LAS VEGAS – Courtney Ekmark tied a season high with six 3-pointers to help lead the No. 20 Arizona State women's basketball team to a 66-49 win over Colorado in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Robbi Ryan added 13 points for the Sun Devils (20-9), who set a new school record for consecutive 20-win seasons with six.
Colorado (12-18) was led by Alexis Robinson, who scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second half.
ASU outscored the Buffaloes 23-9 over the final 10 minutes to overcome the challenge of a resilient Colorado squad. After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Buffaloes rallied in the second half, getting as close as a single point late in the third quarter.
"I thought we had great moments, but we definitely weren't our normal selves, as connected as we usually are," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "So I'm really proud of our team for just staying with things and stepping up in the fourth quarter and putting a really resilient Colorado team away. "
Ekmark, who also had seven rebounds and three assists, hit five of her six triples in the second half, part of a season-high-tying 11 makes from downtown by the Sun Devils in the game.
Ryan tied Reili Richardson for the team lead in assists with five while Charnea Johnson-Chapman paced ASU with nine rebounds to go with five points.
Eight Sun Devils scored four or more points as Kiara Russell (seven points), Kianna Ibis and Richardson (six points each), Sophia Elenga (five points) and Jayde Van Hyfte (four points) also had important scoring contributions.
The win was ASU's third of the season over the Buffaloes, as it prevailed by scores of 76-70 (Jan. 6 in Boulder) and 66-49 (Feb. 15 in Tempe). Although the second and third wins came by identical scores, the two games could not have been more different.
In last month's win, the Sun Devils had a 15-point cushion going into the fourth quarter. On Thursday, the Sun Devils found themselves battling for their tournament lives after the Buffaloes outscored the Sun Devils 23-14 in the third quarter to get within three points going into the final period.
Ekmark's 3-pointer to start the final frame ignited a 11-2 run by the Sun Devils that helped them boost their lead back to 12, 54-42, after Elenga's 3-point play with 5:42 remaining.
The Buffaloes got within 10 on two occasions, but could not pull any closer thanks to 3-pointers by Richardson and Ekmark that pushed ASU's lead back up to 13.
"We made shots (and) just being aggressive," Ekmark said of the difference between the third and fourth quarters. "They came out and kind of jumped on us at the start of the second half, and that's not what we wanted to do at all. Just trying to get the momentum, shift it back in our way and keep the aggressiveness."
Ryan hit 3-pointers to start and end a 19-4 run by the Sun Devils in the second quarter that gave ASU a 29-11 advantage with just over three minutes left in the first half.
Colorado scored the last six points of the second quarter and the first seven points of the third quarter to cut ASU's lead to five points midway through the third stanza.
Two free throws by Colorado's Kennedy Leonard late in the third got the Buffaloes within one, before Johnson-Chapman's jumper with two seconds left put ASU up by three going into the last period.
Ekmark's six 3-pointers were one short of tying the school record she already shares with former Sun Devils Briann January (at UC Davis, Dec. 3, 2008), Crystal Cobb (vs. Oregon, Feb. 2, 1991) and Ryneldi Becenti (vs. Washington State, Feb. 13, 1993). Ekmark equaled the mark in ASU's win over Arkansas on Dec. 21, 2017. Earlier this season she hit six 3-pointers in ASU's win at Colorado State. Ekmark, who has hit three or more 3-pointers 10 times this season, is now tied with former Sun Devil Amanda Levens for seventh on ASU's all-time list with 117 career 3-pointers.
The Sun Devils, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, will take on the No. 4 seed UCLA on Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. MT for the right to advance to Saturday's semifinal round. UCLA prevailed 61-59 in the only meeting between the two teams on Jan. 25 in Tempe. Friday's quarterfinal between the Sun Devils and Bruins can be seen on Pac-12 Network and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and TuneIn.
Robbi Ryan added 13 points for the Sun Devils (20-9), who set a new school record for consecutive 20-win seasons with six.
Colorado (12-18) was led by Alexis Robinson, who scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second half.
ASU outscored the Buffaloes 23-9 over the final 10 minutes to overcome the challenge of a resilient Colorado squad. After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Buffaloes rallied in the second half, getting as close as a single point late in the third quarter.
"I thought we had great moments, but we definitely weren't our normal selves, as connected as we usually are," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "So I'm really proud of our team for just staying with things and stepping up in the fourth quarter and putting a really resilient Colorado team away. "
Ekmark, who also had seven rebounds and three assists, hit five of her six triples in the second half, part of a season-high-tying 11 makes from downtown by the Sun Devils in the game.
Ryan tied Reili Richardson for the team lead in assists with five while Charnea Johnson-Chapman paced ASU with nine rebounds to go with five points.
Eight Sun Devils scored four or more points as Kiara Russell (seven points), Kianna Ibis and Richardson (six points each), Sophia Elenga (five points) and Jayde Van Hyfte (four points) also had important scoring contributions.
The win was ASU's third of the season over the Buffaloes, as it prevailed by scores of 76-70 (Jan. 6 in Boulder) and 66-49 (Feb. 15 in Tempe). Although the second and third wins came by identical scores, the two games could not have been more different.
In last month's win, the Sun Devils had a 15-point cushion going into the fourth quarter. On Thursday, the Sun Devils found themselves battling for their tournament lives after the Buffaloes outscored the Sun Devils 23-14 in the third quarter to get within three points going into the final period.
Ekmark's 3-pointer to start the final frame ignited a 11-2 run by the Sun Devils that helped them boost their lead back to 12, 54-42, after Elenga's 3-point play with 5:42 remaining.
The Buffaloes got within 10 on two occasions, but could not pull any closer thanks to 3-pointers by Richardson and Ekmark that pushed ASU's lead back up to 13.
"We made shots (and) just being aggressive," Ekmark said of the difference between the third and fourth quarters. "They came out and kind of jumped on us at the start of the second half, and that's not what we wanted to do at all. Just trying to get the momentum, shift it back in our way and keep the aggressiveness."
Ryan hit 3-pointers to start and end a 19-4 run by the Sun Devils in the second quarter that gave ASU a 29-11 advantage with just over three minutes left in the first half.
Colorado scored the last six points of the second quarter and the first seven points of the third quarter to cut ASU's lead to five points midway through the third stanza.
Two free throws by Colorado's Kennedy Leonard late in the third got the Buffaloes within one, before Johnson-Chapman's jumper with two seconds left put ASU up by three going into the last period.
Ekmark's six 3-pointers were one short of tying the school record she already shares with former Sun Devils Briann January (at UC Davis, Dec. 3, 2008), Crystal Cobb (vs. Oregon, Feb. 2, 1991) and Ryneldi Becenti (vs. Washington State, Feb. 13, 1993). Ekmark equaled the mark in ASU's win over Arkansas on Dec. 21, 2017. Earlier this season she hit six 3-pointers in ASU's win at Colorado State. Ekmark, who has hit three or more 3-pointers 10 times this season, is now tied with former Sun Devil Amanda Levens for seventh on ASU's all-time list with 117 career 3-pointers.
The Sun Devils, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, will take on the No. 4 seed UCLA on Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. MT for the right to advance to Saturday's semifinal round. UCLA prevailed 61-59 in the only meeting between the two teams on Jan. 25 in Tempe. Friday's quarterfinal between the Sun Devils and Bruins can be seen on Pac-12 Network and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and TuneIn.