TEMPE, Ariz. – Sophie Brunner (game-high 20 points) and Quinn Dornstauder (19 points) combined for 39 points to help lead the No. 23 (USA Today coaches poll) Arizona State women's basketball team to a 69-62 win over USC on Friday night.
Senior leadership provided the spark for the Sun Devils (18-10, 9-8 Pac-12) as Brunner (8-9 FGs/3-4 FTs) and Dornstauder (6-9 FGs/7-9 FTs) combined to shoot 78 percent (14-18) from the floor and 77 percent (10-13) from the free throw line. The duo's outstanding shooting helped ASU shoot 52 percent for the game.
Brunner (game-high eight rebounds), Dornstauder (six rebounds) and Kelsey Moos and Kianna Ibis, who had five rebounds each, combined for 24 of ASU's 32 rebounds to help ASU to a plus-eight advantage (32-24) on the boards.
Brunner (10 points), Dornstauder (nine points) and Reili Richardson, who scored all nine of her points in the final 20 minutes, combined for 28 of ASU's 38 points in the second half to help lead the Sun Devils to their fourth win in six games.
Richardson (105 assists this season), who tied with fellow freshman Kiara Russell with a team-high four assists on Friday night, broke former Sun Devil Kylan Loney's single-season program record (104 in 2002) for most assists by a freshman.
Kristen Simon led USC (14-14, 5-12) with 14 points.
"Our senior class really stepped up," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "I thought it was a great team win overall and just all of our seniors out there playing as well as they did."
ASU's win over USC evened the season series as the Trojans won the first meeting 65-50 in Los Angeles the last weekend in January.
"The last time we played them it was our fourth game in a row on the road," explained Turner Thorne. "We had gone to the Bay Area, came back home, and then went to Los Angeles. We didn't have Kelsey and we had a very short rotation. I thought the difference tonight was our energy. We stepped up and scored. Last time, we didn't execute as well. Now everyone is playing for everything. I thought we had good energy and stayed connected. Last game, we were just really tired."
After USC went up by three late in the third quarter, Moos knocked down a 3-pointer to knot the score at 46-46 with 33 seconds remaining. Brunner would come up with a steal at the opposite end of the floor and, with the final seconds of the quarter ticking away, launched a shot from the top of the arc on USC's end of the floor and drained a triple at the buzzer to give the Sun Devils a 49-46 lead entering the fourth quarter.
ASU would never relinquish the lead after Brunner's momentum-turning heave. After Minyon Moore knocked down a jumper to get USC within a point, 53-52 with 6:47 remaining, the Sun Devils would respond with the next 14 points to put the game out reach. Dornstauder (six points) and Richardson (five points) combined for 11 points during the game-deciding scoring run.
Both ASU (7-14/50 percent) and USC (7-13/54 percent) shot the ball well in the first quarter. The Sun Devils led by as many as four and would take a 16-14 lead into the second quarter.
The two teams had identical shooting percentages (6-13/46 percent) and point totals (15) in the second quarter and the Sun Devils went to the half with a 31-29 lead. Dornstauder led ASU with 10 points and helped ASU go up by as many as six after her 3-point play with 2:34 left in the half. USC would respond by scoring four of the last six points to make it a one-possession game after the first 20 minutes.
ASU's win combined with Oregon's loss to Cal on Friday night clinched the No. 5 seed for the Sun Devils in next week's Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle.
The Sun Devils will close out regular season play on Sunday (noon MT) when they host No. 15 UCLA. The game will be the final at home for seniors Brunner, Dornstauder, Sara Hattis and Moos, who will all be honored in a ceremony following Sunday's game.
Senior leadership provided the spark for the Sun Devils (18-10, 9-8 Pac-12) as Brunner (8-9 FGs/3-4 FTs) and Dornstauder (6-9 FGs/7-9 FTs) combined to shoot 78 percent (14-18) from the floor and 77 percent (10-13) from the free throw line. The duo's outstanding shooting helped ASU shoot 52 percent for the game.
Brunner (game-high eight rebounds), Dornstauder (six rebounds) and Kelsey Moos and Kianna Ibis, who had five rebounds each, combined for 24 of ASU's 32 rebounds to help ASU to a plus-eight advantage (32-24) on the boards.
Brunner (10 points), Dornstauder (nine points) and Reili Richardson, who scored all nine of her points in the final 20 minutes, combined for 28 of ASU's 38 points in the second half to help lead the Sun Devils to their fourth win in six games.
Richardson (105 assists this season), who tied with fellow freshman Kiara Russell with a team-high four assists on Friday night, broke former Sun Devil Kylan Loney's single-season program record (104 in 2002) for most assists by a freshman.
?? Reili Richardson just broke the record for freshman assists, set by Kylan Loney in 2002! ?? pic.twitter.com/ZQXVBySPVu
— Sun Devil WBB (@SunDevilWBB) February 25, 2017
Kristen Simon led USC (14-14, 5-12) with 14 points.
"Our senior class really stepped up," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "I thought it was a great team win overall and just all of our seniors out there playing as well as they did."
ASU's win over USC evened the season series as the Trojans won the first meeting 65-50 in Los Angeles the last weekend in January.
"The last time we played them it was our fourth game in a row on the road," explained Turner Thorne. "We had gone to the Bay Area, came back home, and then went to Los Angeles. We didn't have Kelsey and we had a very short rotation. I thought the difference tonight was our energy. We stepped up and scored. Last time, we didn't execute as well. Now everyone is playing for everything. I thought we had good energy and stayed connected. Last game, we were just really tired."
After USC went up by three late in the third quarter, Moos knocked down a 3-pointer to knot the score at 46-46 with 33 seconds remaining. Brunner would come up with a steal at the opposite end of the floor and, with the final seconds of the quarter ticking away, launched a shot from the top of the arc on USC's end of the floor and drained a triple at the buzzer to give the Sun Devils a 49-46 lead entering the fourth quarter.
BUZZER. BEATER. BRUNNER.
— Sun Devil WBB (@SunDevilWBB) February 25, 2017
TOLD YA. @Pac12Network https://t.co/GZQC2WqZnj
ASU would never relinquish the lead after Brunner's momentum-turning heave. After Minyon Moore knocked down a jumper to get USC within a point, 53-52 with 6:47 remaining, the Sun Devils would respond with the next 14 points to put the game out reach. Dornstauder (six points) and Richardson (five points) combined for 11 points during the game-deciding scoring run.
Both ASU (7-14/50 percent) and USC (7-13/54 percent) shot the ball well in the first quarter. The Sun Devils led by as many as four and would take a 16-14 lead into the second quarter.
The two teams had identical shooting percentages (6-13/46 percent) and point totals (15) in the second quarter and the Sun Devils went to the half with a 31-29 lead. Dornstauder led ASU with 10 points and helped ASU go up by as many as six after her 3-point play with 2:34 left in the half. USC would respond by scoring four of the last six points to make it a one-possession game after the first 20 minutes.
ASU's win combined with Oregon's loss to Cal on Friday night clinched the No. 5 seed for the Sun Devils in next week's Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle.
The Sun Devils will close out regular season play on Sunday (noon MT) when they host No. 15 UCLA. The game will be the final at home for seniors Brunner, Dornstauder, Sara Hattis and Moos, who will all be honored in a ceremony following Sunday's game.