GREENSBORO, N.C. – The ninth-ranked Arizona State women’s basketball team had one of its best seasons in program history come to an end in the NCAA Tournament’s Greensboro regional semifinals on Friday night.
Despite a game-high 22 points from junior Katie Hempen and an 11-point, eight-rebound performance by Sophie Brunner, the Sun Devils came up one basket short in a 66-65 loss to seventh-ranked Florida State.
ASU was looking to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history. They accomplished the feat in 2007 and again in 2009. The first time it happened was in Greensboro, site of Friday night’s game against Florida State.
Also scoring in double figures for the Sun Devils, who shot 49 percent for the game, was senior Promise Amukamara, who had 10 points, two assists and three steals in her final game as a Sun Devil.
ASU (29-6) trailed by 11 at the half and battled back to tie the game on more than one occasion in the second half. Each time ASU would pull even, however, the Seminoles (32-4) would find a way to regain the advantage.
ASU’s final rally of the game started after Adut Bulgak hit two free throws to put Florida State on top 64-58 with 2:11 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Peace Amukamara was fouled and hit one-of-two free throws to cut the deficit to five. The Sun Devils then got a stop and pulled within two after Hempen hit her third 3-pointer of the night with 1:24 left.
ASU got another stop on the defensive end and got the ball back with 1:08 left. With a chance to tie or take the lead ASU went to its hot hand, Hempen, but her attempt to put ASU ahead missed its mark.
The Seminoles, who also shot 49 percent for the game, would counter on the opposite end by going to their offensive star of the night, Leticia Romero. The sophomore guard, who led Florida State with 21 points and was responsible for her team’s last five field goals of the night, dropped in her 10th bucket of the night to increase FSU’s lead to 66-62 with 23 seconds left.
ASU was not done yet. Elisha Davis, who helped extend ASU’s season in its second round win over UALR, knocked down a triple to cut ASU’s deficit to a single point with six seconds left.
After a timeout, Davis immediately fouled Emiah Bingley, sending the junior guard to the line with five seconds remaining. Bingley would miss the front end of a one-and-one leaving ASU one last chance to win the game. Peace Amukamara brought the ball up the floor, however as she approached the three-point arc the junior guard had the ball poked away by FSU’s Maegan Conwright. The horn went off to end the game and suddenly ASU’s season that produced 29 wins, the second-highest total in school history, was over.
“This has been one of my most fun seasons ever in coaching, because this team is so tough, and so fun to coach with no drama and no selfishness” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We needed to play a little better basketball today. “We had an uncharacteristic number of turnovers and it is hard to advance to the Elite Eight when you have possessions like that.”
The Sun Devils led by as many as three points in the first half as neither team could establish control over the first 17-plus minutes of the game. That would change in the final 2:47 of the half as the Seminoles reeled off 11 straight points to take a 33-22 lead at the half.
The Sun Devils, who shot 57 percent over the final 20 minutes, used a 22-11 run over the first 8:15 of the second half to pull even at 44-44 after three free throws by Hempen. ASU would tie the game two more times, however it was never able to regain the lead.