TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 14 Arizona State women’s basketball team put together one of its all-time best defensive performances on Monday in holding ninth-ranked Stanford to its fewest points ever in a 49-31 victory.
Sophie Brunner’s 11th career double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) led the way for the Sun Devils (11-3, 2-0 Pac-12), who won their eighth consecutive game. Arnecia Hawkins tied for the team lead with 12 points while Elisha Davis added nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
Stanford’s previous lowest scoring effort happened more than 30 years ago on Jan. 2, 1984 in a 72-32 loss to then-No. 16 Missouri. The Cardinal (11-3, 1-1 Pac-12) connected on only 25.6 percent of its shots and did not reach a double-digit point total in any of the four quarters.
“I thought we played with tremendous effort today,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “Physically, mentally and emotionally we just worked hard the entire game. We got back (on defense), dug in, worked hard and never really let them get comfortable or get any offensive flow.”
The Sun Devils also struggled from the field as they shot 31 percent for the game. They were able to put some separation between themselves and Stanford thanks to a 20-13 advantage in offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. In addition, ASU was able to connect on 40 percent of its 3-pointers (6-15), while Stanford was 11 percent (1-9) from beyond the arc.
ASU hit its first four shots of the game and found itself leading 14-7 at the end of the first quarter after holding Stanford to 3-13 shooting.
The first of two made free throws by Brunner with 8:30 remaining in the second quarter put the Sun Devils up 17-7. ASU would maintain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game as it held Stanford without a field goal for the first 8:58 of the second quarter on its way to a 26-13 lead at the break.
Kelsey Moos helped the Sun Devils get off to a good start in the third quarter after hitting a 3-pointer as the shot clock buzzer went off to put ASU up 29-13. Three of the four field goals ASU made in the third quarter were from long range as Hawkins and Davis also sunk triples. Davis’ 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the period gave ASU its largest lead of the game, 39-19.
Stanford would respond with a 7-0 run that cut ASU’s lead to 13 after a pair of free throws by Kailee Johnson with 7:22 remaining in the game. The Sun Devils would answer with a 10-3 run in a stretch of just over five minutes to once again go up by 20.
Lili Thompson led Stanford with seven points and four rebounds. No other Cardinal player finished with more than five points.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a two-game road trip to the state of Washington. First is a matchup against the Washington Huskies on Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT. ASU will then close out the road trip on Sunday (noon PT/1 p.m MT) against Washington State. Both games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks and can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.