I feel sorry for her but it was also amusing. Sorry!
(One way of preventing this from happening is to carry a handbag that is too big to fit under the sink )

I have the opposite problem at sinks on some aircraft and at some lounges such is my being excessively used to those automatic taps.

I stand there with my hands under the tap like a dork, wondering why there is no water coming out. Then I go "Doh", remembering that not all taps are auto-activated.