TEMPE, Ariz. – Kianna Ibis and Sabrina Haines combined for 35 points to help lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 76-57 win over Buffalo on Saturday's opening day of the ASU Classic.
Ibis (18 points) and Haines (17 points) were both two points shy of matching their respective career highs in scoring. Haines connected on a trio of 3-pointers and knocked down all six of her free throw attempts in helping the Sun Devils connect on 73 percent of their free throws for the game (22-30).
Jamie Ruden posted a double-digit scoring total for the third straight game and fifth time overall with a career-high 13 points while Charnea Johnson-Chapman added 10 points for the Sun Devils (6-2), who allowed the Bulls (4-1) to shoot only 31 percent in the second half.
Five Sun Devils – Johnson-Chapman (seven), Ibis (six), Robbi Ryan (six), Sophia Elenga (five), Reili Richardson (five) – posted five or more rebounds to help ASU end with a 47-25 advantage on the boards. Richardson also matched her career high with 10 assists to up her season total to 42 against only 10 turnovers.
Haines scored the first five of nine straight reeled off by the Sun Devils to help ASU take a 34-24 lead after Richardson's jumper with 2:22 left in the first half. The Sun Devils would go on to shoot 55 percent in the second frame on their way to 28 points in the quarter to push them to a 42-32 lead at the half.
After combining for 49 points – ASU (28), Buffalo (21) – in the second quarter the two teams managed 19 points in the third quarter with the Sun Devils edging the Bulls 10-9. Although ASU did not lead by more than 11 it also did not allow the Bulls to get any closer than eight points. ASU would start to put the clamps down defensively as Buffalo made only one field goal the last six-plus minutes of the quarter.
The Sun Devils used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to put even more distance between themselves and the Bulls. Six straight free throws – two by Haines, two by Ruden and two more by Haines – were followed by a 3-point play by Johnson-Chapman to give ASU a 68-50 lead with 3:58 remaining.
Buffalo's leading scorer Cierra Dillard scored 18 points, but had only three in the second half. ASU held the Bulls nearly 20 points below their scoring average of 76.5 coming into the game. After scoring no fewer than 14 points in a quarter this season the Bulls had two such instances on Saturday with 11 points in the first quarter and nine in the third.
The Sun Devils will play UC Riverside (defeated UNLV 95-88 in first game of Saturday's doubleheader) in the championship game of the ASU Classic on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be streamed at http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university and can be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.
Ibis (18 points) and Haines (17 points) were both two points shy of matching their respective career highs in scoring. Haines connected on a trio of 3-pointers and knocked down all six of her free throw attempts in helping the Sun Devils connect on 73 percent of their free throws for the game (22-30).
Jamie Ruden posted a double-digit scoring total for the third straight game and fifth time overall with a career-high 13 points while Charnea Johnson-Chapman added 10 points for the Sun Devils (6-2), who allowed the Bulls (4-1) to shoot only 31 percent in the second half.
Five Sun Devils – Johnson-Chapman (seven), Ibis (six), Robbi Ryan (six), Sophia Elenga (five), Reili Richardson (five) – posted five or more rebounds to help ASU end with a 47-25 advantage on the boards. Richardson also matched her career high with 10 assists to up her season total to 42 against only 10 turnovers.
Haines scored the first five of nine straight reeled off by the Sun Devils to help ASU take a 34-24 lead after Richardson's jumper with 2:22 left in the first half. The Sun Devils would go on to shoot 55 percent in the second frame on their way to 28 points in the quarter to push them to a 42-32 lead at the half.
After combining for 49 points – ASU (28), Buffalo (21) – in the second quarter the two teams managed 19 points in the third quarter with the Sun Devils edging the Bulls 10-9. Although ASU did not lead by more than 11 it also did not allow the Bulls to get any closer than eight points. ASU would start to put the clamps down defensively as Buffalo made only one field goal the last six-plus minutes of the quarter.
The Sun Devils used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to put even more distance between themselves and the Bulls. Six straight free throws – two by Haines, two by Ruden and two more by Haines – were followed by a 3-point play by Johnson-Chapman to give ASU a 68-50 lead with 3:58 remaining.
Buffalo's leading scorer Cierra Dillard scored 18 points, but had only three in the second half. ASU held the Bulls nearly 20 points below their scoring average of 76.5 coming into the game. After scoring no fewer than 14 points in a quarter this season the Bulls had two such instances on Saturday with 11 points in the first quarter and nine in the third.
The Sun Devils will play UC Riverside (defeated UNLV 95-88 in first game of Saturday's doubleheader) in the championship game of the ASU Classic on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be streamed at http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university and can be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.