Pedersen scores 23 as No. 2 Stanford uses big second half to beat Arizona State 71-48

No. 2 Stanford uses big second half for win

STANFORD, Calif. — Kayla Pedersen had 23 points and seven rebounds and No. 2 Stanford fought back after trailing at halftime for the first time all season, beating Arizona State 71-48 on Thursday night to extend its home winning streak at Maples Pavilion to 39 games.

Rosalyn Gold-Onwude knocked down three 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 19 points and Jayne Appel added 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Cardinal (18-1, 8-0 Pac-10) won their ninth straight game since losing at top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 23. They also beat Arizona State for the eighth straight time and 12th in 13 meetings since Jan. 7, 2005. The Sun Devils’ last victory in the rivalry was a 62-59 win on Feb. 16, 2006.

Tenaya Watson scored all 12 of her points in the first half for Arizona State (12-7, 4-4), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Sun Devils had been on a roll after losing three in a row and five of six.

But they haven’t had much success at Maples, where Stanford improved to 28-1 all-time against Arizona State. The Sun Devils’ lone win here came on March 3, 1984.

After trailing by 14 in the first half, Stanford outscored the Sun Devils 35-5 spanning halftime and held them to one field goal during that stretch. Arizona State missed its first five shots of the second half and frustrated coach Charli Turner Thorne was whistled for a technical with 12:45 remaining.

The Cardinal overcame early rebounding trouble for a 40-31 edge on the boards.

Watson scored seven straight during a 10-2 spurt that put the Sun Devils ahead 27-13 with 6:13 left in the first half and Arizona State led 29-25 at halftime with a 22-14 advantage on the boards. But the Cardinal used a 12-2 run to end the half, getting six of those points on free throws.

The Sun Devils couldn’t sustain the level of play they exhibited in the first half, when Stanford struggled to get into its offense and regularly faced a man-to-man full-court press. Arizona State shot 5 for 22 over the final 20 minutes.

Sensational Stanford sophomore Nnemkadi Ogwumike finished with eight points and seven rebounds after her career-best 30-point, 23-rebound performance in last Saturday’s 100-80 road rout of Oregon. She went to the bench with her third foul in the opening minute of the second half Thursday.

Before tipoff, Tara VanDerveer walked to the other bench to greet Thorne, the former Stanford player, with a hug. During Stanford’s decades of dominance under 24th-year coach VanDerveer, Arizona State has often been a nemesis for the Cardinal.

This was an important win for Stanford as it kicked off a stretch with four straight conference home games — believed to be a first for the program. The Cardinal, who have reached back-to-back Final Fours and are picked to win their 10th straight Pac-10 regular-season title, are looking to establish some momentum heading into the final month of the conference schedule.

Stanford endured two scoring droughts of three minutes in the first half and fell behind 17-8 midway through the first half, getting 10 shots to the Sun Devils’ 20 early.

Guard Melanie Murphy didn’t dress for Stanford because of a sore back. She also has been dealing with further swelling in her troublesome right knee and was limited to only three minutes total in the team’s trip last weekend to Oregon State and Oregon.

“Hurt again as always,” Murphy tweeted earlier Thursday. “At this rate I’m sure I’ve sat out more games than I’ve played in.”

Stanford has asked fans to wear red for Saturday’s game against Arizona to show support for the devastation in Haiti following the 7.0 earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation Jan. 12.