Feb. 19, 2005
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Junior and Central Point, Ore., native Amy Denson tied her career best with 18 points to lead the Arizona State University women's basketball team to a 66-56 win at Oregon State at Gill Coliseum Saturday night.
With the victory, ASU improved to 18-8 overall and 10-6 in the Pac-10, while Oregon State lost its 10th straight Pac-10 game and fell to 6-20 overall and 1-14 in league play.
After falling behind 8-5 early in the first half, the Sun Devils used a 9-0 run, including a pair of buckets by sophomore Aubree Johnson, to go up 14-8 with 12:24 to play and took the lead for good. The Beavers would cut the lead to one, but Denson scored seven straight points, including a three-pointer, to give ASU a seven-point lead, 24-17 with 6:55 remaining in the half. Senior Kylan Loney scored the final four points of the opening frame to give ASU a 36-27 halftime advantage. Denson and Johnson each had seven points to lead the Sun Devils in the first half, while OSU junior Kim Butler led all scorers with nine points.
In the second half, ASU missed its first four shots but made four free throws to go up by 11. OSU got as close as seven points, cutting the lead to 42-35 with 11:12 to play, but the Sun Devils scored the next five points, a run capped off by a three-point play by Denson, to go up 47-35 with 9:59 remaining. The Beavers would not get closer than eight points the rest of the way, and ASU made 16-of-18 free throws in the second half to hold on for the 66-56 victory.
Denson led all scorers and tied her career high with 18 points, making 6-of-8 shots from the field and all five of her free throw attempts. Johnson tied her career best with 13 points, while fellow sophomore Emily Westerberg also added 13 points and led ASU with four rebounds. Senior Carrie Buckner, a Corvallis native, tied her season best with five steals.
Butler led three Beavers in double figures with 15 points, while sophomore Casey Bunn had a game-high seven rebounds.
Arizona State returns home to Wells Fargo Arena next week for the team's last two regular-season games, playing host to Washington on Thursday night and Washington State on Saturday afternoon. Thursday night's game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised statewide on AZ-TV, while Saturday's game with the Cougars will get underway at 4 p.m. The Sun Devils will honor their four outstanding seniors - Betsy Boardman, Carrie Buckner, Kylan Loney and Lauren Stagg, prior to Saturday's contest.
Both 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.