Jan. 7, 2005
By MEL REISNER
AP Sports Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Stanford freshman Candice Wiggins had a season-high 31 points, leading the eighth-ranked Cardinal to a 68-57 victory over Arizona State on Friday night.
Brooke Smith added 10 points for Stanford (12-2, 4-1 Pac-10) and T'Nae Thiel had nine points and nine rebounds.
Emily Westerberg had a career-high 22 points for the Sun Devils (10-4, 2-2), and Kylan Loney added 14.
Arizona State, who have upset Georgia and Connecticut this season, came in with a 10-game winning streak at home but Stanford never trailed after seizing the lead late in the first half. Wiggins had 18 points before the break to help the Cardinal take a 38-31 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Cardinal used a 8-2 run to open up a 13-point lead. Smith made a hook shot early on, Wiggins scored twice on layups and Thiel made a putback for a 46-33 lead.
The Cardinal then went more than 6 minutes without a field goal, allowing Arizona State to close within 49-45 on Kristen Kovesdy's hook shot with 10:27 left.
Wiggins helped Stanford regain some breathing room when she pulled up for a 14-foot jumper with 9:41 left, and the Sun Devils got no closer than five points after that.
Wiggins had six points in 58 seconds during a pivotal first-half run. The two teams traded the lead seven times in 4{ minutes, with neither team leading by more than a point before Wiggins broke a 21-all tie with a driving layup with 7:36 to play. She followed that with two midcourt steals for layups and the Cardinal led 27-21 with 6:38 to go.
The Sun Devils got within 30-28 on Westerberg's 10-footer with 3:12 remaining, but the Cardinal finished the half with an 8-3 spurt that included four more points by Wiggins.