The ASU women's basketball team's season can best be described as a rollercoaster ride that was cut short. A young team that showed promise under pressure eventually had its dream of an NCAA Tournament berth derailed due to injuries.
Coming into the season, the Sun Devils had high expectations as junior forward Betsy Boardman was returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and star sophomore guard Jill Noe was coming off of one of the best freshman seasons in ASU history.
Unfortunately, the injury bug wasn't done biting the Sun Devils. On Oct. 8, during a preseason workout, Noe tore her own ACL and was out for the year.
"We had really high expectations going into this year and were really excited about our team," head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "When Jill Noe went down, we kept our expectations high, but we were a little unsure about what we would be able to accomplish."
Early on, ASU looked as if it was going to be able to cope with the loss of its star guard, as the Sun Devils went 6-3 in non-conference play, which included a 73-44 victory over Binghamton in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic on Dec. 6.
The Sun Devils were then ready to prove that they were a team to be reckoned with in the Pac-10. In the opening week of conference play, the Sun Devils earned a 68-61 victory over Washington State on Dec. 27, and then an 84-81 overtime upset of No. 24 Washington on Dec. 29.
However, the wins over the Washington schools turned bittersweet, as ASU learned that during the win over WSU, the team's lone senior, Jen Albert, tore her ACL as well and was lost for the year.
"Jen Albert is one of those players that makes everyone around her better," Turner Thorne said. "She understood the system and talks better than everyone else."
With the loss of Albert, a young team got even younger. Without a leader on the floor, it was up to juniors Boardman, Carrie Buckner and Kylan Loney to supply veteran leadership.
Making big strides
The Sun Devils then faced a difficult road ahead, as they had to take their game on the road to face UA, followed by No. 7 Stanford.
The tough road trip took its toll on ASU, as the team fell 81-60 on Jan. 2 to UA, followed by a 60-46 setback on Jan. 8 to the Cardinal. The Sun Devils then used the blowouts as motivation to turn their season around.
After the loss to the Cardinal, the Sun Devils went on to win seven of their next eight games, positioning themselves at the top of the Pac-10 conference standings.
A 73-53 victory over Stanford on Feb. 7 was a defining moment during the run. ASU showed that it could play with any team in the country as it outscored the Cardinal by 30 points in the second half.
Injuries strike again
The Sun Devils were making a case for a NCAA Tournament bid heading into the final week of conference play, as they had just completed a sweep of the Oregon schools to conclude their regular season home schedule -- ASU's 13-1 home record was the best home winning percentage in school history.
The final week of the Pac-10 season took ASU on the road to face the Washington schools, and the team needed only one win to solidify itself as one of the top three seeds for the Pac-10 Tournament.
Unfortunately, the trip quickly turned dark and gloomy as the Sun Devils not only lost both games, but also lost Boardman for the remainder of the season.
In the season finale against WSU on Feb. 28, Boardman tore her ACL for the second year in a row, and the Sun Devils not only lost their leading scorer, but their team leader.
"There's no doubt that things we couldn't control impacted our (season) finish," Turner Thorne said.
The absence of Boardman took its toll on ASU, as it lost to UCLA 70-50 in the first round of the conference tournament. The loss also burst the Sun Devils' NCAA Tournament hopes, as the Bruins received an invite to the big dance over ASU.
"I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to lead us to a stronger finish, and I'm motivated to make sure that doesn't ever happen again," Turner Thorne said. "The first thing I do at the end of the season is look in the mirror and see what I can do better."
Even though ASU didn't receive an invite to the NCAA Tournament, it did receive an invitation to the National Invitational Tournament, which marked the fifth straight year the Sun Devils played in the postseason.
In the first round of the NIT on March 18 in Las Vegas, ASU suffered a 50-47 loss to UNLV, the host school.
"Our last two weeks were disappointing to say the least," Turner Thorne said. "We should have performed better and been mentally and physically stronger down the stretch. Those are the things we are going to work on for next year."
While the Sun Devils didn't finish the season the way they had wanted, both Loney and freshman Emily Westerberg garnered Pac-10 accolades. Loney was named to the All-Pac-10 first team, while Westerberg earned Pac-10 All-Freshman first team honors.
Looking to next year
After finishing with a 17-12 record and returning all players except Albert, ASU is primed to be one of the top teams in the nation next season.
"Individually we have a lot of talent," Turner Thorne said. "We just need to learn how to play better as a team."
Of the players returning next season, four of them -- Boardman, Buckner, Loney, and Lauren Stagg -- will be seniors, giving the Sun Devils the veteran leadership they've been missing.
"We just keep getting better, in terms of our talent and our depth," Turner Thorne said.
ASU's talent will be put to the test early next season, as it will have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. The Sun Devils are slated to take on the two of this year's final four teams -- Connecticut and Louisiana State -- as well as powerhouse Georgia.
"The step I most want this team to take next year is for them to have the confidence and realize that it doesn't matter who we play, we can win," Turner Thorne said. "If we play defense, execute offensively, work together and just fight every possession, we are good enough to beat anybody in the country. I think we said the same thing this year, but I don't think we truly deep down believed it."
Reach the Reporter at Matt.Reinick@asu.edu.
