The ASU women’s basketball season opener could not have gone much better.
In her first game as a Sun Devil, redshirt sophomore guard Katie Hempen scored 12, helping ASU (1-0) to a 84-44 rout of Hawaii (0-1) Saturday evening in Tempe.
It was ASU’s highest point total since the Sun Devils defeated Oregon 86-67 on Jan. 2, 2011.
Coach Charli Turner Thorne, while “pleased” with the victory, said the game highlighted some areas of improvement.
“The thing that makes me the happiest is that there’s so many things we can do better,” Turner Thorne said. “We know that we have a ways to go in terms of just coming together offensively.”
ASU ran the transition offense well, succeeded from the perimeter by making nine threes and was stingy defensively.
Redshirt senior guard Deja Mann, playing in her first game since March 2012 because of a knee injury, led all Sun Devils with 14 points on 6-10 shooting.
“She is a better shooter than she was before,” Turner Thorne said. “There’s always a few blessings that go with an injury.”
Redshirt senior center Joy Burke, the final component of ASU’s “Big Three,” fouled out just a basket shy of a double-double, with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Burke tweaked her knee in the preseason, and Turner Thorne said she was “rusty” in Saturday’s game.
“She was our best defensive post before she hurt her knee,” Turner Thorne said. “She’s got to help anchor our defense.”
Even without top-notch defense from Burke, ASU was scrappy defensively throughout the entire game, limiting the Rainbow Wahine to just 18 first half points.
Hempen said the team is inherently defensive-minded with Turner Thorne at the helm.
“Our motto is we want to make the other team gag,” Hempen said. "That’s what we plan on doing.”
Turner Thorne said was pleased with the freshmen, especially forwards Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos, despite contributing just three points combined.
“They’re kids that can score but they’re not worried about scoring,” Turner Thorne said. “They were fantastic.”
Brunner and Moos didn’t shine statistically, but show promise of being key components in a team that might surprise down the stretch.
“We know we can throw them a pass and they’ll get anything,” Hempen said. “They pretty much have magnets on their hands.”
Freshman center Quinn Dornstauder, who did not play with the team in the summer, scored six points on 2-2 shooting.
Hempen limited the Rainbow Wahine all evening, something Turner Thorne said she expects.
“Last year, she took more charges in practice as a redshirt than our whole team did combined the entire season,” Turner Thorne said. “She’s tough as nails.”
ASU shot 55.6 percent from the floor, something Turner Thorne said didn’t surprise her much.
“I honestly don’t think it’s an anomaly,” Turner Thorne said. “We just got a lot better perimeter shooting.”
Next up, ASU travels to San Diego for a Wednesday evening match against the Toreros at 6:15 p.m.
Reach the reporter at bmargiot@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @BenMargiott.
