ESTERO, Fla. -- After using come-from-behind efforts to win its last two games, the Sun Devil women's basketball team had the tables turned on it as it dropped its first contest of the season, falling to Green Bay, 63-57 in the semifinal round of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
The Sun Devils (4-1) led by nine early in the second half and were up by six with just over five minutes remaining, but each time the Phoenix (5-1) would rally. Green Bay closed the game with a 16-4 run to clinch a spot in Sunday's tournament championship game vs. UConn.
While Green Bay's 54-percent shooting effort played a big role in the outcome, it was ASU's 20 turnovers that proved to be the biggest difference maker as the Phoenix scored 20 points off of ASU's miscues.
The Sun Devils shot 45 percent for the game and had a plus-10 advantage (34-24) on the boards.
Kelsey Moos scored 15 points, Katie Hempen added 14 and Sophie Brunner had her second double-double of the season (13 points, 11 rebounds) to lead the Sun Devils.
Hempen, who led ASU with eight points in the second half, drained her second 3-pointer of the game to give the Sun Devils a 53-47 lead with 5:19 remaining.
ASU's offense would go cold at that point, as the Sun Devils would not score again until Hempen hit a pair of free throws with 50 seconds remaining. In the interim, the Phoenix connected on five of its seven field goal attempts to slowly erase ASU's lead and eventually take a five-point lead of its own before Hempen's free throws.
Trailing 58-55, the Sun Devils could get no closer as Green Bay went 5-6 from the line in the final 37 seconds to seal the win.
After falling behind 20-14, the Sun Devils responded with one of their best sequences of the game as they reeled off 11 consecutive points to take a 25-20 advantage. Brunner (six points), Moos (three points) and Elisha Davis (two points) accounted for the offense during the scoring run.
The Sun Devils would maintain their five-point advantage after Moos, who scored 13 points in the first half, connected on a jumper to give ASU a 27-22 lead with 4:20 remaining. Green Bay would rally, scoring six of the last eight points of the half to get within 29-28 at the intermission.
ASU came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the second half as a 3-pointer by Davis, a jumper by Promise Amukamara and a 3-point play from Brunner gave the Sun Devils a 37-28 lead. The Sun Devils would maintain the nine-point cushion after the two teams exchanged 3-pointers. Down 40-31 after a triple by Davis, the Phoenix used a 10-1 run to knot the game at 41-41 with 11:24 remaining.
Mehryn Kraker led Green Bay with a game-high 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half.
