PHOENIX — Now you can call them the Rain Devils.
Tenth-ranked Arizona State (10-1) beat Texas Tech 61-45 on Monday night when the second outdoor game in women's college basketball history was called on account of rain with 4:18 to play at Chase Field, home of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks.
There wasn't time to close the roof before the court got dangerously wet. The game was called because of concern that players would be injured.
The temperature was a brisk 56 degrees at tipoff under partly cloudy skies in downtown Phoenix and most of the crowd of 7,791 in the 49,000-seat stadium were bundled up like Packers fans at Lambeau Field.
In the second half, when Arizona State led by as many as 20 points, a slight wind made it even colder.
Texas Tech (8-4) took a 7-2 lead, but the Sun Devils responded with a 22-5 outburst. Coach Charli Turner Thorne substitutes often and in waves, and the reserves — led by 5-foot-5-inch freshman Dymond Simon — triggered the run.
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Simon's driving layup punctuated the surge and put Arizona State ahead 24-12 with 7:49 left in the half.
The Lady Raiders twice cut it to seven late in the first half and trailed 37-25 at the break.
Emily Westerberg scored four in a 10-0 run early in the second half that put the Sun Devils up 47-27 on Danielle Orsillo's basket with 15:12 to play. Texas Tech never got closer than 16 again.
The court used by the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury was moved from U.S. Airways Center, a block away, and installed along the first base side of the infield. The NCAA allowed players to wear long-sleeve shirts under their jerseys. Four ASU starters and one Texas Tech player did so. A couple of Arizona State players wore gloves on the bench.
The first women's outdoor game also was held at Chase — then known as Bank One Ballpark — in 2000, when Tennessee beat Arizona State 67-63.
● No. 2 North Carolina 87, Coastal Carolina 48: In Myrtle Beach, S.C., Ivory Latta tied her season high with 21 points and No. 2 North Carolina won its 12th straight to remain undefeated with a victory over Coastal Carolina.
Latta, who came in as the Tar Heels' top scorer at 14.2 points a game, was on target throughout. She hit 7 of 9 from the field, including two wide-open three-pointers as North Carolina closed the first half with an 18-1 run.
Latta added a three-pointer, two foul shots and a driving basket as North Carolina took a 67-27 lead with 14:32 remaining. She came out with about 10 minutes to go, yelling encouragement and instructions from the Tar Heels bench.
● No. 6 Connecticut 96, Virginia 60: In Charlottesville, Va., Kalana Greene scored 21 points, including 11 in Connecticut's 25-9 run to open the second half that turned the game into a runaway.
The Huskies (7-0) shot 66 percent by running a virtual passing clinic and layup drill for much of the game. Renee Montgomery added 17 points and nine assists for Connecticut.
● No. 16 Louisville 80, Butler 77: In Louisville, Ky., Angel McCoughtry scored 34 of her career-high 38 points in the second half to help Louisville rally to remain unbeaten and continue the best start in school history.
McCoughtry, who was two points shy of the school record, scored the Cardinals' first 14 points in the second half and Louisville (12-0) battled back from a three-point halftime deficit to hand the Bulldogs (2-8) their fourth straight loss.
● No. 18 Texas A&M 70, North Texas 52: In College Station, Texas, Danielle Gant had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Texas A&M overcame poor shooting to defeat North Texas.
The Aggies (7-2) shot 27 percent in the first half, but carried a 29-23 lead into halftime. They improved to 50 percent shooting in the second half and pushed their lead to 27 points with 4:41 remaining.
● No. 24 Arkansas 70, Memphis 54: In Memphis, Tenn., Charity Ford scored 15 points, Dominque Washington added 12 and Lauren Ervin grabbed 11 rebounds to power Arkansas past Memphis.
Arkansas (12-1) won its fifth straight and improved to 6-0 on the road.
Devin Necaise scored 14 to lead Memphis (3-9). Reserve Hope Adams had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Men
● Tennessee 79, No. 15 Oklahoma State 77: In Nashville, Tenn., Dane Bradshaw scored on a putback with 1.9 seconds left, and Tennessee (9-2) ended Oklahoma State's perfect start by beating the Cowboys.
Byron Eaton lobbed the ball downcourt, Mario Boggan caught it and threw up a last shot for Oklahoma State (11-1), but it bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Oklahoma State came in with its best start since going 13-0 to start the 2001-02 season, but this was the Cowboys' first game in a week because of finals and their first without their third-leading scorer. Freshman guard Obi Muonelo broke his ankle in practice Saturday.
