ASU Women's Basketball Postseason History
1981 - National Women's Invitation Tournament - Amarillo, Texas
ASU made its first postseason a memorable one, advancing to the championship game of the National Women's Invitation Tournament.
The Sun Devils, behind career-points leader Kym Hampton's 23 points, upset top-seeded Tennessee Tech 85-76 in the opening round. ASU edged Drake in the semifinals, setting up a showdown with Georgia in the finals.
ASU built a 17-point lead early in the second half, but the Bulldogs clawed back and eventually sent the game into overtime. Georgia freshman Deborah Mitchell hit two free throws with just under a minute left to give the Bulldogs a 75-73 lead. Hampton had a chance to send the game into a second overtime, but missed a 10-foot bank shot at the buzzer, enabling Georgia to escape with the title.
1982 - NCAA Tournament - Tempe, Ariz./Ruston, La.
Georgia ended ASU's 1980-81 season and the Sun Devils were not about to let history repeat itself, thrashing the Bulldogs 97-77 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region at the University Activity Center.
The contest marked ASU's first appearance in NCAA Tournament play.
Center Kym Hampton had 31 points as the Sun Devils built a 14-point advantage and never looked back. Forward Olivia Jones added 19 for ASU.
ASU was not as fortunate six days later in Ruston, La., as homestanding and top-seeded Louisiana Tech blitzed the Sun Devils 92-54 in the Midwest Region semifinals. The Lady Techsters led 50-18 at the half. Jones (21 points) was the lone Sun Devil to post double figures. Tech went on to win the national title a week later in Norfolk, Va.
1983 - NCAA Tournament - Tempe, Ariz./Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 11 ASU remained undefeated at home in NCAA Tournament play, defeating Utah 78-64 in West Region first-round action at the University Activity Center.
Olivia Jones scored 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hit all 10 of her free throws. Kym Hampton also posted a double-double, netting 11 points and 11 boards.
But the Sun Devils were once again overmatched in the Sweet 16, falling to Pac-10 rival USC 96-59 at Pauley Pavillion. Hampton scored 15, but USC scored 58 second-half points and cruised to the win. Southern California won the NCAA championship the following week, marking the second straight season ASU had lost to the eventual national champion in the round of 16.
1992 - NCAA Tournament - Chicago, Ill.
ASU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine seasons, but lost a 67-65 heartbreaker to host DePaul at a Midwest Region first-round contest in front of 1,936 in Chicago.
The sixth-seeded Sun Devils, who trailed 30-29 at the half, built a seven-point lead with 12:18 remaining. But the Blue Demons rallied, taking a 60-59 lead with 3:31 left. With the Blue Demons up four and 26 seconds remaining, ASU All-America Ryneldi Becenti hit two free throws to cut DePaul's lead to 67-65. Becenti fouled Rita Hale, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but DePaul held on for the upset win.
Lisa Salsman led the Sun Devils with 16 points.
2000 - Women's National Invitation Tournament - Fort Collins, Colo.
The Sun Devils returned to postseason play for the first time in eight seasons in 2000, earning a berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. ASU traveled to Fort Collins, Colo., to take on Colorado State in the first round on March 16 but saw their postseason hopes ended with a 66-54 loss.
Arizona State took a 45-42 lead with 10:45 to play in the game, but Colorado State took the game over with a 20-4 run over the next eight minutes en route to the victory before a crowd of 2,388 at Moby Arena. Sarah Allen led ASU with 11 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers.
2001 - NCAA Tournament - West Lafayette, Ind.
The 11th-seeded Sun Devils saw their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992 cut short in an 83-66 loss to sixth-seeded Louisiana State March 16 in the first round of the NCAA Mideast Regional.
In the only first-round NCAA Tournament game featuring a pair of teams ranked in the Top 25 polls, the 18th-ranked Lady Tigers trailed early against the No. 25 Sun Devils before going on a 17-8 run that gave them a lead they would not relinquish. ASU went on a 6-0 run to get the score to 50-42 with 15:28 to play, but LSU pushed the lead back to double digits and led by as many as 20 in the second half.
Johnson led the game with a career-best 25 points for Arizona State, going 8-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-13 from the line. Junior Amanda Levens added 11 points and a game-high six assists, while freshman Betsy Boardman added 10 points and three steals.
2002 - NCAA Tournament - Nashville, Tenn.
The ninth-seeded Sun Devils earned their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament after winning the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament to capture the Pac-10's automatic bid.
