TEMPE, Ariz. -- The ASU women's basketball team has boasted symbiotic pairs before. Emily Westerberg and Aubree Johnson played AAU ball together in Spokane, Washington, so their connection was deep-seeded. Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos became fast friends their freshman year and became the faces of the team last season.
Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman enrolled at ASU in the same year, but while Ibis played more a regular role (17.6 minutes per game) last season, Johnson-Chapman played understudy to Brunner, Moos and Quinn Dornstauder, limiting her minutes to 6.8 per game.
With Moos, Brunner and Dornstauder lost to graduation, the 2017-18 season has been a different story. Ibis leads the team in points per game (12.1) while averaging 23.5 minutes. Johnson-Chapman leads the team in rebounds per game (7.3) and field goal percentage (.573), while averaging 22 minutes.
The two have developed on-court chemistry eerily reminiscent of those prior pairs.
"They have played together some, but not that much, so that's been fun to watch," Sun Devils coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Our players all work hard to have each other's back, but let's face it, sometimes, you come in and have a friendship with somebody or you build it as a freshman like Sophie and Kelsey did. I think when you have a special bond with somebody you play better together.
"[Kianna and Charnea] just play off each other so well and because their relationship is so strong, they just have each other's back that much more."
Turner Thorne expected the step up in play from Ibis. She recruited the 6-foot-1 forward to be an impact player, but an ACL injury in her senior season at Benson High School in Omaha, Nebraska, slowed her development.
"We knew she could just flat out put the ball in the basket and we knew she'd be the forward position that is hard to guard," Turner Thorne said. "Had she not got hurt in high school people would have been like, 'whoa!' I think that makes it all the more special for her, going through what she went through to get to now. She never complained. She just worked."
Johnson-Chapman was more of a surprise. She was a depth player the last two seasons with a seemingly limited role.
"I knew she could anchor our defense and rebound but I feel like she's done a lot more," Turner Thorne said. "She was in the gym this summer, probably more than she ever has been. I think she just made the decision, 'I'm going to do this.'
"Even when those seniors were here she'd be the leading rebounder in practice. She's just quick to the ball, but she also always really listens and buys in to who we are and what we do. That goes a long way for players being able to step in and accept bigger roles."
Johnson-Chapman said she had good mentors.
"Freshman year, Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos took me under their wing and we started to do extra work in the summer, and Quinn really helped me, too," she said. "They always encouraged me. If I missed a shot they'd say, 'It's OK. You got it next time. Go up strong! You can't focus on the mess-up. People mess up all the time. You have to move past it and focus on doing what you know you can do.
"For me personally, I'm not the type of person that is just like, 'I'm the best,' but a lot of people tell me you have to have that mindset: not be cocky, but be confident. I've always been that person that thinks I'm good but I can always be better. Here you have to think, 'yeah, I'm going to do this.' I can do that.'"
Turner Thorne is trying to draw that same intensity out of Ibis. Every player on the team has a totem. Ibis's is "fierce," because sometimes she's too nice.
"My role is to rebound -- coach wants all of us to rebound -- and to score and lock down people on defense," Ibis said. "But I'm working on being more aggressive, especially down in the paint, not getting pushed out, finishing strong, being stronger around the basket."
Ibis still texts and Snapchats with Brunner, and she still views her mentor as an inspiration.
"She doesn't dwell on a turnover or a missed shot. She just moves on to the next play and doesn't show too much emotion. Having her next-play mentality is what I try to do," Ibis said. "Being able to watch her play all those games and watch how hard she worked every possession, I was just like, 'wow, I kind of want to be like that.' I don't want to take possessions off."
Turner Thorne knew this would be a season of transition, given the losses of Moos, Brunner, Dornstauder and Sara Hattis to graduation. The challenge grew harder when guard Sabrina Haines was lost for the season with an ACL tear on Dec. 3 in a win against UC Riverside.
The Sun Devils finished non-conference play at 9-3, however, and took some important lessons from losses to No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 21 Green Bay and No. 13 Florida State.
A balanced lineup, along with the emergence of Ibis and Johnson-Chapman, has Turner Thorne pointing toward Pac-12 play with a coy confidence.
