Hempen ties NCAA record in tourney win
Arizona State University senior Katie Hempen, a graduate of Highland High School, stroked in a 3-pointer to open the game and leaped as she turned back, thrusting her arm in the air while letting out a scream. On her next trip, she hit another triple, and the rout was on.
Hempen opened with a pair of 3-pointers and tied an NCAA tournament record by making all six of her attempts, scoring 20 points to help Arizona State run away from New Mexico State 74-52 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.
“We tried to do everything we could to stop her, but she was just hot,” New Mexico State’s Moriah Mack said. “She made everything she shot.”
The No. 2 seed in the Sioux Falls Region, Arizona State (26-6) bounced back from a pair of losses to end the regular season with a dominating performance in the NCAA tournament. The Sun Devils shot 54 percent, made 7 of 15 from 3-point range and hounded the 15th-seeded Aggies into one mistake after another.
Hempen’s six 3-pointers matched the most without a miss in NCAA Tournament history.
“ASU Sun Devil basketball is pressure,” said Hempen, who made 7 of 8 shots overall after struggling with her shot late in the season. “We try not to give one free bounce, one free touch.”
New Mexico State (26-5) struggled with the Sun Devils’ pressure, finishing with 21 turnovers that led to 26 points for Arizona State.
Sasha Weber had 18 points to lead the Aggies, who were 4-for-20 from the 3-point arc and never recovered from Arizona State’s early onslaught.
Arizona State reached the Sweet 16 last season and built upon it this year, using a 15-game winning streak to share the Pac-12 regular-season championship.
It carried over into the opener against the Aggies.
Hempen got it going with her two 3-pointers to set the tone.
“That’s what she does,” Sun Devils coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
The Sun Devils, namely Hempen, gave the Aggies no shot of a comeback. She hit three more 3-pointers, making all five attempts in the first half, and she had 17 points by halftime, helping Arizona State to a 45-24 lead.
New Mexico State had nearly twice as many turnovers (15) as field goals (8) in the first half.
Hempen nets All-Pac-12 honors before closing out career
But things did not go nearly as well for Hempen and the Sun Devils in their second tournament game. After tying the NCAA record by making all six of her 3-pointers and scoring 20 points in the win voer News Mexico State, Hempen’s career came to an end with three points on 1-of-8 shooting in a 75-64 loss to seventh-seeded Tennessee.
Prior to the tournament, Hempen was named to the conference’s 15-member All-Pac-12 Team for her play throughout the regular season for the Sun Devils.
Hempen played a major role in helping the No. 10 Sun Devils finish as regular season Pac-12 co-champions, the program’s first league title since 2001.
Hempen started every game and led the team in 3-pointers (58) and 3-point FG percentage (43.3-fourth in Pac-12), was second in assists (2.7 apg) and third in scoring (9.4 ppg). A starter in ASU’s last 66 contests, Hempen became ASU’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals this season as she passed Kylan Loney’s career record of 161 triples in ASU’s win over UCLA on Feb. 5, a game in which Hempen scored a season-high 20 points and knocked down four 3-pointers. Hempen, who last season set the program’s single-season record with 76 3-pointers, has made 185 triples in her ASU career.
This season, Hempen has scored in double figures 19 times (led or tied for team lead in scoring nine times) and knocked down three or more 3-pointers 11 times. During ASU’s recent seven-game winning streak, Hempen was ASU’s leader in scoring average (12.7 ppg). She connected on 53.2 percent of her FGs (33-for-62), including 51 percent of her 3-pointers (18-35) during that stretch.
This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Hempen ties NCAA record in tourney win."