Arizona State survives Iowa on Thompson's last-second layup

CANCUN, Mexico -- Arizona State is getting used to slow starts for their seasons.

Kirsten Thompson's layup with three seconds to go gave Arizona State (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) a 60-58 win over Iowa in the final game of the Caribbean Challenge on Friday.

Last year, the Sun Devils nearly lost a 35-point lead against Western Kentucky, but managed to win 67-63 in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"We were about this place last year too, we were sloppy, our defense was not quite sharp, we nearly lost against Western Kentuky and barely held on to win," Arizona State coach Charli Turner-Thorne said. "We have to forget about the expectations and just play baksetball."

Lauren Lacey scored 19, Sybil Dosty had 12 and Briann January added 11 for the Sun Devils, who bounced back after a loss to Oklahoma (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) on Thursday.

Kristi Smith lead the Hawkeyes (4-1) with 18 points.

Arizona State (3-2) had a 10-point lead in the first half, but a jump shot by Smith at the buzzer gave Iowa a 28-27 halftime lead.

The Sun Devils trailed most of the second half until Jill Noe nailed a three pointer with 3:34 remaining for a 54-53 lead.

Smith tied it at 58 with 25 seconds to go, but Thompson got the ball in the low post with seconds to go and easily scored the winning basket.

"We were trying to isolate Jill Noe, but they kind of doubled, and our next option was Thompson, who struggled all day, but she's a great target and great finisher too and they executed perfectly," Turner-Thorne said.

Smith had one last chance, but lost the ball.