Jan. 20, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State set the school record for fewest points allowed in a Pac-10 game, downing Oregon State 50-38 Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
It marked the fourth time this season that ASU has held an opponent under 40 points and bested the previous school record of 39 points given up in a Pac-10 game in a 67-39 win over Washington State on Dec. 27 in this year's league opener. The Sun Devils lead the Pac-10 and rank seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 51.1 points per game this season.
Arizona State improved to 13-5 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-10 play, while Oregon State fell to 5-12 overall and 1-7 in league action with the loss.
The game stayed close in the first half as both teams struggled from the field. ASU took a 7-2 lead with 13:00 to play, but Oregon State scored six of the next seven points to tie the game at 8 with 8:19 to play. Things stayed close over the final minutes of the opening frame, and senior Betsy Boardman knocked down a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to give ASU a 17-14 halftime lead. The two teams combined for 23.5 percent shooting in the first half (ASU 6-27, OSU 6-24) as Boardman led all scorers with seven points.
Arizona State made five of its first nine shots in the second half and used a 17-4 run to take a 31-18 lead with 14:44 to play. Oregon State cut the lead to eight points, 35-27 with 8:04 remaining, but junior Kristen Kovesdy made a free throw and a layup to regain the double-digit lead. The Beavers never got closer than nine over the final minutes of the game.
Senior Betsy Boardman and junior Kristen Kovesdy each had 13 points to lead the Sun Devils. Boardman became the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 points and now has 1,010 career points, while Kovesdy, the Pac-10's leader in field goal percentage at 63.0 percent, knocked down 5-of-8 attempts from the field.
Sophomore Emily Westerberg pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds, while sophomore Aubree Johnson had a season-high nine boards for the Sun Devils who outrebounded the Beavers 50-31.
For Oregon State, senior Shannon Howell finished with a game-high 16 points. Howell leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 19.6 points per game but had just four points at halftime and five through the first 30 minutes of the contest.
Arizona State returns to action Saturday, playing host to Oregon (12-5, 4-3 Pac-10) at 2 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. Fox Sports Net will broadcast the game with the Ducks to a national television audience, while the game can also be heard locally on NBC 1190 AM with Jeff Munn and Seth Sulka calling the action.