Feb. 19, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - Junior Kylan Loney scored five of her team-high 14 points during a decisive 12-2 run, and sophomore Kristen Kovesdy finished with 11 points as Arizona State beat Oregon 65-40 Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils (16-8, 10-5 Pac-10) held the Ducks to their lowest offensive output of the season and the fewest points by an ASU opponent since the team defeated California 56-40 Jan. 24, 2002 in Berkeley, Calif. Previously this season, Oregon lost to Washington 95-50 on Jan. 15.
Oregon (12-13, 4-11) shot 35 percent from the field (16 of 46) and lost for the fourth time in its last five games, while Arizona State won its fourth straight home game and improved to 12-1 at Wells Fargo Arena this season.
Despite 20 turnovers, Arizona State broke its two-game losing streak that followed winning five in a row.
After trailing 29-21 at halftime, Oregon cut the lead to 34-32 with 12 minutes left before the Sun Devils ran off eight straight points in the 12-2 spurt paced by Loney and coasted from there.
Loney and Kovesdy led the team in scoring with 14 and 11 points, respectively, while freshman Aubree Johnson, who was made the second start of her career, paced the Sun Devils with nine rebounds, including a career-high four offensive boards. Freshman Alisha Godette tied her career best with four assists to lead the team.
As a team, ASU outrebounded Oregon 40-26 and held a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano served as a guest coach for the Sun Devils Thursday night, sitting on the bench with the team and coaches and participating in team huddles.
Brandi Davis scored nine points and Eleanor Haring and Kedzie Gunderson each had eight points for Oregon.
Arizona State plays its regular-season home finale vs. Oregon State on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena. The game tips off at 2 p.m. Mountain Time and will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net.
The Sun Devils will honor their lone senior, two-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection Jen Albert, prior to Saturday's game with the Beavers. Albert played in 100 games with six starts in her career and helped ASU to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2002 as well as a share of the 2001 Pac-10 title and the 2002 Pac-10 Tournament championship. She has been out of the Sun Devil lineup since Dec. 27 after tearing her ACL against Washington State.
Saturday's game can also be heard locally on ASU's flagship station, NBC 1190 AM, or via the internet at with Vince Marotta and Kayte Christensen calling the action.