Dec 28, 2002
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Freshman forward Amy Denson scored a career-high 18 points as Arizona State fell to sixth-ranked Stanford 80-63 Friday night in the Pac-10 Conference season opener for both teams at Stanford's Maples Pavilion.
The loss snapped ASU's three-game winning streak and dropped the Sun Devils to 8-2 on the year. No. 6 Stanford improved to 7-1 on the year.
Stanford's Azella Perryman had six of her career-high 23 points during a 9-0 run to start the second half for the Cardinal, which won its 22nd consecutive conference game.
In the first half, Stanford went up 11-4 with 16:32 to play, but Arizona State went on a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 14-13 with 12:08 left in the half. Denson scored eight of ASU's 10 points in that stretch. Stanford's Katie Denny snapped a 24-24 tie with less than five minutes left in the first half, and the Cardinal held a 32-28 lead at the break. Denson had 12 points in the first half, while Stanford's Kelley Suminski scored 18 of her career-high 25 points in the first half.
Stanford scored the first nine points of the second half and built a 41-28 lead. The Cardinal made 11 of their first 16 shots in the half and led by as many as 24 points. Perryman went 8-of-9 from the field and had seven of her nine rebounds in the second half for Stanford.
For the Sun Devils, Denson knocked down 7-of-15 shots and grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes. Freshman Kristen Kovesdy and junior Jen Albert each had eight points, while sophomore Carrie Buckner turned in seven points, a team-best six rebounds and three steals in the loss.
Arizona State returns to action Sunday afternoon at California, taking on the Golden Bears at 2 p.m. PST/3 p.m. MST at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. ASU's game at Cal can be heard locally on KUET 710 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com.