On to the round of 32.
In a dominating 74-52 victory over No. 15 seed New Mexico State on Friday, No. 2 seed ASU women's basketball took the all-important first step in pursuit of the program's first national title.
The Sun Devils (26-6, 16-2 Pac-12) led for the entirety of their matchup with the Aggies (26-5, 13-1 WAC), winning in nearly every category and controlling the game on both ends of the floor.
Senior guard Katie Hempen led all scorers with 20 points for ASU on 6-of-6 three-point shooting. Hempen's six threes were one away from the school record and tied an NCAA tournament record for the most made in a game without a miss (minimum five attempts). Fellow senior guard Elisha Davis added 13 points of her own to along with six assists.
Hempen deflected the praise for her performance toward her teammates.
"Lili (Davis) was 6-0 today for assists and turnovers and Sophie Brunner did a good job kicking it inside out," Hempen said. "We have all different types of threats on our team — it makes my life a lot easier."
The ASU dominance was ignited by Hempen from the get-go — she began the game with two three-pointers from the same spot to give her team an early 6-0 lead. Hempen then proceeded to pump up a sizable crowd at Wells Fargo Arena that saw its team take a double-digit lead in the opening frame.
After holding NMSU to 25 percent shooting while shooting 63 percent on their own end, the Sun Devils led 22-13 after the first quarter. A 12-2 advantage on points in the paint in the opening frame proved to be the difference for an ASU team that doesn't boast much size in the frontcourt.
But, as is the case with the short list of ASU's shortcomings, the Sun Devils made up for it with a strong effort in the painted area despite a relatively even rebounding battle. ASU finished with 40 points in the paint compared to 26 for the Aggies.
Despite the disparity down low, ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said there is still plenty of room for improvement for her team going into the next game.
"I think we can do a lot better (in the paint)," Turner Thorne said. "Our goal is 60 paint touches, and I know we didn't come close to that, so we really need to build on that."
In the second quarter of play, ASU continued to open up its lead and prevent the Aggies from getting into any sort of rhythm on offense. A few more outside shots from Hempen and a bevy of fastbreak buckets allowed the Sun Devils to extend their lead to 45-24 at the halftime break.
NMSU responded with a 20-point third quarter, but ASU matched them point for point and maintained its 21-point lead through three quarters of play.
There wasn't much scoring either way in the fourth, but the game was clearly in hand for the Sun Devils as a lineup filled with bench players added one point to the deficit and brought ASU to its final winning margin of 74-52.
Turnovers were key for a Sun Devil defense that forced 21 on the day and capitalized with 26 points as a result.
Davis, a constant irritant to opposing guards, said the turnover battle was key in this game along with getting out to an early lead.
"We haven't gotten a jump on a team in our last (few) games," Davis said. "It just felt good to get back to what we know and what we work towards every day in practice."
ASU will have one day to practice and prepare for a matchup with No. 7 seed Tennessee, who edged Green Bay 59-53 on Friday afternoon. The round of 32 game between the Sun Devils and Lady Volunteers is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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