TEMPE, Ariz. – Kianna Ibis scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half to help lead the No. 21 Arizona State women's basketball team to a 66-54 win over No. 9 Oregon State on Friday.
The Sun Devils (19-8, 10-6 Pac-12) took control of the game with a 24-3 run over the last 4:38 of the second quarter and the first 4:44 of the third quarter to claim their first regular season sweep over the Beavers since the 2010-11 season. On Jan. 20, ASU knocked off then-No. 10 Oregon State 77-71 in double-overtime. In that game, Ibis scored 21 of her 28 points in the second half and overtime, hitting all nine of the shots she attempted. On Friday, Ibis was 6-7 from the floor in the second half.
"I'm so happy for this team. Last weekend was rough. It was tough, weren't ourselves. We didn't play with our usual toughness and teamwork and I predicted we would respond well today," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said after the game. "I knew we were going to play well, but Oregon State is so good, they're a top-10 team and down the stretch those types of teams know how to win and play well. I just thought we took it at them and really defended well and really got back to being who we are."
Ibis (eight rebounds) and fellow senior Charnea Johnson-Chapman (six points, 12 rebounds, career-high four assists) combined for 20 boards in helping the Sun Devils outrebound the Beavers 38-25.
Reili Richardson, who came into the game No. 3 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, dished out seven assists with zero turnovers to go with eight points and three steals.
Freshman Iris Mbulito provided the Sun Devils with a big lift off the bench, scoring eight of her 10 points in the first half.
Also posting important contributions for the Sun Devils were Courtney Ekmark (seven points, four assists, zero turnovers), Robbi Ryan (six points, three assists), Taya Hanson (five points, 2-3 FGs) and Sophia Elenga (four points, five rebounds).
The Beavers (23-6, 13-4) were led by Mikayla Pivec (18 points) and Aleah Goodman (16 points), who combined for 34 of OSU's 54 points.
The game started to turn in ASU's favor in the last 4:38 of the second quarter, a stretch in which the Sun Devils outscored the Beavers 11-3 to turn a five-point deficit into a three-point advantage, 28-25, at the half. The scoring run included a 3-pointer by Hanson and a pair of layups by Elenga.
Coming off a pair of games in which sluggish second-half starts led to losses, the Sun Devils came out with a determined effort in the third quarter on Friday, opening with a 13-0 run to go up 41-25 after Richardson's 3-pointer with 5:16 remaining.
Ibis' jumper with 2:41 left gave ASU its largest lead of the game, 47-30. ASU would go on to shoot 68 percent (11-16 FGs) for the quarter. Combined with the second quarter (7-14 FGs), the Sun Devils connected on 60 percent of their shots during the middle 20 minutes of the game.
In the fourth quarter it was ASU's offense that suddenly could not find a way to generate points as the Sun Devils went more than six minutes without scoring. Fortunately for ASU, its defense allowed the Beavers to chip only six points off the 15-point cushion the Sun Devils had to start the quarter.
After Oregon State got within nine, Ibis would help the Sun Devils close out the win as she scored eight points in the space of 50 seconds to help ASU extend its lead back up to 15, 61-46 with 2:19 remaining. Ibis would go on to score 12 of ASU's 13 points in the quarter to help the Sun Devils claim their 19thwin of the season.
The Sun Devils close out regular season play on Sunday (1 p.m. MT) when they host No. 6 Oregon on Senior Day. Senior Sun Devils Sophia Elenga, Courtney Ekmark, Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman will be honored in a ceremony following the game. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Networks and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.
The Sun Devils (19-8, 10-6 Pac-12) took control of the game with a 24-3 run over the last 4:38 of the second quarter and the first 4:44 of the third quarter to claim their first regular season sweep over the Beavers since the 2010-11 season. On Jan. 20, ASU knocked off then-No. 10 Oregon State 77-71 in double-overtime. In that game, Ibis scored 21 of her 28 points in the second half and overtime, hitting all nine of the shots she attempted. On Friday, Ibis was 6-7 from the floor in the second half.
"I'm so happy for this team. Last weekend was rough. It was tough, weren't ourselves. We didn't play with our usual toughness and teamwork and I predicted we would respond well today," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said after the game. "I knew we were going to play well, but Oregon State is so good, they're a top-10 team and down the stretch those types of teams know how to win and play well. I just thought we took it at them and really defended well and really got back to being who we are."
Ibis (eight rebounds) and fellow senior Charnea Johnson-Chapman (six points, 12 rebounds, career-high four assists) combined for 20 boards in helping the Sun Devils outrebound the Beavers 38-25.
Reili Richardson, who came into the game No. 3 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, dished out seven assists with zero turnovers to go with eight points and three steals.
Freshman Iris Mbulito provided the Sun Devils with a big lift off the bench, scoring eight of her 10 points in the first half.
Also posting important contributions for the Sun Devils were Courtney Ekmark (seven points, four assists, zero turnovers), Robbi Ryan (six points, three assists), Taya Hanson (five points, 2-3 FGs) and Sophia Elenga (four points, five rebounds).
The Beavers (23-6, 13-4) were led by Mikayla Pivec (18 points) and Aleah Goodman (16 points), who combined for 34 of OSU's 54 points.
The game started to turn in ASU's favor in the last 4:38 of the second quarter, a stretch in which the Sun Devils outscored the Beavers 11-3 to turn a five-point deficit into a three-point advantage, 28-25, at the half. The scoring run included a 3-pointer by Hanson and a pair of layups by Elenga.
Coming off a pair of games in which sluggish second-half starts led to losses, the Sun Devils came out with a determined effort in the third quarter on Friday, opening with a 13-0 run to go up 41-25 after Richardson's 3-pointer with 5:16 remaining.
Ibis' jumper with 2:41 left gave ASU its largest lead of the game, 47-30. ASU would go on to shoot 68 percent (11-16 FGs) for the quarter. Combined with the second quarter (7-14 FGs), the Sun Devils connected on 60 percent of their shots during the middle 20 minutes of the game.
In the fourth quarter it was ASU's offense that suddenly could not find a way to generate points as the Sun Devils went more than six minutes without scoring. Fortunately for ASU, its defense allowed the Beavers to chip only six points off the 15-point cushion the Sun Devils had to start the quarter.
After Oregon State got within nine, Ibis would help the Sun Devils close out the win as she scored eight points in the space of 50 seconds to help ASU extend its lead back up to 15, 61-46 with 2:19 remaining. Ibis would go on to score 12 of ASU's 13 points in the quarter to help the Sun Devils claim their 19thwin of the season.
The Sun Devils close out regular season play on Sunday (1 p.m. MT) when they host No. 6 Oregon on Senior Day. Senior Sun Devils Sophia Elenga, Courtney Ekmark, Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman will be honored in a ceremony following the game. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Networks and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.