March 5, 2009
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Dymond Simon had 15 points and Danielle Orsillo added 13 to help Arizona State win its school-record 15th straight game with a 63-41 victory over California on Thursday night.
In a battle for second place in the Pac-10, the Sun Devils (23-6, 15-2) went on a 15-2 run midway through the second half and limited Cal to 31 percent shooting to break a four-game losing streak against the Bears (23-5, 14-3).
The Sun Devils can share the conference title with a win at No. 2 Stanford on Saturday, their first round-robin crown since 2001.
Devanei Hampton had 14 points for Cal, which made just 14 of 44 shots and tied its season low for points.
A jump hook by Hampton closed the Bears to 36-32, the closest they got since early in the first half. But the Sun Devils scored 12 straight, keyed by a 3-pointer and two free throws by Orsillo to go up 48-32 with 6:16 remaining.
The conference's top defense held the conference's leading scorer, Cal's Ashley Walker, to just eight points. It was the fourth time Walker was limited to single digits this season.
Cal missed 11 of its first 12 shots and trailed 17-6 following the first 3-pointer of the season by Arizona State's Gabby Fage, who then made her second 3-pointer with 4:28 left in the half to give the Sun Devils their biggest lead at 24-12.
Back-to-back baskets by Hampton cut the lead to 24-16, but Simon finished off the half with a 3-pointer and an 18-footer at the buzzer to give Arizona State a 29-18 halftime lead and Cal's largest halftime deficit this season.
Cal won the previous meeting 54-53 on a steal and layup by Walker with 1.8 seconds remaining Jan. 4 at Arizona State. The Sun Devils haven't lost since.
Walker, the conference's leading scorer, was honored before the game for surpassing the 2,000-point and 1,000-rebound career mark during Cal's last road trip.