Stanford edges ASU women's hoops in Pac-10 opener

Jillian Harmon scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made a key steal down the stretch to help No. 11 Stanford beat Arizona State 64-61 on Friday night in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

Kayla Pedersen added 17 points and six rebounds for Stanford (10-3). She hit a free throw with 6 seconds remaining but missed her second attempt, allowing the Sun Devils (8-5) to try a last-second shot that could have tied it. Dymond Simon was off on a 25-footer, however, and Stanford held on.

Briann January scored 21 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range, to lead Arizona State.

Stanford won for the first time this season after trailing at halftime, falling behind 31-24 at the break and 40-26 less than three minutes into the second half.

Arizona State went ahead after Stanford's Jayne Appel picked up her fourth foul with 18:08 left. However, Appel, who averages 14.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, hit five free throws during a 14-0 run that ended with Pedersen's 3-pointer and gave the Cardinal a 56-52 advantage with 4:02 remaining.

Kayli Murphy hit a 15-footer with 54 seconds left to give the Sun Devils a 61-60 lead, but Pedersen answered with a drive to the basket with 35 seconds remaining to put Stanford in front for good.

Harmon added a free throw with 19 seconds left.

Appel finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for Stanford, which has beaten the Sun Devils six straight times and 10 of the last 12 meetings.