Information from the Arizona Media Relations Department contributed to this report.

The Arizona women’s basketball team’s 51-39 victory over then-No. 17 Arizona State on Sunday night in front of 5,006 fans at McKale Center gave the Wildcats their 10th straight win and also slightly increased the school’s margin over the Sun Devils in the Territorial Cup Series standings.

Arizona, which ended a four-year losing streak in the Territorial Cup Series last year, holds a lead of 3.5 to 2.0 after seven competitions. The next game in the series is the men’s basketball matchup in Tempe on Jan. 31.

The Arizona women (11-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) have tied the school record for the longest winning streak.

ARIZONA-ASU TERRITORIAL CUP SERIES RUNNING SCORE

* — Pac-12 meet
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ASU is still ranked this week, at No. 22 with a 9-3 record while Arizona remains unranked as the fifth team listed in the “others receiving votes” category.

Aari McDonald, a sophomore transfer from Washington, was the catalyst as she had a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. McDonald has now scored at least 15 points in the first 12 games of the season and is the only Wildcat to do so in school history. She has also scored at least 20 points in nine of Arizona’s 12 contests.

The little things matter! I love this team! We showed heart, Passion, and they did everything that I asked them to do! They are #Madeforit in every way! ⬇️🐻❤️❤️

— ADIA BARNES 🐻⬇️ (@AdiaBarnes) December 31, 2018

Sam Thomas scored 11 points while bringing down four rebounds, blocking two shots and making two steals. Dominique McBryde finished with nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Her four steals are a career-high.

The story of the game was Arizona’s defense, which suffocated the Sun Devils all night, forcing them to a season-low in points. The 39 points are the fewest they have scored against Arizona since the 1975-76 season. The Sun Devils shot just 23 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3-point range.

The Arizona women’s team celebreates with their fans at McKale after beating ASU 51-39 on Sunday (Arizona Athletics photo)

McDonald set the tone early, scoring 13 of Arizona’s 17 points in the first period, including four in the final five seconds. She was able to get to the rim for a layup with five seconds remaining and stole the inbounds pass and hit a baseline jumper to give the Wildcats a 17-13 lead.

The second quarter was a defensive struggle as there were just 17 points between the two teams, with Arizona leading 27-20 at the half. Only 17 points were scored again in the third quarter as Arizona’s lead grew to 36-28. Arizona outscored ASU 15-11 in the fourth quarter, which was good enough to give the Wildcats their first double-digit victory over their rivals since 2014.

The Cats will next travel to Colorado, playing in Boulder on Friday. They then face Utah at Salt Lake City on Sunday.