Senior guard Promise Amukamara (center) celebrates with her team after they defeated UALR in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 23, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils came from behind to defeat the Trojans 57-54 and advance to the Sweet 16. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)In typical ASU fashion, the Sun Devils fell behind University of Arkansas Little Rock by as many as 16 before coming back and winning the Round of 32 57-54.
With 14:42 remaining in the game, UALR increased its lead to 39-23. ASU had scored only 17 points in the first half, but it was not new for the team.
“We’ve been in this situation,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “That’s what we talked about at halftime… We’ve had a lot of bad halves offensively.”
Video by Logan Newman | Sports Reporter
Junior guard Elisha Davis knocked down a tough jumper over a taller defender. Redshirt junior Eliza Normen hit a fade away coming out of a post move. ASU forced a UALR backcourt violation and then sophomore forward Sophie Brunner went to the free throw line after grabbing an offensive rebound.
The deficit had been cut to 10. ASU’s crowd, led by a women’s record 425 in the student section, helped lift them.
Davis made an excited noise when she began to talk about the audience.
“It was beautiful,” she said. “Our crowd was beautiful.”
Video by Logan Newman | Sports Reporter
As ASU slowly inched its way closer, redshirt junior Katie Hempen was able to get involved in the offense. In the first half, she only took one shot. UALR was playing her tough but the Trojans wore out as the game went on.
“They just kept pounding and pounding, and we just wore down,” UALR head coach Joe Foley said. “That was the difference in the game. We just didn’t have the energy to stay with it.”
He added that his team doesn’t have the depth that ASU does. Four of their players played at least 30 minutes; three of them amassed at least 36. Junior guard Alexius Dawn played the entire 40.
Hempen got a double screen and got open for a jumper. She later made a running layup with the shot clock winding down.
Finally, with a six-point UALR lead, she played the role of inbounding the pass with three seconds on the shot clock.
“Katie was supposed to get the ball to Sophie on an iso,” Turner Thorne said.
Instead, she passed to Davis, who was heavily guarded and a few feet away. UALR tipped the ball out of bounds.
Two seconds left. ASU inbound from the sideline between the half court line and the 3-point ark.
“Katie didn’t feel like she could make the pass (to Sophie), she gives it to Lee Lee,” Turner Thorne said.
Davis heaved a 25-foot, off balance, off-center shot with a hand in her face. Bank. It fell, and the crowd went wild.
“That was the difference in the game,” Foley said.
UALR senior guard Taylor Gault called the shot lucky. ASU needed that luck; the Sun Devils couldn’t hit a shot in the first half
In the first 20 minutes, the team went 6-28 from the floor.
Senior guard Promise Amukamara drives to the basket against UALR in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 23, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils came from behind to defeat the Trojans 57-54 and advance to the Sweet 16. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)For the first 12 minutes of the game, Promise Amukamara was the only Sun Devil with points. UALR was moving well on defense and making it hard for post players to get good looks.
“We passed to the post and they were coming and looking to strip,” Turner Thorne said.
By doing this, UALR was able to force turnovers. ASU had 11 in the first half, leading to 17 UALR points. The pressure forced ASU to take a lot of time developing plays, and while the Sun Devils got some decent looks, nothing was falling. In addition to the 21 percent shooting in the first half, the team was 0-5 from 3-point range.
It was the exact opposite of UALR’s offense. The motion offense moves quickly and allows players to get open all over the court.
“They set weak-side screens, strong-side screens,” Amukamara said. It was just kind of (tough) defending them because right when you get a screen you’re getting another.”
The difference between the two offenses: UALR was moving up to four players at once, setting screens and running in circles.
ASU was moving one player, typically a big either setting a pick on the ball handler or working to post up while the ball handler telegraphed the pass.
UALR went into the half with a 26-17 lead. Gault had eight points in the first half, two of which came off burning Amukamara in transition. Gault had quick footwork and was a tough player.
She only scored two more points in the game.
“We were communicating on defense a lot better, and I thought I did well of getting over screens and just following her, staying with her, just making it difficult for her to get open and catch the ball,” Amukamara said.
The change can also be attributed to UALR tiring down. As the Trojans lost energy, their post defense changed and ASU went to the free throw line more often. They converted 13-of-15 shots from the foul line.
One of the misses was on an and-one opportunity from Brunner with 0:55 remaining. Her layup had given ASU a one-point lead, its first since taking a 2-0 lead.
Amukamara grabbed the rebound off Brunner’s miss. ASU was able to run out about 25 seconds before Brunner found Moos with a nice bounce pass along the baseline.
Two of the made free throws came with eight seconds remaining. Hempen put the team up by three.
Davis, two minutes after hitting what she called the most important shot of her career, blocked Dawn’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
ASU completed the comeback, winning 57-54, and advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.
ASU will face No. 2 seed Florida State on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PT in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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