While it began as a farewell to the No. 11 ASU women's basketball seniors, it ended with the Sun Devil freshmen lighting up the scoreboard.
Freshmen Briann January scored 12 points and Kirsten Thompson added 10 points as the Sun Devils stomped intrastate rival UA, 81-45, Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena on Senior Night.
"I have the most confidence in this freshman class, they're unbelievable," senior forward Kristen Kovesdy said.
"These freshmen are determined and relentless, and they're just going to get better and better," senior forward Amy Denson said.
It was ASU's ninth-straight win, as the Sun Devils finished a school-record 15-0 at home.
Kovesdy scored 12 points and added 11 rebounds as the Sun Devils (23-5, 14-4) finished the season in second place in the Pac-10 conference standings.
"That's the awesome blend of this team -- the veterans and the new players," ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We have the ability to sub deep into our bench and different people have stepped up on different days."
The Sun Devils took advantage of the Wildcats' early shooting woes, as Denson hit a short jumper to put ASU up 17-8 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. She finished with six points and nine rebounds in front of a season-high 4,378 fans.
UA's Joy Hollingsworth led all scorers with 14 points, but shot 4-for-13 from the floor, contributing to the Wildcats' 24 percent shooting percentage.
"This was not our day; it was actually a very embarrassing loss for us," UA coach Joan Bonvicini said.
The Sun Devils outrebounded the Wildcats 52-31, including 41 defensive rebounds, quieting any UA offensive momentum.
Playing a four-guard lineup, Bonvicini said the Wildcats were unable to control ASU's inside game, primarily Kovesdy.
"[Kovesdy] is strong inside and we don't have an inside game," Bonvicini said. "We're like playing 2-on-5, so it makes it tough."
Turner Thorne said getting Kovesdy and Thompson more touches was a priority, but not the only concern.
"It seems like everybody's game plan is [to] wait until we throw it inside and swarm us," Turner Thorne said. "We always eventually do throw it inside, but we can kick it out and find our shooters."
Using the open space around the arc, January sank a 3-pointer to put ASU up 59-31 with 14:27 remaining. The Sun Devils shot 52 percent on the day.
Senior guard YoVanna Rosenthal contributed four points and five rebounds in the last home game of her career.
Kovesdy, Denson and Rosenthal have helped ASU to an 80-41 record over the last four years, including a 47-15 record the last two seasons. Kovesdy needs 73 more points to pass former Sun Devil Sherry Poole for No. 4 on ASU's all-time scoring list.
ASU clinched a No. 2 seed in next weekend's Pac-10 tournament. The Sun Devils will play the winner of No. 7 Oregon and No. 10 Washington State on Saturday in San Jose, Calif.
Reach the reporter at james.schmehl@asu.edu.
