STANFORD, Calif. – Promise Amukamara scored a game-high 17 points and Sophie Brunner and Elisha Davis added 10 points each as the No. 13 Arizona State women’s basketball team upset No. 11 Stanford, 60-57 on Monday.
The Sun Devils (17-1, 6-0 Pac-12) led by as many as 17 and had to hold off a furious Stanford rally that saw the Cardinal (13-5, 5-1) get within one. In the end, however, ASU was able to hit key baskets and make free throws down the stretch to secure their 13th straight win.
Combined with its 67-52 win at Cal on Friday, ASU became just the fifth team to defeat both Pac-12 Bay Area schools on the road since 1986-87 (first time since 2000-01). In addition, the Sun Devils are off to their best conference start in school history having now won their first six games in Pac-12 play. They came into Monday’s game tied with the 2007-08 team (5-0) for the best start ever.
Following Monday’s action, ASU and No. 9 Oregon State remain the only two Pac-12 teams unbeaten in conference games. The Sun Devils and Beavers will meet on Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena.
ASU controlled the boards to the tune of 44-22, including a 20-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, which led to 18 second-chance points. Brunner and Quinn Dornstauder (eight rebounds each) and Amukamara (seven rebounds) led ASU’s effort on the glass.
ASU hit its first six shots of the game and built a 14-5 lead. The Sun Devils would continue to thrive on the offensive end throughout the half as they would end up connecting on 52 percent of their shots over the first 20 minutes. Defensively, the Sun Devils were just as dominant, limiting Stanford to only 29 percent from the floor. ASU allowed Stanford to score only four points over the last five minutes of the first half as they built a 39-22 halftime advantage.
The two teams would experience a role reversal in the second half as the Cardinal came out aggressive on both ends of the floor. Amber Orrange made all five of her shots and scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half as the Cardinal slowly whittled down ASU’s advantage.
A free throw by Lili Thompson brought Stanford within a single point, 47-46 with 4:59 remaining.
After struggling throughout the second half, the Sun Devils would respond when they needed points the most. Amukamara came back down the floor and got a layup to put ASU back up by three. Davis hit a pair of free throws to extend ASU’s lead to five and Brunner then connected on a jumper to complete ASU’s 6-0 run, which left the Sun Devils with a 53-46 advantage with 1:46 remaining.
A layup by Taylor Greenfield, Stanford’s first bucket in more than five minutes, got the Cardinal back within five.
Davis would respond on the opposite end with a layup to once again put the Devils up by seven, 55-48.
The Cardinal would continue to fight, but a layup by Amukamara and three free throws by the Devils in the final 11 seconds allowed them to become victorious at Stanford for the first time since 1984.
The Sun Devils return to action on Friday when they host Oregon on Friday at 11 a.m. in the program’s annual Sparky’s Kids to College Field Trip Game. ASU will then close out the weekend on Sunday (2 p.m.) when it hosts No. 9 Oregon State. Both games will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.