March 7, 2005
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Junior Kristen Kovesdy had 10 points and sophomore Aubree Johnson pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Sun Devils fell to No. 1/2 Stanford 56-42 in the championship game of the State Farm Pac-10 Conference Tournament Monday night at the HP Pavilion.
Tournament MVP Candice Wiggins had 16 points and seven rebounds, and No. 1 Stanford won its 20th straight game and third straight conference championship.
Brooke Smith scored 10 points and Susan King Borchardt added nine for the Cardinal (29-2), who ascended to the top spot in the AP Top 25 earlier in the day for the first time since December 1996.
The Pac-10's top two defensive teams played a ugly game worthy of its billing. Stanford was held to its lowest point total of the season by the excited Sun Devils (22-9) - but Arizona State made 18 turnovers and just 31 percent of its shots in its lowest-scoring game of the year.
After grinding out its third defense-dominated victory over Arizona State this season, coach Tara VanDerveer's squad is headed for the NCAA tournament on its longest winning streak since 2001-02.
Arizona State had its five-game winning streak snapped and still will get an NCAA bid, but missed the chance for their second title-game upset of Stanford in four seasons.
The Sun Devils upset Stanford in 2002, but the Cardinal have won the last three Pac-10 tournaments in front of their home fans in San Jose.
Arizona State beat the Cardinal to most loose balls and got 15 more shots than Stanford in the first half, but Stanford has perhaps the best defensive team in school history, holding its opponents to school-record lows in points and shooting percentage this season.
The Cardinal's defense took control late in the first half, holding Arizona State to two points in the final 5:56 - though the Sun Devils helped out by missing two layups.
Arizona State couldn't get closer than six points in the second half - and got just two free throws all night.
Wiggins made a layup with 54 seconds left, then blocked a shot and grabbed a rebound on the other end to clinch.
For ASU, Johnson also had a career-best seven rebounds and added six points. Kovesdy and Johnson were both named to the all-tournament team.
The Sun Devils will now have six days off until they find out where they will be traveling for the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team bracket for the 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will be announced at 3 p.m. Mountain on March 13 with the selection show being televised by ESPN.