March 1, 2008
LOS ANGELES - Lauren Lacey had 14 points and Jill Noe scored all 11 of her points in the second half as Arizona State won its fourth consecutive game, defeating USC 75-67 on Saturday.
With the win Arizona State (20-9, 14-4 Pac-10) clinched its fourth consecutive season of 20 or more wins which established a new program standard. The Sun Devils will now wait to find out who their opponent will be in their opening game of the Pac-10 Tournament.
The current reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, Lacey was 4-of-7 from the field, including 3-3 from beyond the arc, which tied her single-game career best for three-point field goals. Also contributing to ASU's success was junior center Kirsten Thompson, who scored eight of her 10 points in the first half to lead the Sun Devils. Noe and Briann January both tied for the team lead with six assists.
Camille LeNoir scored 19 points to lead USC (17-12, 10-8 Pac-10), which lost its third consecutive game. The Women of Troy were without their leading scorer and rebounder, Nadia Parker, who was injured in USC's 64-62 loss to Arizona on Thursday night.
After leading by seven points at the half, the Sun Devils came out and were unable to generate any offense in the first six-plus minutes of the second half. USC would get back into the game during that time, outscoring ASU 12-1. A layup by Hailey Dunam gave the Women of Troy a 37-33 lead with 13:51 left.
Following a timeout the Sun Devils would respond as Noe scored on a layup which ignited a 25-7 Sun Devil run over the course of the next 9:26. A key stretch in the run came after a field goal by Morghan Medlock cut ASU's lead 41-39 with 10:51 left. The Sun Devils would respond with a 10-0 flurry which was capped off by back-to-back three-point field goals by Noe and Reagan Pariseau, which gave ASU a 51-39 lead with 7:04 left.
USC would get within 10, 54-44, before a jumper by Dymond Simon and a pair of free throws by Becca Tobin gave ASU its largest lead of the game, 58-44.
The Sun Devils will open up the 2008 Pac-10 Tournament at HP Pavilion in San Jose next Saturday (Mar. 8). As the No. 3 seed the Sun Devils will play at 11 a.m. PT/noon MT against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.