ASU Women’s Basketball: Katie Hempen’s strong performance leads No. 9 ASU to win over Cal

(Photo: Brooke Faber/WCSN)

The No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils traveled to Berkley on Friday to take on Cal for the first leg of their Northern California road trip, defeating the struggling Golden Bears 64-49.

The Sun Devils, who are coming off of a one-point victory against USC on Sunday, had a few days to rest before they took on what ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne described as “the hungriest team in the Pac-12.”

The first quarter started out rough again for ASU, falling behind early. They were sparked midway through the first quarter by a three-point basket from senior guard Katie Hempen, who has been on fire in her last three games.

The Sun Devils went on to out score Cal 21-15 in the first, but the game wasn’t over just yet.

In the second quarter, the Bears held ASU to their lowest points scored in a quarter this season, allowing the Sun Devils just five points. The Golden Bears dominated ASU in the second, outscoring them 11-to-5. Yet, the game was tied going into halftime at 26 a piece.

ASU came out in the second half ready to win. The Sun Devils gained the lead right out of the gate and never looked back, not allowing Cal to lead for the remainder of the game. ASU didn’t take its foot off the gas and closed out the Golden Bears for a third straight win.

This was due largely in part to the shooting woes of Cal’s star forward Courtney Range. She shot 33-percent for the field, but made up for it shooting 100-percent from behind the arc. Range finished the game with 14 points, but it was not enough to propel her team past the Sun Devils.

Unfortunately for Cal, their star freshman center Kristine Anigwe did not play in this game, sitting out due to a coach’s decision.

Player of the Game: Katie Hempen

Katie Hempen did it again for the Sun Devils. After recently breaking the three-point record at Arizona State, the star three-point shooter shot just above 70-percent from deep, and totaled a game high 17 points. Hempen hit on five three-pointers in the game, one short of her career high for threes in a game. It was also the 10^th time this season Hempen has knocked down three or more three-pointers. She was the spark her team needed in the first half, and carried her team strong through the rest of the game.

Stat of the Night: Second-chance points

Arizona State took full advantage of second chance points. The Sun Devils outscored the Golden Bears 17-to-6 in that category. Considering both teams shot 39 percent from the field and had a one percent difference in three-point field goal percentage, this was the difference in the game for ASU.

Up Next:

The Sun Devils finish off their Northern California road trip on Sunday at 9pm as they take on No. 13 Stanford at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto.

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