ASU senior guard Promise Amukamara looks to pass while driving down the lane vs. Cal women’s basketball at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 8, 2015. (Daniel Kwon/The State Press)No. 12 ASU women’s basketball (21-4, 10-3 Pac-12) couldn’t get over the loss of injured sophomore forward Kelsey Moos and lost 70-64 to No. 8 Oregon State (22-2, 12-1 Pac-12).
Moos partially tore a ligament in her right elbow during the week. She’s didn’t play and is listed as day-to-day.
She was missed.
Moos is the energy player that every good team needs. She dives on the floor for loose balls, plays tough defense inside and on the perimeter and always seems to be in position to grab an offensive rebound.
The offensive rebound production was lacking for ASU for most of the game. In the first half, ASU only had one.
The dagger came with 39 seconds left: ASU forced a miss on a 3-pointer but an OSU guard came up with an offensive rebound. The Beavers scored and went up by five with 30 seconds remaining.
“There was a couple of great defensive possessions down the stretch and we gave them a second shot,” Turner Thorne said.
Going into the game, rebounding was key. OSU’s sole Pac-12 loss came in a game in which they were outrebounded by Washington. On Friday, OSU rebounded 31 shots. ASU only had 28.
“I think if we had outrebounded them, we would’ve won,” Turner Thorne said.
The catalyst of the Beavers effort was 6-foot-6 junior center Ruth Hamblin. She led the game with nine rebounds. ASU sophomores forward Sophie Brunner and center Quinn Dornstauder, who spent the majority of the game guarding her, combined for just 10 rebounds.
There was a clear difference in OSU’s game when Hamblin was on and off the court.
ASU trailed for the majority of the game, but kept the score close. With 16 minutes in the game, ASU cut OSU’s lead to 37-35.
Hamblin stepped up. Over the next 3.5 minutes, she hit two layups and was fouled on one of them. She put up five points and led OSU on an 8-0 run.
She was then subbed out to get a rest. ASU immediately fought back, cutting the deficit to 52-49. Brunner led the charge, scoring seven of the points.
“Sophie Brunner was amazing,” Turner Thorne said with emphasis. “Just an absolute monster.”
Brunner was a force all game. She led all players with 24 points, shooting 70 percent from the field and making 10 of 12 free throws.
“That’s kind of the advantage of when she’s at the 4-spot, cause they can’t guard her there,” Turner Thorne said. “If we can play her more there, that’s actually very advantageous for her.”
The final basket in ASU’s 15-5 run: Brunner hit a layup while getting fouled. Hamblin was immediately subbed in. Hamblin immediately made an impact.
She forced Brunner to miss a layup on the next possession and then grabbed the defensive rebound. She had scored at will all night, finishing with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting. Even when she wasn’t scoring, though, she made a difference: a give-and-go pushed OSU’s lead.
Brunner got in the passing lane and stole the ball. She raced down court and eventually received the ball back.
Hamblin blocked her. It was one of her six blocks in the game.
Brunner kept getting the ball, though, and she kept going to the free throw line. ASU cut a nine-point OSU lead to a three-point game and ASU looked like they were going to catch up.
Redshirt junior guard Katie Hempen hit a big 3-pointer with 1:30 left to keep the game close after OSU went on a miniature run. Ten seconds later, she stole a pass and raced down court.
ASU was trailing 64-61. She fell and lost the ball.
“We have the ball, one possession, and she just kind of collapsed at half court and gave it to Hanson,” Turner Thorne said.
OSU sophomore guard Gabby Hanson picked it up and made a layup. Hempen had to be helped off the court but Turner Thorne thinks she’ll be okay.
“It’s kind of hard to know though; she’s really tough,” Turner Thorne said. “I think she’s okay because I don’t think she stepped on anybody. I think it just sort of buckled on her.
Hempen returned when ASU was down five with 13 seconds left. Baring a wrap around her ankle, she missed a three.
OSU walked away with a 70-64 victory.
Turner Thorne liked her team’s effort though, and said they played better than they did in their wins over Stanford and Utah.
“This is probably the best we’ve played in a while, the best we’ve executed offensively in a while,” she said.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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