No. 22 ASU women's basketball (11-3) improved to 2-1 in Pac-12 play with a win over Colorado on Sunday. Senior forward Kianna Ibis scored a season-high 27 points on 10 of 18 shooting from the field. Ibis also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds.
The scoring outside of Ibis was evenly distributed across multiple players.Junior guard Kiara Russell scored nine points and junior guard Robbi Ryan and senior center Charnea Johnson-Chapman scored eight points apiece.Redshirt senior forward Courtney Ekmark and senior forward Sophia Elenga scored seven points each.
After a slow shooting start in the first quarter, ASU's offense caught fire. The team shot 52, 61 and 50 percent in the next three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils' offense ripped off an 11-0 run to start the period. ASU also went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter.
"I would say the difference would be our team offense and our flow. We actually had a better flow today. And we made shots," Ibis said in a post-game interview that streamed on the Pac-12 network. "This whole season, we haven't really had great flow in our offense, and we have been struggling. So, I'm just glad we came back and got this win."
Colorado stayed within striking distance for much of the game. The Buffaloes led after the first quarter and were up by one after the second, despite ASU holding them to 43 percent shooting in the period. Colorado only lead by two at the end of the third, but ASU's hot start in the fourth forced Colorado to play catch-up for the remainder of the game.
With a tough stretch coming up, including games against No. 6 Stanford, No. 18 Cal and No. 5 Oregon, Ibis detailed what the team's goals are for the season and what needs to be done to accomplish them.
"We want to win the Pac-12 conference. That's what we want to do," Ibis said in a post-game interview that streamed on the Pac-12 network. "But we have to start first with practice. Just doing the little things right now. And that's what we're working on. We're trying to get better every day."
The Sun Devils will take on No. 6 Stanford in Tempe for their next game on Jan. 11 at 7:00 PM MST.
Reach the reporter at jhorst2@asu.edu and follow @HorseySeven on Twitter.
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Jeffrey Horst is the digital editor-in-chief of The State Press. He previously served as the publication's sports editor and worked at Cronkite News and ArizonaSports.com.
