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ASU Basketball: Ibis, Ekmark lead Sun Devils to win over Colorado

By Sam Ficarro

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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ASU women’s basketball snapped their three-game losing streak with a 73-59 win over Colorado as Kianna Ibis and Courtney Ekmark combine for 40 points.

Playing in the Pac-12 is one of the toughest challenges in the nation.

After a disappointing loss versus Utah Friday, Arizona State pulled away in the second half from a pesky Colorado team 73-59 to improve to 14-6 and 5-3 in Pac-12 play.

Sunday’s game was a much tighter game than the first meeting in Boulder in late December when the Sun Devils won by 25 points.

“We didn’t play our best today, but it was good to get back on the winning track,” coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “The thing I liked most about this game was that they had that look in their eyes. We squandered some possessions, and didn’t have a great game, but I knew they were going to take it. I knew they kind of got their toughness back.”

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Arizona State led Colorado by just seven points at halftime shooting only 35 percent from the field. In the second half, however, the Sun Devils shot 61 percent from the field to pull away from the Buffaloes.

It was a physical game as numerous Sun Devils took hard falls to the court. Freshman guard Bre’yanna Sanders left the game in the second half with an ankle injury, but Turner Thorne said she’ll be fine.

Arizona State saw their lead cut to 56-50 nearing the halfway mark of the fourth quarter. After an ASU timeout, the Sun Devils starting feeding the ball inside to forward Kianna Ibis, who scored 17 points in the second half to help the Sun Devils clinch the victory.

Ibis finished the game with 24 points with forward Courtney Ekmark tallying 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Also contributing was center Charena Johnson-Chapman, who recorded 12 rebounds helping the Sun Devils out-rebound the Buffaloes by 15 and guard Robbi Ryan, who recorded a career-high eight assists.

Colorado was led by guard Kennedy Leonard, who finished with a team-high 23 points and six assists after scoring only three points in the previous meeting.

Arizona State has been banged up this weekend. Guard Reili Richardson sprained her ankle in practice this week, forward Jamie Ruden (concussion) was cleared right before Friday’s game, freshman center Eva Rubin was seen in a boot Friday and missed both games.

The one who dealt with the most was guard Kiara Russell, who was throwing up before Friday’s game and was given an IV during halftime of Sunday’s game.

“I just want to give a shoutout to Kiara Russell,” Turner Thorne said. “She’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached. She kind of just watched yesterday, had to kind of sit out of warmups today, but you guys probably didn’t know. That’s how tough she is. I’m excited to get everybody kind of healthy and on the upswing of just our overall team health.”

Next: ASU Basketball: Sun Devils fall to Utes; now on three-game skid

This win shows the character of this team as the Sun Devils look to build off this win as they travel to the Bay Area to face No. 21 Cal and Stanford next weekend. The Sun Devils won both meetings the first time around in early January.