In the first round of the Midwest Sub-Regional at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym, the Sun Devils earned their first postseason victory in 19 years and tied the school record for victories in a season with a 73-70 win over Wisconsin on March 16. ASU trailed for almost all of the game and fell behind by as many as 14 points in the first half. The Sun Devils, however, scored 48 points and shot 65.5 percent in the second half to rally for the victory, their fourth straight come-from-behind win.
Senior Cian Carvalho had 13 of her career-best 24 points in the second half, while seniors Melody Johnson and Amanda Levens added 18 and 14 point, respectively.
In the second round, ASU fell short against top-seeded and fourth-ranked Vanderbilt 61-35 on March 18. The Sun Devils turned in season lows in scoring, shooting and rebounding in the loss to host Vanderbilt, which advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
The Sun Devils came out cold in the game, missing four of their first five shots and shooting just 25 percent in the first half. Vanderbilt held a 32-15 lead at halftime and never looked back en route to the victory. Johnson turned in a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
2003 - Women's National Invitation Tournament - Tempe, Ariz./Waco, Texas
The Sun Devils earned a postseason berth for a school-record fourth consecutive season, advancing to the National Women's Invitation Tournament for the second time in school history.
ASU played host to Hawaii in the first round in its first postseason home game in 20 years and earned a 57-44 victory over the Rainbow Wahine. Freshman Jill Noe scored a game-high 18 points for the Sun Devils who led 22-18 at halftime and shot 48 percent in the second half to secure the victory. Noe and freshman Kristen Kovesdy led the team with eight rebounds apiece, while Kovesdy added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
In the second round, Arizona State traveled to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor, falling to the Lady Bears 85-62. Baylor jumped out to an early 11-2 lead in the first six minutes of the game and never looked back. The eventual WNIT runner-up Lady Bears led 40-29 at halftime and outrebounded ASU 21-13 in the second half en route to the victory. For ASU, junior Iman Young led the team with 17 points, while Kovesdy added 12 points and Noe had 11 points with a pair of three-pointers.
2004 - Women's National Invitation Tournament - Las Vegas, Nev.
The 2004 Sun Devils became the first team in school history to advance to postseason play in five consecutive seasons, traveling to Las Vegas for a first-round WNIT match-up against UNLV.
Despite a second-half comeback, the Sun Devils fell to WNIT runner-up UNLV 50-47. It marked the second straight season that ASU ended its season with a loss to the tournament's runner-up. The Lady Rebels' Sherry McCracklin hit three free throws in the final 20 seconds of the game to secure the win at UNLV's Cox Pavilion.
Junior Kylan Loney led the Sun Devils with 13 points, while junior Carrie Buckner had 10 points, four rebounds and five steals. McCracklin finished the game with 11 points and 14 rebounds for UNLV, which turned in a 41-20 rebounding advantage.
2005 - NCAA Tournament - Fresno, Calif./Tempe, Ariz.
Charli Turner Thorne became the first coach in school history to lead her team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, guiding the Sun Devils to their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 22 years.
The fifth-seeded Sun Devils earned an at-large NCAA bid and traveled to the SaveMart Center in Fresno, Calif., for the first and second rounds. ASU took on Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky in the first game and emerged with an 87-65 victory. The Sun Devils made 10 of their first 16 shots in the game and led 48-31 at the half. Emily Westerberg had 14 of her team-high 20 points in the first half, while Kristen Kovesdy scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the victory.
In the second round, ASU used aggressive defense, hustle and timely shooting to earn a 70-61 upset over 11th-ranked Notre Dame and a trip home for the NCAA Tempe Regional. The win gave the Sun Devils the third NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history and their first since the tournament was expanded to 64 teams. After falling behind by 13 points in the first half, Betsy Boardman started the comeback when she knocked down a long, buzzer-beating three-pointer at halftime to get the team within five.
ASU opened the second half with a 12-2 run and answered each Notre Dame run to hang on for the victory. Kylan Loney, who was playing with broken nose, scored eight points in the final 1:29 of the game and finished with 20 points, while Aubree Johnson added 12 points and nine rebounds.
The scrappy Sun Devils returned to Wells Fargo Arena for the NCAA Tempe Regional, and despite the support of a rowdy crowd of 8,213, fell just short against top-seeded and fourth-ranked North Carolina 79-72. ASU led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but UNC regained the lead and took a 46-42 advantage at the half. In the second half, ASU tied the game twice and kept things close until the heavily favored Tar Heels pulled away late to end the Sun Devils' tournament run.
Loney, who was named to the NCAA Tempe Regional All-Tournament team, again led the team with 18 points, including three three-pointers. Kovesdy had 12 points, and Johnson led the squad with 10 rebounds.