ASU Women’s Basketball: Defense not enough for ASU against the Seminoles

Despite a terrific defensive effort from Arizona State, Florida State secured the win behind equally amazing defense and efficient shooting, beating the Sun Devils 66-65 to end their season.

ASU had a chance to take the lead with five seconds left, but sloppy ball handling by Peace Amukamara near ASU’s basket led to one final turnover as the clock ran out.

The Sun Devils and Seminoles were playing back and forth basketball for a majority of the first half, until FSU went on an 11-0 run with a little under three minutes remaining in the half, going into the half up by 11.

ASU was able to limit major scorers Ivery Slaughter and Shakayla Thomas for FSU, but in that effort let Leticia Romero go on a tear, as she scored 21 points on the night along with four rebounds and four assists. Romero ended up sinking the game winning shot on a step back with 23 seconds left in the game, to put the Seminoles up 66-62.

That’s not to say the Sun Devils were void of offense, with Katie Hempen, Sophie Brunner, and Promise Amukamara ending in double digit points on the night, but couldn’t take care of the ball.

Arizona State had 23 turnovers, well above their average of 14.1 turnovers per game.  The turnovers were certainly a big factor in FSU’s win, as they turned them into 20 points.

Promise Amukamara, in the final game of her collegiate career had 10 points and fouled out with 2:11 left in the game.

Player of the game: Katie Hempen

Katie Hempen had arguably one the best games of her career tonight against FSU. Besides one ill-advised hail mary three in the final minute, Hempen was shooting the ball smart, and on target. Hempen had 22 points on the night, was 100% from the free throw line (9-9), and 50% from three point range (3/6). ASU had plenty of players show up for this game, including Eliza Norman in the first half, but Hempen made sure that ASU was in position to win for a majority of this game.

Stat of the night: Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

It was mentioned earlier the amount of turnovers ASU had, but FSU was also plagued by turnovers throughout the game. FSU had 20 turnovers of their own, three above their average of 17 per game.  Throughout the game ASU was attacking the ball, tallying 11 steals on the game. FSU kept trying the deep pass on inbound plays, and ASU was having none of it. Promise Amukamara, Elisha Davis, and Katie Hempen consistently interrupted those outlets. However, they made similar mistakes on their end. Often times, a sloppy pass or handling of the ball would lead to an FSU cookie of their own, and then even more points for FSU.

What’s Next:

While the season has come to an end for the Sun Devils, there are plenty of things to be excited for in the future of this team. Promise Amukamara will be missed, but that is really the only player ASU is losing this offseason, as such there’s plenty of reason for optimism despite the loss.

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