Jan. 16, 2005
LOS ANGELES, Calif.- Meghan Gnekow and Eshaya Murphy had 15 points to lead four Trojans in double figures as USC downed No. 25 Arizona State 66-45 Sunday afternoon at USC's Lyon Center.
USC won its sixth straight game and improved to 12-4 and 6-1 in the Pac-10, while ASU had its two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 12-5 overall and 4-3 in league play.
The Women of Troy took the early lead in the ball game, hitting five three-pointers to go up 23-13 with 7:16 to play. The Sun Devils cut the lead to three, 23-20 with 3:40 left in the half, after a three-pointer from freshman Reagan Pariseau and three points from sophomore Alisha Godette. USC, however, capitalized on three ASU turnovers and outscored the Sun Devils 9-1 over the final minutes of the half to take a 32-21 halftime advantage.
In the second half, a jumper by junior Amy Denson cut the lead to nine points, but Gnekow hit a pair of three-pointers in a 12-4 run which put USC ahead 44-27 with 14:40 to play. Arizona State put together a 9-2 run capped off by a three-pointer by Denson to get within 10, 46-36 with 10:58 remaining. USC, however, quelled the Sun Devil comeback with a 9-2 run to regain a 17-point advantage, and ASU never got any closer.
Denson led the Sun Devils with eight points, including a career-high two three-pointers, in ASU's second-lowest scoring output of the season. Sophomore Emily Westerberg and senior Carrie Buckner each had five rebounds to pace the Sun Devils, while Buckner added four assists.
USC hit seven three-pointers and capitalized on 21 ASU turnovers in the victory.
Arizona State returns to action next weekend, playing host to Oregon State and Oregon at Wells Fargo Arena. The Oregon State game with tip off at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time on Thursday night, while the game with Oregon will get underway at 2 p.m on Saturday afternoon.
All of ASU's games can be heard locally on NBC 1190 AM or on the internet at www.thesundevils.com with Jeff Munn and Seth Sulka calling the action, while Fox Sports Net will televise Saturday's game to a national audience.