TEMPE, Ariz. -- No. 5 Tennessee needed its pressure defense to spark a couple of key runs to snap Arizona States 26-game home win streak.
Candace Parker scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Sunday to lead the Volunteers past the 11th-ranked Sun Devils 83-74.
The Volunteers (3-0) used a 15-3 run midway through the second half to break open a 52-48 game.
"(Coach Pat Summitt) made it a point to say we needed to go on a run because this team was going to fight until the end," Volunteer point guard Alexis Hornbuckle said. "And we took it upon ourselves to take pride in our defense and after that the offense just flowed. I think this team starts with defense."
Summitt agreed.
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"Our defense, second half, we really stepped up," she said. "Obviously they get after you and at times we looked a little ugly offensively. But we managed to get it done."
Emily Westerberg had 21 points and six rebounds to lead the Sun Devils (4-1) but picked up her fourth foul with 12:58 left in the middle of the Volunteers' decisive run.
"Tennessee did what I thought they would do," Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "When we had breakdowns and when we didnt dig in on transition defense, they exposed us."
With Westerberg out Tennessee ran off 10 straight points to take a 77-53 lead with 8:29 left.
Sidney Spencer added 18 points and Hornbuckle 13 for Tennessee, which beat its second straight Pac-10 opponent after beating UCLA on Thursday night. The Volunteers play at home against Stanford on Friday.
The only thing that troubled Tennessee on Sunday was fouls. Five Volunteers finished with three or more fouls.
"Honestly we are a very physical team," Parker said. "We have had to make adjustments to the emphasis on calling hand checking. I think that now we are adjusted to it."
Reagan Pariseau was 4-of-5 from the field and scored 15 points for the Sun Devils. Briann January added 14 points and six assists for Arizona State, which had won its first four games by an average of 31.5 points.
Tennessee shot 34-of-62 from the field and outrebounded the Sun Devils 36-29.
The Volunteers made 6-of-8 shots during the key second-half run while holding Arizona State to Pariseau's 20-footer during the five-minute stretch.
Parker, who got her first double-double of the season and 11th in her career, had 18 points and seven rebounds in the first half.
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