Hempen leads No. 8 Arizona State over No. 14 UCLA 65-61
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - When No. 8 Arizona State's 15-game winning streak came to a crashing halt, nobody felt worse than Katie Hempen. The senior missed all nine of her shots and managed two points.
Extra time in the gym and constant encouragement from her teammates helped Hempen get her stroke back, just in time to set a record and lead the Sun Devils to a bounce-back win Friday night.
Hempen became the school's career leader in 3-pointers made and her 20 points allowed the Sun Devils to recover from blowing a big lead to beat No. 14 UCLA 65-61.
Hempen hit consecutive 3s late in the third quarter. The first broke Kylan Loney's career mark of 161 and the second put the Sun Devils ahead to stay.
She made 4 of 7 3s after going 0 for 3 in a 67-44 loss to No. 9 Oregon State on Monday.
"They knew that I don't want to keep missing shots," Hempen said of her teammates. "So they helped me out all week."
Elisha Davis added 10 points and seven assists and Quinn Dornstauder had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Sun Devils (19-4, 10-1 Pac 12), who led by 17 in the second quarter.
Kelsey Moos' two free throws with 6.9 seconds left put it away.
"It's fun to get back to being us," Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
Jordin Canada scored 16 points for the Bruins (16-6, 8-3), including a halfcourt shot at the first-half buzzer, in her return after missing a game with a sprained ankle.
Nirra Fields had 15 points and Monique Billings, 10, for UCLA, which had its five-game winning streak snapped despite a stirring comeback.
"I liked the grit, I liked the fight that I saw in my team to persevere after the really poor start," UCLA coach Cori Close said. "Arizona State is a really good team and they won some toughness plays that we have to win if you're going to win on the road."
The Sun Devils were fired up early after their first loss in nearly two months. Helped by UCLA missing 15 of its first 19 shots and an aggressive defense that forced seven early turnovers, Arizona State raced to a 28-11 midway through the second quarter.
But the Bruins slowly fought back as Arizona State's offense stalled. Consecutive buckets by Lajahna Drummer gave UCLA its first lead at 44-42 with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
Davis scored on three driving layups in an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter to put Arizona State ahead 59-49. Davis' jumper with 47.3 seconds left made it 61-56 and Hempen's bucket with 17.7 seconds remaining made it 63-58.
Hempen, who has started 60 straight games, has 163 career 3s.
"It feels really good. Hard work has paid off," said Hempen, a transfer from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. "And I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates and coaches. Thanks, guys."
HALFCOURT SWISH
After Drummer grabbed Davis' missed layup in the closing seconds of the first half, she raced up the floor and let go of the ball a step inside the midcourt line just as the clock reached zero. It hit nothing but net to get the Bruins within 30-22.
PASSING MEYERS
Fields' driving layup late in the third quarter moved her past Ann Meyers and into ninth on the UCLA career scoring list.
Meyers, the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA, scored 1,685 points from 1975-78.
Now a part-time TV analyst for the Phoenix Suns, Meyers sat behind the UCLA bench.
TIP-INS
UCLA: Has been ranked for 10 straight weeks. . Fell to 2-6 when trailing at the half. . Had won eight straight in dominating the series (49-25), but has now lost three straight to the Sun Devils.
Arizona State: Improved to 40-5 at home since the 2013-14 season. . Last lost two straight last year against California and Oregon State.
UP NEXT
UCLA visits Arizona on Sunday.
Arizona State hosts Southern California on Sunday.
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