March 7, 2005
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Stanford was forced to get defensive in the Pac-10 tournament title game. Fortunately, that might be what the Cardinal do best.
Tournament MVP Candice Wiggins had 16 points and seven rebounds, and No. 1 Stanford won its 20th straight game and third straight conference championship, beating Arizona State 56-42 Monday night.
Brooke Smith scored 10 points and Susan King Borchardt added nine for the Cardinal (29-2), who ascended to the top spot in the AP Top 25 earlier in the day for the first time since December 1996.
But the Pac-10's top two defensive teams played a ugly game worthy of its billing. Stanford was held to its lowest point total of the season by the excited Sun Devils (22-9) - but Arizona State made 18 turnovers and just 31 percent of its shots in its lowest-scoring game of the year.
After grinding out its third defense-dominated victory over Arizona State this season, coach Tara VanDerveer's squad is headed for the NCAA tournament on its longest winning streak since 2001-02.
Kristen Kovesdy had 10 points and seven rebounds for Arizona State, which had its five-game winning streak snapped in a frustrating night filled with missed layups and wasted offensive rebounds. The Sun Devils still will get an NCAA bid, but missed the chance for their second title-game upset of Stanford in four seasons.
Arizona State upset Stanford in 2002, but the Cardinal have won the last three Pac-10 tournaments in front of their home fans in San Jose.
The second half was rugged, but Wiggins still provided her share of highlights while adding another accolade to her incredible freshman year. The Pac-10's player of the year is only scratching the surface of her potential, but she made countless small plays to turn the tide in the second half.
Stanford has won by an average of more than 23 points per game during its streak - but one day after surviving a rare test in a 73-69 semifinal victory over Southern California, Stanford again came out a step slower than normal.
Arizona State beat the Cardinal to most loose balls and got 15 more shots than Stanford in the first half - but Stanford has perhaps the best defensive team in school history, holding its opponents to school-record lows in points and shooting percentage this season.
The Cardinal's defense took control late in the first half, holding Arizona State to two points in the final 5:56 - though the Sun Devils helped out by missing two layups.
Arizona State couldn't get closer than six points in the second half - and with little effective inside play, the Sun Devils got just two free throws all night.
Wiggins made a layup with 54 seconds left and celebrated with a raised fist as she got back on defense - and then blocked a shot and grabbed a rebound on the other end, essentially clinching the win.