Following a loss to Oregon on Friday night, the ASU women's basketball team needed a win to clinch the third seed in the Pac-12 tournament next weekend, but they could not deliver.
The No. 20 Sun Devils (22-8, 11-7 Pac-12) fell to Oregon State 66-43 in Corvallis, Ore., on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Sun Devils have a first round bye, but will be seeded fourth in the Pac-12 tournament.
The Beavers (21-9, 13-5 Pac-12) now have a nine-game winning streak that has brought them into postseason consideration.
Sophomore center Ruth Hamblin dominated the game for the Beavers, scoring 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking seven shots.
ASU shot just over 25 percent from the field in the game, with freshman forward Kelsey Moos being the only player to shoot over that mark, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Turner Thorne said she knows that her team cannot afford to shoot as poorly as they did against the Beavers and get away with it.
"You have got to step up and make your layups, you've got to make your free throws and you've got to run an offense and execute," Turner Thorne said.
Redshirt senior guard Deja Mann led the team in scoring with 13 points, but only shot 4-of-12 from the field.
Turner Thorne was not pleased with her team's offensive performance.
"We, offensively, were just really, really bad," Turner Thorne said. "We were letting them play to their strengths too much, and our offensive game plan was never to go at Hamblin; it was the opposite, but all game long we drove right into her."
The Sun Devils have struggled offensively for a few weeks, and Turner Thorne said her players aren't following the game plan.
"I've been telling them this the whole second round when we have not been playing well offensively and when we have not been scoring the way we can," Turner Thorne said. "They act like what we tell them is our offensive game plan is a suggestion, and they're not doing it, and the shots people took today are unacceptable."
Turner Thorne, while appreciating her team, has had enough of the struggles.
"You know, I love my team and these kids have been really fun to coach, but enough is enough," she said.
Turner Thorne was critical of her team's effort after the game.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed with my team," Turner Thorne said. "They're just not giving the game the mental energy it deserves."
With the regular season over, there is nothing more the Sun Devils can do but prepare for the tournament season as Turner Thorne acknowledged.
"We're just going to go home and regroup and get ready to have a great Pac-12 tournament," she said.
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
