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ASU Basketball: Sun Devils open Pac-12 Tournament vs. Colorado

By Sam Ficarro

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil stands on the court during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USC won 67-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil stands on the court during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USC won 67-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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ASU basketball will look to make a deep run in the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament as they play Colorado in the first round Thursday afternoon.

Arizona State opens postseason play Thursday in the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament against Colorado.

The Sun Devils finished the regular season 19-9 (10-7 Pac-12) after earning a home split against the Oregon schools.

Last Friday, the Sun Devils defeated then-No. 9 Oregon State 66-54 behind 20 points and eight rebounds from forward Kianna Ibis.

The Sun Devils limited Beavers guard Destiny Slocum to just three points on 0-for-5 shooting as Oregon State shot just 4-for-18 from 3-point range.

Off the bench, guard Iris Mbulito scored 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting as the Sun Devils outscored OSU 25-13 in the this quarter to pull away with the win.

On Senior Day, it was a tough defeat for Arizona State falling to No. 6 Oregon 66-59.

ASU entered the fourth quarter with a 50-46 lead, but was outscored 16-9 in the fourth quarter as guard Sabrina Ionescu scored a team-high 19 points, posting 13 points in the second half.

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Ibis finished with a game-high 23 points with guard Robbi Ryan scoring 12 points. Besides those two, the Sun Devils were unable to get much production from the rest of the team as nine players combined for 24 points on 10-for-28 shooting.

The Sun Devils will look to get more balanced production from the team in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament as they’ll face Colorado for a third time this season.

Arizona State swept the season series defeating the Buffaloes 76-70 on Jan. 6 in Boulder and 66-49 on Feb. 15. Colorado (12-17, 2-16 Pac-12) enters the tournament having lost four of their last five games, including getting swept last weekend at the L.A. schools where they gave up 84 points in both games.

Colorado has gone through the majority of Pac-12 play without their best players, guard Kennedy Leonard, who missed six weeks with an injury. Despite the time missed, Leonard is the team’s leading scorer averaging 12.9 points per game.

The Buffaloes have four averaging in double-figures, but is ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in offensive scoring (65.0 points per game) and ninth in defensive scoring (68.1 points per game).

Arizona State is the favorite heading into the game, so it’ll be vital for the Sun Devils to try to build a big enough lead so they can save as much energy for their potential quarterfinal game versus UCLA.

Head coach Charli Turner Thorne discussed the importance of increasing their offensive aggressiveness and improving their rebounding numbers.

When Arizona State outrebounds their opponent, the team is 18-5. When the Sun Devils lose the rebounding battle, they are 1-4.

They shouldn’t have a problem against Colorado as ASU outrebounded the Buffaloes by six in the first meeting and 17 in the second meeting.

Next. ASU Basketball: Rebounding will key Devils’ run in March. dark

Thursday is a must-win for the Sun Devils to avoid sliding on the NCAA Tournament seed lines. Entering the Pac-12 Tournament, ASU is a projected No. 6 seed according to ESPN’s Bracketology. Tip off is set for 12:30 p.m. MT and it can be seen on Pac-12 Network.

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