TEMPE, Ariz. – Sophie Brunner converted a 3-point play with 1.4 seconds left and the eighth-ranked Arizona State women’s basketball team overcame an early 12-point deficit to defeat USC 69-68 on Sunday.
With the win, the Sun Devils (20-4, 11-1 Pac-12) kept pace with Oregon State (20-3, 11-1) at the top of the Pac-12 standings and also clinched their third consecutive 20-win season.
Arnecia Hawkins led ASU with 12 points, Elisha Davis added 11 points and six assists and Katie Hempen had 10 points. Brunner finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Temi Fagbenle hit a jumper with five seconds left to give USC a 68-66 lead. Fagbenle’s basket followed a layup by Kelsey Moos that tied the game at 66-66 with 17 seconds remaining.
ASU called timeout to advance the ball past half court and Davis was able to find Brunner curling to the basket. Brunner took one dribble, absorbed the contact and finished through the foul. She then calmly sank the free throw to put the Sun Devils ahead for good.
Brunner’s free throw capped an 11-4 run by the Sun Devils over the final 4:33 of the game.
“We didn’t have our best stuff today but we just found a way to win,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I think that’s one of the biggest benefits to an experienced team is that ability to stay poised.”
ASU turned the ball over seven times in the first five minutes of play and found themselves trailing 22-10 after the first quarter before bouncing back to tie the game at the half. The 12-point deficit was the largest that the Sun Devils have overcome this season.
Sadie Edwards led USC (17-7, 5-7 Pac-12) with 26 points and four assists, while Kristen Simon had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Fagbenle finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals for the Trojans.
The Sun Devils had a 20-8 advantage in bench points. Quinn Dornstauder led the way with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds while Peace Amukamara and Sabrina Haines added six points each.
Sunday’s contest represented the fourth straight time that the two teams went down to the wire. Last season the Sun Devils came away with a 76-73, double-overtime win in Los Angeles. In 2014 ASU won the only regular season meeting, 94-86 in overtime in Tempe. Later in the season it was the Trojans who came out on top, 59-57, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle.
The Sun Devils and Trojans will meet again on Feb. 26 in Los Angeles.
Up next for ASU is a two-game road swing to Northern California. The Sun Devils will begin the weekend by taking on California on Friday (7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) before closing the weekend on Sunday (6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT) at No. 15 Stanford.