TEMPE, Ariz. – Sophie Brunner scored 20 of her career-high 26 points in the second half and added nine rebounds as the No. 18 Arizona State women’s basketball team defeated the visiting Arizona Wildcats 71-54 on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena for their 11th consecutive win.
Katie Hempen had 11 points and six rebounds and Quinn Dornstauder added 10 points and three blocks for the Sun Devils (15-1, 4-0 Pac-12), who are off to the best start in program history. With their second win in as many games against the Wildcats, the Sun Devils also claimed the full point in the Territorial Cup Series.
“We just keep finding different ways to win,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “This is such a tough conference and we knew that (Arizona) was going to come back with a much greater effort. This is a good lesson for this young team, that every game is new and different.”
“I think this team has the makings to really have a memorable and special season,” Turner Thorne said. “I’m really excited for them.”
Candice Warthen had 13 points and Malena Washington had 11 to lead Arizona (7-8, 0-4 Pac-12), but combined to shoot just 7-21.
In comparison to its 44-point outburst in the first half of Thursday’s win over Arizona, ASU struggled to get into a rhythm offensively in the first half of Saturday’s game. The Sun Devils missed seven of their first eight shots until back-to-back baskets by Brunner and Arnecia Hawkins gave ASU a 6-4 lead with 13:15 left in the first half.
Less than a minute later, a pair of free throws by Malena Washington gave the Wildcats an 8-6 lead. It would be their last advantage of the game.
The Sun Devils countered with a 10-0 run to take a 16-8 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. The stretch was sparked by the play of Promise Amukamara and Dornstauder, who had six and four points during the run respectively.
Dornstauder would finish with eight points and three blocks in the first half as ASU took a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
The Sun Devils turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, but were able to stay in front of the Wildcats thanks to a strong defensive effort in the first 20 minutes. Arizona shot just 9-27 (33 percent) in the first half.
The second half belonged to Brunner. The sophomore forward established her will in the paint, making her first five shots en route to 20 second half points as ASU opened the second half on a 17-4 scoring run to take a 48-32 lead with 14:17 left to play.
“Sophie had a field day,” Turner Thorne said. “We were able to get her a lot of touches in transition, before (Arizona) was able to bring any help.”
The Wildcats weren’t able to get any closer than 14 points the rest of the way, as ASU led by as many as 25 after back-to-back threes from Katie Hempen.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a road matchup with Cal (11-3, 3-0) on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT, followed by a game at No. 15 Stanford (11-4, 3-0) on Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.