point lead. Arizona State then maintained its lead, grabbing three key defensive rebounds down the stretch, while junior Natalie Tucker (Georgetown, Texas) sunk a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to give Arizona State its 74-68 victory.
For the Sun Devils, Sand led the team with 15 points, while three other ASU players scored in double figures. Holt and fellow senior Kitch Kitchen (Newark, N.J.) each finished the game with 12 points, while Kitchen led the team with seven rebounds. Tucker tied her career high with eight assists in the game.
For the Cardinal, Yamasaki finished as the team's leading scorer with 18 points, while Bethany Donaphin turned in a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Sun Devils held Stanford's leading scorer and rebounder, Carolyn Moos, to just four points and four rebounds in the game.
Arizona State continues its opening weekend of Pac-10 play Saturday when the team plays host to California. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena, while the game will be broadcast live by Cox Communications (Channel 9) and by KTKP 1280 AM.