No. 10 Arizona St. 68, Southern California 57

2/16/2007 1:02 AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Aubree Johnson continues to inspire Arizona State.

The senior forward had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, and No. 10 Arizona State rallied for a 68-57 victory over Southern California on Thursday night.

Danielle Orsillo added 11 points and Jill Noe and Briann January scored 10 points apiece for the Sun Devils (24-3, 14-2 Pacific-10), who earned their 13th victory in 14 games.

Johnson took a brief leave of absence after her 15-year-old brother, Jordan, died in his sleep from an enlarged heart on Nov. 25. He was in the Virgin Islands watching the Sun Devils play in a tournament.

``(Johnson) is just playing with an unbelievable passion and will to win,'' Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said.

Jamie Hagiya scored 15 points for the Trojans (15-10, 9-6), who had won nine of 11. Eshaya Murphy added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

USC led 20-12 with 9:55 left in the first half when the Sun Devils used a 21-3 surge to take a 33-23 lead with 1:01 left before halftime. Johnson and Noe each scored eight points in the run.

USC failed to make a basket in the final 9:55 of the first half and scored only one point in the final 5:02 before the break.

The Trojans narrowed their deficit to 40-38 with 12:28 to play, but Johnson scored six points during a 12-0 burst that extended Arizona State's lead to 52-38 with 8:54 left.

USC got to 60-57 with 1:20 to play before the Sun Devils made all six of their free throws in an 8-0 run that ended the game.

Arizona State played without leading scorer Emily Westerberg, who sprained her left ankle Tuesday in practice.

Arizona State won despite committing 24 turnovers, the team's second-highest total this season, and shooting 39.1 percent in the second half.

The Trojans shot 30 percent and made 25 turnovers that led to 28 points for the Sun Devils.