What you just there did was the worst thing you could ever do, short of whipping out your dick and attempting to beat her into submission with your flaccid meat.
Don't let conversation become depressing, and don't make it awkward. Think about it for two seconds, if someone walked up to you and said that their friend's dad just had a supersonic lobotomy, what the fuck could you possibly say in response? Are they joking or serious? Should you console them on their loss or tell them that it wasn't their fault? Next time, just walk up to her and say: "Hey what's up, how was your day?" and then follow up each of her responses with affirmations and other leading questions.
THIS! 1million times over.