In the third place game of the "ASU Classic" tournament, No. 17 ASU women's basketball dominated Columbia 70-49.
After engaging in a defensive struggle with VCU, the Sun Devils (4-3) found their groove on offense in their victory over the Lions (5-3), scoring 70 points despite shooting a meager 34 percent from the field.
ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said she thought her team responded well on Sunday after losing the opening game of the tournament on Saturday.
"We've gotta get back to workmanship – not showmanship," Turner Thorne said. "I thought we did a great job of that."
Displaying a combination of both workmanship and showmanship, senior forward Katie Hempen and freshman guard Sabrina Haines led the way for the Sun Devils throughout the game.
Hempen finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, a stark contrast to Saturday's game in which she went 0-of-8 from the floor and went scoreless for the first time since her sophomore year.
Haines has been a consistent contributor throughout the season, and on Sunday she continued that trend by scoring 11 points and hitting her first three attempts from beyond the arc.
In her first time at a postgame press conference in Wells Fargo Arena, Haines displayed the kind of confidence and insight that one would expect from a veteran player.
"We felt that, in the first couple of games, our defense wasn't as good as it could have been," Haines said. "I think we really took a step today in improving our philosophy on defense."
ASU began the game shooting 1-of-10 from the field, and it seemed like the poor execution from the opening game of the tournament was beginning to rear its ugly head once again.
But the Sun Devils got into an offensive rhythm as the quarter pressed on. The only problem? They couldn't stop the Lions on the other end of the floor.
The pace of the game was intense from the start, with both teams scoring at will – yet another contrast to the 9-6 first quarter in the VCU-ASU game.
ASU and Columbia were knotted at 19 apiece after the first.
Thanks to high-pressure defense and a three-point barrage from Hempen, Haines and company, ASU opened up a double-digit lead in the second quarter.
Hempen said it was good to finally see the ball go through the net today.
"(Saturday) was a rough day, but my team had my back," Hempen said, gesturing toward Haines. "When you have a good freshman helping rebound and doing all that good stuff, it really helps build confidence for everyone."
ASU led 42-26 at the half and never looked back, outscoring Columbia 13-6 in the third quarter before clearing its bench in the fourth.
Walk-on junior guard Qiana Levy saw her first action of the season with just under two minutes left in the game, putting up a midrange shot that was blocked.
Next up for the Sun Devils will be a road game at Syracuse on Saturday, Dec. 12, followed by a game at Hartford on the following Monday.
"We're definitely trying to take it one step at a time and find ourself again," Hempen said. "Kelsey (Moos) and Sophie (Brunner) are out, so it's good that we're fighting through this adversity."
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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