Ibis and Ekmark power Sun Devils in rematch with Wildcats and McDonald

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – In a contrast from their first meeting in December, the No. 21- ranked Arizona State women’s basketball team shut down Arizona, 60-47, on Friday, to improve to 15-6 and 6-4 in the Pac-12 Conference.

ASU defeats Arizona 60-47

Aari McDonald, second in the nation with 25.2 points per game (Megan Gustafson of Iowa is averaging 26.4), scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but the Wildcats’ next high scorer was Sam Thomas with five. The Cats, at 14-7 and 4-6 now, are slipping away from the bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth.

In the first meeting at Tucson, Arizona limited ASU to 23 percent shooting and 4-of-23 from downtown in a 51-39 victory. But on Friday, Kianna Ibis and Courtney Ekmark, two players who fell victim to that poor shooting night, scored 19 and 20 points, respectively, with Ibis grabbing 10 rebounds to complete her double-double.

 “Remembering what last game was like, we said we’re not going to give them what they got last time,” said Ibis, who passed the 1,000-point mark for her career. “It was a fun game, and I’m glad we got the win tonight.”

With a 9-7 lead after one, the Sun Devils opened a 12-4 run highlighted with Reili Richardson and Ekmark threes that  eventually led to a 25-13 halftime lead.

“They got one on us, so that motivated us,” Ekmark said. “We’re just trying to get in the rhythm, and we’re working on our offense clicking so we will be squared away for the rest of the Pac-12 schedule. Reili and Ki Ki (Kiara Russell) did an awesome job on defense, and I’m really proud of their effort.”

Arizona forward Cate Reese cut the lead to seven midway through the third quarter, but Ekmark answered with another three. Bryce Nixon’s three from the corner at the buzzer made it a four-point game with one period to play; however, ASU had no problems holding onto its advantage, cruising to a double-digit win.

“I’m very proud of our defensive effort,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “U of A is a very good team, and they did a good job of hanging around until the end. I thought we tried to get a better shot in the second half. We did a really good job on McDonald for most of the game. Part of your legacy, no doubt, is how you did against U of A, so good for the seniors.”

Arizona is at McDonald’s former team, the Washington Huskies, at 8 p.m. on Thursday. Feb. 7. The
Sun Devils are at Washington State at the same time, and the teams swap opponents on Feb. 9.

Also of note, the Phoenix Mercury resigned ASU assistant coach Briann January to a multi-year contract earlier in the day on Friday, as well as returning guard Yvonne Turner. Coach Turner Thorne mentioned in her press conference that January was a perfect example of the rivalry and legacy, as she went undefeated against the Wildcats during her 2005-09 tenure and was rallying the current players.