"I feel like we had a tough preseason schedule that tested us and really allowed us to grow and find out who we are," she said. "The fun thing about this season is we haven't been an underdog in a really, really long time. We can kind of embrace that mindset a little bit. Let's just show up and see what happens."
Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman enrolled at ASU in the same year, but while Ibis played more a regular role (17.6 minutes per game) last season, Johnson-Chapman played understudy to Brunner, Moos and Quinn Dornstauder, limiting her minutes to 6.8 per game.
With Moos, Brunner and Dornstauder lost to graduation, the 2017-18 season has been a different story. Ibis leads the team in points per game (12.1) while averaging 23.5 minutes. Johnson-Chapman leads the team in rebounds per game (7.3) and field goal percentage (.573), while averaging 22 minutes.
The two have developed on-court chemistry eerily reminiscent of those prior pairs.
"They have played together some, but not that much, so that's been fun to watch," Sun Devils coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Our players all work hard to have each other's back, but let's face it, sometimes, you come in and have a friendship with somebody or you build it as a freshman like Sophie and Kelsey did. I think when you have a special bond with somebody you play better together.
"[Kianna and Charnea] just play off each other so well and because their relationship is so strong, they just have each other's back that much more."
Turner Thorne expected the step up in play from Ibis. She recruited the 6-foot-1 forward to be an impact player, but an ACL injury in her senior season at Benson High School in Omaha, Nebraska, slowed her development.
"We knew she could just flat out put the ball in the basket and we knew she'd be the forward position that is hard to guard," Turner Thorne said. "Had she not got hurt in high school people would have been like, 'whoa!' I think that makes it all the more special for her, going through what she went through to get to now. She never complained. She just worked."
Johnson-Chapman was more of a surprise. She was a depth player the last two seasons with a seemingly limited role.
"I knew she could anchor our defense and rebound but I feel like she's done a lot more," Turner Thorne said. "She was in the gym this summer, probably more than she ever has been. I think she just made the decision, 'I'm going to do this.'
"Even when those seniors were here she'd be the leading rebounder in practice. She's just quick to the ball, but she also always really listens and buys in to who we are and what we do. That goes a long way for players being able to step in and accept bigger roles."
Johnson-Chapman said she had good mentors.
"Freshman year, Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos took me under their wing and we started to do extra work in the summer, and Quinn really helped me, too," she said. "They always encouraged me. If I missed a shot they'd say, 'It's OK. You got it next time. Go up strong! You can't focus on the mess-up. People mess up all the time. You have to move past it and focus on doing what you know you can do.
"For me personally, I'm not the type of person that is just like, 'I'm the best,' but a lot of people tell me you have to have that mindset: not be cocky, but be confident. I've always been that person that thinks I'm good but I can always be better. Here you have to think, 'yeah, I'm going to do this.' I can do that.'"
Turner Thorne is trying to draw that same intensity out of Ibis. Every player on the team has a totem. Ibis's is "fierce," because sometimes she's too nice.
"My role is to rebound -- coach wants all of us to rebound -- and to score and lock down people on defense," Ibis said. "But I'm working on being more aggressive, especially down in the paint, not getting pushed out, finishing strong, being stronger around the basket."
Ibis still texts and Snapchats with Brunner, and she still views her mentor as an inspiration.
"She doesn't dwell on a turnover or a missed shot. She just moves on to the next play and doesn't show too much emotion. Having her next-play mentality is what I try to do," Ibis said. "Being able to watch her play all those games and watch how hard she worked every possession, I was just like, 'wow, I kind of want to be like that.' I don't want to take possessions off."
Turner Thorne knew this would be a season of transition, given the losses of Moos, Brunner, Dornstauder and Sara Hattis to graduation. The challenge grew harder when guard Sabrina Haines was lost for the season with an ACL tear on Dec. 3 in a win against UC Riverside.
The Sun Devils finished non-conference play at 9-3, however, and took some important lessons from losses to No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 21 Green Bay and No. 13 Florida State.
A balanced lineup, along with the emergence of Ibis and Johnson-Chapman, has Turner Thorne pointing toward Pac-12 play with a coy confidence.
"I feel like we had a tough preseason schedule that tested us and really allowed us to grow and find out who we are," she said. "The fun thing about this season is we haven't been an underdog in a really, really long time. We can kind of embrace that mindset a little bit. Let's just show up and see what happens."