Women's basketball defeats USC for third straight win
Dymond Simon scored 22 points to lead Arizona State past Southern Cal 69-55 Thursday night and into sole possession of third place in the Pac-10 with three games to play. Simon's free throws with 7:14 left capped a decisive 10-2 run that gave the Sun Devils (17-8, 9-6 Pac-10) a 48-41 lead. The Trojans never got closer than four the rest of the way. Briana Gilbreath had 17 points and six rebounds for Southern Cal (16-10, 8-7), which had won three of the last four. After tying the game at 34 with 16:59 left, the Trojans missed 13 of their next 18 shots. Kimberly Brandon scored 10 of her 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the game for Arizona State, which took a 28-21 lead on Simon's 3-pointer with 3:31 left before halftime. Arizona State has won four of five. The Trojans played without inside player Cassie Harberts much of the second half, after she was called for her fourth foul with 16:51 remaining. She did not return until the final eight minutes, quickly scoring two baskets to get Southern Cal within 50-46 with 5:25 left but a 12-2 run ended by Simon's third 3-pointer gave the Sun Devils a 64-50 lead with 1:20 remaining. Harberts finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes. Arizona State held Southern Cal's Ashley Corral to six points on 2-for-12 shooting. Corral averaged 12.6 points coming into the game and hit a three with 15:09 left to give the Trojans a 37-35 lead before the Sun Devils' big run. Arizona State beat Southern Cal 62-61 on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles.