No. 10 Stanford women beat No. 18 ASU with tough defense

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As she closes in on 1,000 career wins, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said she’s more concerned with the number of games Erica McCall and her fellow seniors have left.

“Bird is an awesome person, an awesome player,” VanDerveer said Sunday, using McCall’s nickname, after she had 15 of her 18 points in the first half to lead the No. 10 Cardinal to a 66-56 win over No. 18 Arizona State at Maples Pavilion. It was VanDerveer’s 997th career win against 228 losses.

After losing to Arizona State in back-to-back years at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal weren’t about to let it happen a third straight time and applied tight defense, especially on the perimeter.

The Sun Devils won at Maples in 2015 and did it again last year on Sophie Brunner’s fadeaway jumper at the overtime buzzer.

“I thought about it — how much that one hurt me,” McCall said. “I was really fired up about it.”

Stanford’s Alanna Smith (left) and Karlie Samuelson celebrate during the Cardinal’s 66-56 home win over Arizona State. Stanford’s Alanna Smith (left) and Karlie Samuelson celebrate during the Cardinal’s 66-56 home win over Arizona State. Photo: Bob Drebin/ISIPhotos.com Photo: Bob Drebin/ISIPhotos.com Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close No. 10 Stanford women beat No. 18 ASU with tough defense 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Stanford rolled to a 14-7 lead at the quarter, and ASU made just three of its first 16 shots against the Cardinal’s clinging defense. It was 30-19 at the half, and the Sun Devils did not get the margin below 10 the rest of the way.

The win allowed Stanford (17-3 overall) to keep pace with Washington and Oregon State at 7-1 atop the Pac-12 standings. ASU (14-5 overall) fell to 5-3 in conference play. Stanford plays at Washington next Sunday night after visiting Washington State on Friday evening.

Stanford limited ASU to 30 percent shooting and had a 37-29 advantage on the boards.

“I thought our defense and our rebounding really won the game for us,” VanDerveer said. “Limiting them to nine offensive boards is a great accomplishment for us.”

The Cardinal got a scare when second-leading scorer Brittany McPhee hobbled off the court with a right ankle injury in the final minute of the half. She returned for the start of the second half and finished with 13 points. Karlie Samuelson had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Briana Roberson served as Stanford’s closer, thwarting ASU’s efforts to make a run in the fourth quarter by scoring all seven of her points on three perimeter shots.

Brunner, as usual, led the Sun Devils with 21 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 48 seconds left. ASU’s 6-foot-4 center, Quinn Dornstauder, had 14 points.

The Sun Devils allow the fewest points of any Pac-12 team (53.7 coming into the game), but it was Stanford that put on the defensive clinic.

“Our mental energy on offense was really poor,” said ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne, whose team shared the regular-season Pac-12 title with Oregon State last season. “We got away from the two things we’re best at, which (are) rebounding and transitioning.”

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald