ASU Women’s Basketball: ASU Sweeps Stanford in Classic Fashion

(Photo:Brooke Farber/WCSN)

Arizona State came back to beat Stanford in a nail biter, 53-52, completing the season sweep for the Sun Devils.

The Sun Devils failed to score over the games final five minutes, but played stifling defense all the way down to the final second when Stanford’s Briana Roberson missed an elbow jumper that would have given the Cardinal the win.

Sophie Brunner had two fouls very early on in this game, forcing Quinn Dornstauder to come in a bit earlier than normal, but that proved to be the winning strategy for the Sun Devils tonight. Dornstauder tallied 22 of ASU’s 53 points on the night.

Stanford never really pulled away from ASU, their largest lead being 12 points early on in the second quarter but it looked bleak for the Sun Devils who couldn’t generate offense outside of Dornstauder.

In the first half, Stanford kept attacking the lane on offense, constantly using pick and rolls to find the weak spot in ASU’s defense. Stanford logged 24 points in the paint on the night behind a combination of pick and rolls and straight up penetration. Stanford would constantly drive to the basket and the ASU’s defense just couldn’t keep up.

“That was fun. It wasn’t fun the first half, but it was fun the second,” Coach Charli Turner-Thorne said after the game.

The second half is when the rest of the offense clicked. Dornstauder singlehandedly got the ball rolling in the first half, and the Kelsey Moos and Katie Hempen joined in on the fun. Moos ended the night with 12 points and Hempen with seven, but both players contributed to great ball movement in the second half as well. Hempen tied with Elisha Davis with the most assists on the night with four.

Player of the Game: Quinn Dornstauder
This game could have easily been rough for the Sun Devils if it weren’t for Quinn Dornstauder’s 15 points in the first half of this game. Dornstauder had 68% of ASU’s points in the first half, something that normally doesn’t come from a player off of the bench, or any player. She didn’t stop there, though. Dornstauder had a total of 22 points on the night and four boards. Dornstauder shot 69% from the line accounting for nine points of her total tonight. Dornstauder is the tallest person on this Sun Devil team, and she used her height all night. Dornstauder tipped away passes and caused disruption in the paint for Stanford, clearly making her the shining player throughout this game.

Stat of the Night: 10 to 4
Not only did Arizona State stay out of foul trouble on the night, they consistently drew ones on the other end. In the second half Arizona State only fouled Stanford four times while Stanford fouled Arizona State 10 times, giving the Sun Devils eight points in the half. That may not seem like a lot, but when a game is won by a single point, those free throws add up.

Biggest Concern: Lack of Points in the Paint
In a game where Arizona State was struggling for the first half there were several areas of concern, the biggest being ASU’s play in the paint on offense. ASU only scored eight points in the paint, far off of their norm or what is needed to win a basketball game. The Sun Devils were able to compensate for it tonight, taking midrange jumpers and making free throws, but they missed some easy layups and tried to force some tough and unnecessary shots in the paint tonight.

What’s Next:
Arizona State takes on Cal Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.

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