No. 15 ASU women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker in overtime to No. 18 Kentucky by a score of 68-64 at Wells Fargo Arena Sunday afternoon.
Makayla Epps led the way for the Wildcats (2-0), scoring 20 points on 6-11 shooting with 16 of her points coming in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Senior forward Sophie Brunner stood out for the Sun Devils (0-1), notching 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists while shooting three-of-three from beyond the three-point line.
The statistic was shocking coming from Brunner, who only took three total from behind the arc all of last season and didn't make a single one of them.
"As posts, we've been working on our outside shot more," Brunner said. "Last year everyone would just step off of us and it would be easier for them to just guard the guards."
As is expected with any early season game, both teams played sloppy to begin the first quarter of play, with ASU taking a 7-6 lead into the first timeout.
It was a physical game between two ranked teams on Sunday, with 11 combined fouls committed between the Sun Devils and Wildcats.
ASU trailed Kentucky 12-10 after one quarter of play, with half of its points coming off of a midrange and three-point jumper by Brunner.
In the second quarter, both teams cleaned up their offensive execution and ASU got out to a sizable lead thanks to stellar outside shooting from senior guards Arnecia Hawkins and Elisha Davis.
Junior center Quinn Dornstauder contributed on both ends, notching a couple key blocks as well as a pair of free throws.
The Sun Devils really opened up their lead around the two minute mark in the second quarter, with a filthy crossover and elbow jumper by Davis catalyzing an improved offensive output by ASU.
"We had our runs and we had good help side (defense)," Davis said. "We just have to be better listeners on and off the court and just be better."
What truly stood out from the Sun Devils was their effort on the defensive side, allowing only five points in the second quarter and 21.4% shooting in the entire first half.
While it might not have been much better at 30.8% shooting in the half, ASU really found its groove on offense for a large portion of that second quarter, taking a 29-17 lead into the half.
In the third quarter of play, Kentucky turned the game completely around as its shooting percentage climbed up to 36 and it outscored ASU 19-10.
Senior point guard Janee Thompson was the spark that the Wildcats needed in the third, scoring seven in the quarter including five consecutive to finish it off.
The fourth quarter began as a back-and-forth affair with several lead changes and no shortage of drama.
With five minutes to go in regulation, Brunner nailed a three-pointer on one end before Kentucky got to the bucket for an easy two immediately after.
Late in the quarter, with ASU leading 54-50, Kentucky came bursting down the floor and Epps knifed down the lane for two. After an error on the inbound, Kentucky stole the ball and got it to freshman guard Taylor Murray.
Murray finished the layup, and just like that the game was tied 54-54.
On the very next possession, senior guard Katie Hempen nailed a mid-range jumper to put ASU up 56-54 with 13 seconds left.
Epps responded by drawing a foul and hitting both of her free throws to tie the game up once again, 56-56.
In its last chance of regulation, ASU got the ball inbounds to Dornstauder, who handed the ball back to Davis. Davis squared up on the wing, crossed over to the left elbow and attempted a jumper that fell short, sending the game to overtime.
"Kentucky is a very good second half team," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said postgame. "We knew what we needed to do, but we just didn't quite do it."
As the game continued its frantic pace to begin overtime, three-pointers from Brunner and Hempen gave the Sun Devils a four-point lead after conceding the Epps floater.
Overtime pressed on, and it was Epps who continued to be the hero for the would-be victors. With 38 seconds left, Epps used a crafty spin move to get to the bucket and finished the layup that gave her team a 66-64 lead.
Davis had a chance to be the hero for the Sun Devils, but her three-pointer came up short before two Epps free throws sealed the deal.
Turner Thorne said her team will get a lot better from the experience of this game.
"As good as we feel like we can be, we're not yet," Turner Thorne said. "There's a lot of early season mistakes that I thought just bit us in the butt."
ASU will look to rebound in its next game, at SMU on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12 p.m. Arizona time.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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