Feb. 26, 2005
2005 Pac-10 Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
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TEMPE, Ariz. - Senior Lauren Stagg scored a career-high 11 points to lead the Arizona State University women's basketball team to a 59-40 victory over Washington State Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both teams at Wells Fargo Arena.
With the victory, ASU (20-8, 12-6 Pac-10) turned the seventh 20-win season in school history and the third under ninth-year head coach Charli Turner Thorne. The Sun Devils also clinched the No. 3 seed in next week's Pac-10 Conference Tournament in San Jose, Calif., and will take on the sixth-seeded UCLA Bruins (16-11, 10-8) at 11 a.m. Pacific (12 p.m. Mountain) on Saturday, March 5 at HP Pavilion.
Arizona State, the top scoring defense in the Pac-10, held Washington State (6-21, 2-16) to just nine points in the first 20 minutes, tying the school record for fewest points in a half. The team used a 9-0 run to take a 16-4 lead with 9:24 to play. After going scoreless for six minutes to allow the Cougars to get within seven, the Sun Devils scored the last 10 points of the half and led 26-9 at the halftime break. Stagg had nine first-half points and drained a three-pointer with four seconds left to get her career high and send the Sun Devils into the locker room. WSU missed 11 of its first 13 shots, made just 4 of 27 field goals (15 percent) and was 1 of 10 from the free throw line in the opening frame.
ASU led by as many as 28 points in the second half and never let the Cougars get closer than 15. The Sun Devils held the Cougars to 40 points and 26.9 percent shooting in the game, marking the seventh time this year that ASU has held a Pac-10 opponent under 50 points.
Stagg became the eighth Sun Devil to lead the team in scoring this season with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting and added a season-high four assists. Senior Carrie Buckner and junior Kristen Kovesdy each added 10 points, while Buckner tied her season best with eight rebounds. Senior Kylan Loney dished out a career-best nine assists in the game.
Sophomore Kate Benz was the only Cougar in double figures with 11 points, while junior Keisha Moore paced the team with eight rebounds.
ASU honored its four seniors - Betsy Boardman, Buckner, Loney and Stagg - prior to the game, and all four Sun Devils started in the victory, which also tied the school record for most Pac-10 wins. With a 12-6 league mark, the Sun Devils finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-10 standings with Oregon and USC.
The Sun Devils' Pac-10 Tournament game with the Bruins can be heard on locally on NBC 1190 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com with Jeff Munn and Seth Sulka calling the action.