PUERTO AVENTURAS, Mexico – The No. 24 Arizona State women's basketball team closed out play at the Cancun Challenge with a 72-48 win over Columbia on Saturday.
Four Sun Devils came up with double-digit point totals led by Robbi Ryan and Jamie Ruden who scored 12 points each. Sophia Elenga added 11 points while Charnea Johnson-Chapman had 10 points for the Sun Devils (5-2), who shot 44 percent from the floor and connected on 80 percent of their free throws (20-25).
Ryan, who averaged 9.7 points and shot 56 percent the last three games, was named to the Cancun Challenge's All-Tournament Team.
The Sun Devils used an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to break a 17-17 tie. A pair of free throws by Kianna Ibis, two baskets by Ruden and a layup by Courtney Ekmark made up the scoring run. Elenga's layup with 33 seconds left in the half gave ASU its first double-digit lead of the game, 35-24.
Another Sun Devil scoring burst, this one 14-6, came in the third quarter after the Lions got within seven points. ASU would shoot 67 percent in the third frame as six different players combined to score 20 points. Ibis scored six of her eight points in the quarter to help ASU enter the final 10 minutes with a 16-point lead.
The Lions would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way as ASU nearly doubled up the Lions in scoring (17-9) in the fourth quarter.
For ASU, Saturday's win over Columbia snapped a two-game losing streak. The Sun Devils started the tournament with a 65-57 loss to seventh-ranked Mississippi State on Thanksgiving. ASU came back from a 13-point deficit to lead by as many as three in the third quarter but the Bulldogs outscored ASU 22-12 in the final period to claim the win. On Friday ASU dropped a 65-57 decision to Green Bay.
The Sun Devils return to action next week when they host the annual ASU Classic. ASU will open the weekend on Saturday when they take on Buffalo at 2:30 p.m. On Sunday they will face either UNLV or UC Riverside at 2:30 p.m.
Four Sun Devils came up with double-digit point totals led by Robbi Ryan and Jamie Ruden who scored 12 points each. Sophia Elenga added 11 points while Charnea Johnson-Chapman had 10 points for the Sun Devils (5-2), who shot 44 percent from the floor and connected on 80 percent of their free throws (20-25).
Ryan, who averaged 9.7 points and shot 56 percent the last three games, was named to the Cancun Challenge's All-Tournament Team.
The Sun Devils used an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to break a 17-17 tie. A pair of free throws by Kianna Ibis, two baskets by Ruden and a layup by Courtney Ekmark made up the scoring run. Elenga's layup with 33 seconds left in the half gave ASU its first double-digit lead of the game, 35-24.
Another Sun Devil scoring burst, this one 14-6, came in the third quarter after the Lions got within seven points. ASU would shoot 67 percent in the third frame as six different players combined to score 20 points. Ibis scored six of her eight points in the quarter to help ASU enter the final 10 minutes with a 16-point lead.
The Lions would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way as ASU nearly doubled up the Lions in scoring (17-9) in the fourth quarter.
For ASU, Saturday's win over Columbia snapped a two-game losing streak. The Sun Devils started the tournament with a 65-57 loss to seventh-ranked Mississippi State on Thanksgiving. ASU came back from a 13-point deficit to lead by as many as three in the third quarter but the Bulldogs outscored ASU 22-12 in the final period to claim the win. On Friday ASU dropped a 65-57 decision to Green Bay.
The Sun Devils return to action next week when they host the annual ASU Classic. ASU will open the weekend on Saturday when they take on Buffalo at 2:30 p.m. On Sunday they will face either UNLV or UC Riverside at 2:30 p.m.