March 6, 2005
SAN JOSE, Calif. - SAN JOSE, Calif.-- Sophomore Aubree Johnson scored six of her career-high 14 points in the final minute to lead Arizona State to a 54-47 come-from-behind victory over Oregon Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2005 State Farm Pac-10 Conference Tournament at the HP Pavilion.
With the victory, ASU (20-8) advances to the championship game of the Pac-10 Tournament for the second time in the tournament's four years. ASU won the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament in 2002. The Sun Devils will take on second-ranked and top-seeded Stanford on Monday in a rematch of the 2002 title game. The Cardinal (28-2) earned a 73-69 win over USC in the second semifinal game on Sunday afternoon.
Fox Sports Net will televise Monday night's title game at 7:30 p.m., while it can also be heard on KDUS 1060 AM with Jeff Munn calling the action.
Third-seeded ASU led for the majority of the first half, going up by as many as five points. The Sun Devils took an 18-13 advantage with 7:33 to play, but the No. 2 seed Ducks used a 7-0 run to take a 21-18 lead two minutes later. Sophomore Emily Westerberg knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game up, but Oregon (20-9) scored the next six points and led 29-25 at the break.
In the second half, ASU missed 14 of its first 15 shots and fell behind 39-27 with 8:35 to play, but senior Carrie Buckner knocked down four free throws and Johnson made a layup to get the Sun Devils within two points. Westerberg got her own offensive board and put it back to tie the game at 37 with 8:54 to play.
Oregon got up by four points twice more, but ASU tied things up each time. The Sun Devils took the lead for good after four points each from Westerberg and Johnson. The pair scored all 11 of ASU's points in an 11-0 run over the final 2:10. Westerberg's layup with 1:29 to play tied the game, while Johnson's leaning jumper put ASU ahead for good, 49-47 with 47 seconds to play.
Oregon threw the ball away on its next possession, and Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Sun Devils up by four. She then had a key steal of Oregon's inbounds pass to secure the 54-47 victory and give ASU its fifth straight win.
Johnson tied her career high with 14 points, while Westerberg finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Senior Betsy Boardman pulled down a season-best nine rebounds, and senior Kylan Loney had six assists to lead the Sun Devils.
For Oregon, senior forward Cathrine Kraayeveld led the team with 14 points, while senior center Andrea Bills had 11.
After the Pac-10 Tournament championship game, Arizona State will await its postseason fate, looking for it sixth straight postseason appearance and its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2002. The 64-team bracket for the 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will be announced at 3 p.m. Mountain Time on Selection Sunday, March 13 on ESPN.