SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It took 31 games, but the ASU women's basketball team has finally learned that hustle and gritty defense don't compensate for poor execution.
Dreadful on offense Monday night on the biggest stage of the season, ASU fumbled away a golden opportunity for national respect in a 56-42 loss to No. 1 Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game at HP Pavilion.
The Sun Devils (22-9) committed 18 turnovers and shot 31.1 percent from the field, including a 9-for-35 effort in the first half that gave Stanford (29-2) more than enough of a cushion for its third Pac-10 Tournament title and 20th consecutive victory.
The offensive collapse didn't come as a surprise, considering ASU shot 31.6 percent in Sunday's semifinal win over Oregon. What was surprising was the Sun Devils squandered so many chances against Stanford.
Despite allowing Stanford to grab an 11-point lead in the opening minute of the second half, ASU trailed by just six with 12:14 left when senior guard Betsy Boardman scored on a driving lay-up.
The Cardinal put the game away midway through the second half with an 8-0 run that featured three-pointers by senior guard Susan King Borchardt and senior forward Sebnem Kimyacioglu. Senior guard Kelley Suminski also scored on a lay-in after stealing the ball at midcourt.
Junior forward Kristen Kovesdy was the only Sun Devil to score in double digits, totaling 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Sophomore forward Emily Westerberg had seven points. Senior guard Kylan Loney, junior forward Amy Denson and sophomore forward Aubree Johnson had six apiece.
Stanford was paced by Pac-10 Player of the Year Candice Wiggins, who posted a game-high 16 points on an 8-for-15 effort from the field. Suminski had 10 points, and Borchardt had nine.
Sophomore centers Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin combined for 15 points, helping Stanford outscore ASU 32-24 in the paint. The Cardinal scored 12 of their first 14 points on layups and built a 19-16 lead that ballooned to 29-20 by intermission.
Kovesdy kept ASU close in the first half by scoring on three consecutive possessions, and Johnson's jumper put the Sun Devils ahead 16-14 with 9:42 left before the break.
However, Stanford showed signs of its maturity in a 15-4 run to close the half. Borchardt and Suminski nailed three-pointers during the burst, and Stanford got buckets from Newlin and Wiggins.
ASU didn't help its cause by going scoreless over the closing 3:50 of the first half. Loney and junior forward Jenny Thigpin launched air balls in the final minutes, and Westerberg and senior guard Carrie Buckner missed lay-ups.
For ASU, the season is far from over. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
According to the latest bracket projection on www.collegerpi.com, ASU will be the
No. 6 seed in the Dallas Regional, which also includes Texas Tech, Iowa and Marist.
The Sun Devils haven't qualified for the NCAA Tournament since the 2001-02 season when they knocked off eighth-seeded Wisconsin in the opening round before being routed by top-seeded Vanderbilt, which advanced to the Elite Eight.
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
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