WOW! and Whew!!

Didn't think we were going to pull this one off.

The momentum was with ASU during the second half as their lead kept increasing: up by 13 with 12 minutes to play. But then the Cardinal crept back to a one-point lead: 62-61. The Sun Devils had possession with 31 seconds to play and 27 seconds on the shot clock when Charli called a timeout. Dymond Simon dribbled for about 12 seconds, then drove in for the shot. Jillian stole the ball and was fouled by Simon. She made her 1st free throw, missed the second: 63-61, seven seconds to play. Kayla got the rebound and was fouled by Simon. She made her 1st free throw, missed the second: 64-61, six seconds to play. Simon made a desperation 3-point shot, missed, whew!!

Jillian was unstoppable. She played 40 minutes of outstanding offense and defense. She ended with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, including that key one in the last few seconds.

Jayne was awarded her 4th foul two minutes into the second half. She played about 13 more minutes without another foul, during which she made five free throws. I told a disgruntled ASU fan that Jayne had spent a good part of her freshman season playing with four fouls. She ended with the other double-double, 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Kayla also had a strong game against the very aggressive Sun Devils. She played for 37 minutes and had 17 points (including one beautiful three) and six rebounds.

Sarah contributed 11 minutes, mostly providing relief for Jayne who was battered and getting nowhere in the first half.

The team spent a good part of the pre-game warmup practicing layups. They didn't make all of their attempts during the game, but shot a respectable 32% . Their free-throw shooting improved too. They made 13 of 22 (ASU made 12 of 21).

All that's been published so far is a game report from Palo Alto Online, the AP report and the box score and play-by-play. Check back tomorrow for more game reports and photos.