ASU basketball went on a 15-0 run in the second half to defeat Colorado 76-70 as Kianna Ibis scored a season-high 27 points.
Another Pac-12 game, another tight game for Arizona State.
The Sun Devils went into Boulder and defeated Colorado 76-70 to finish their three-game road trip on a winning note.
Forward Kianna Ibis had her best game of the season scoring a season-best 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
Ibis finished three points shy of her career-high of 30 points, which came last year at Utah.
ASU trailed for the majority of the game as Colorado led after three quarters.
The fourth quarter is when the game turned into ASU’s favor. After a Kianna Ibis jumper made it 53-51 at the end of the third quarter, the Sun Devils went on a 13-0 run to start the fourth to pull away.
Guard Robbi Ryan started the run with a mid-range jumper and guard Reili Richardson capped off the run with a 3-pointer to push the ASU lead to 64-53 with 5:18 remaining.
Colorado would make things interesting down the stretch though. With the Sun Devils leading 70-62 with 1:22 remaining, Buffaloes guard Alexis Robinson made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to five.
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On the ensuing inbound, Colorado forward Peanut Tuitele recorded a steal right underneath ASU’s basket leading to a layup.
With it now 70-67 Sun Devils, Colorado forced another ASU turnover after the inbounds at halfcourt as guard Kennedy Leonard drew a foul making one of two free throws.
All of the sudden, it was a two-point game as the Buffaloes scored six points in 20 seconds.
However, Arizona State iced the game at the free throw line thanks to Ibis and guard Kiara Russell to seal the win.
It was a hard-fought win for the Sun Devils. Colorado led for 23:02 as they jumped out to a 9-2 lead. The Buffaloes received balanced scoring as four players finished in double-figures.
Leonard finished with 20 points, five steals and four assists on 7-for-11 shooting. She began the game making her first six shot attempts.
For the Sun Devils, Ibis was the only player in double-figures. The next highest scorer was Russell with nine points.
ASU did have 10 players record points as they finished the game shooting 47 percent from the field.
After the win in Boulder, the Sun Devils improved to 11-3 and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. It was a massive road sweep for ASU after their tough loss at Arizona in the conference opener considering the upcoming schedule.
Next up for the Sun Devils is four straight games against top-20 opposition. It begins Friday when the Sun Devils will host sixth-ranked Stanford followed by 18th-ranked California next Sunday.
Then next weekend, ASU will head back on the road to face No. 5 Oregon and No. 11 Oregon State.
The Sun Devils will know exactly where they are in the conference as they go up against the Pac-12’s elite in the next couple of weeks.