DALLAS – Quinn Dornstauder scored a game-high 21 points to lead the No. 18 Arizona State women’s basketball team to a 64-57 win over SMU on Saturday.
Dornstauder, who came one point short of tying her career high in scoring, also added eight rebounds and four blocks for the Sun Devils (1-1), who used a series of scoring runs in the third and fourth quarters to hold off the Mustangs (1-2).
Elisha Davis scored all 15 of her points in the second half to go along with two assists and two steals. Dornstauder (6-6) and Davis (6-8) combined to go 86 percent from the free throw line.
Also scoring in double figures for the Sun Devils was Katie Hempen, who scored 13 points. Hempen came into the game needing six points to reach 1,000 for her career. She would accomplish the feat by knocking down a 3-pointer late in the second quarter to give ASU a 27-22 halftime lead.
McKenzie Adams led SMU with 16 points, but was 4-of-15 from the floor.
Although the Sun Devils never trailed, SMU remained in striking distance for much of the game. Dornstauder scored nine points in the first quarter to help ASU take a 15-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Alicia Froling, who had 12 points and eight rebounds, scored on a layup to cap a 9-4 run by the Mustangs and tie the game at 31-31 with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
The two teams would go back and forth for the next two minutes until a jumper by Davis and a 3-pointer by Hempen gave ASU a 40-35 advantage.
The Sun Devils would extend their lead to seven early in the fourth quarter before the Mustangs countered with a 7-2 run in the span of 1:14 to get within two points, 48-46 with 6:59 remaining.
Stephanie Collins, who had a game-high 10 rebounds, missed a layup that would have tied the score. ASU would not let the Mustangs get any closer as Davis and Sophie Brunner knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Devils up 54-46. A pair of free throws by Davis capped an 8-0 run by the Devils, who went up 56-46 with 3:58 left.
The Mustangs would make one more run to get within four points, but Davis (made free throw), Brunner (layup) and Dornstauder (two free throws) would combine to score the next five points to put the game out of reach.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they travel to Honolulu to compete in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown. ASU will face second-ranked South Carolina on Friday, Hawaii on Saturday and CSU Bakersfield on Sunday.