Story by Caryn Maconi, CUBuffs.com

TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 21 Colorado women’s basketball team turned an eight-point first-half deficit into an eight-point victory here Sunday afternoon, earning a 71-63 win over Arizona State.

Having defeated Arizona 55-42 on Friday, the Buffs swept their Arizona road trip, marking the first sweep on conference road games for the Buffs in their Pac-12 Conference history.

Sophomore forward Jen Reese led the Buffs with a career-high 22 points, six more than her previous high.

 

Roberson scored all of her 16 points in the second half

Roberson scored all of her 16 points in the second half

The victory was CU’s fifth straight fand its 20th this season, improving the Buffs to 20-5 overall and 9-5 in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils fall to 11-15, 3-11 and are now on a seven-game losing streak.

Both teams scored in surges in the first half, but the Sun Devils had momentum on their side. After ASU scored the first two baskets of the game, CU scored seven straight. But the Sun Devils responded with a 10-0 run of their own, building an eight-point lead with 13:26 left in the half.

Though the Buffs would add another 6-0 run to close the gap to three (23-20) with six minutes remaining, the Sun Devils’ offense surged from there. ASU would eventually gain its largest lead of the half – 12 – at the 2:05 mark and enter intermission up 35-27.

CU outrebounded ASU 26-16 in the first half but struggled from the field, shooting less than 30 percent while the Sun Devils shot close to 50.

The Sun Devils held onto that momentum for the start of the second half, but with 16:22 on the clock, the Buffs – led by Reese and redshirt freshman forward Arielle Roberson – turned up the energy.

Sophomore Jen Reese had team and career high 22 points

Sophomore Jen Reese had team and career high 22 points

Roberson scored three treys in nine minutes as part of an 18-6 CU run, and the Buffs finally took the lead (54-49) on Roberson’s third three-pointer with seven minutes remaining. They held onto their advantage until the final buzzer.

Roberson, who had gone scoreless in the first half, surged to finish the game with 16 points and eight rebounds. Reese’s 22 points were a game and career-high; the sophomore also added eight rebounds and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Senior guard Chucky Jeffery was the third CU player in double figures, earning her 28th career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Colorado head coach Linda Lappe said before the game that it would be difficult to prepare for ASU’s offense in the absence of one standout scorer, and that balance showed Sunday afternoon.

“They have a number of different players that are doing some good things for them,” Lappe said. “When they don’t have a go-to player, it’s about everybody stepping up on defense and understanding that at any point anybody on their team can get hot. Sometimes that’s more dangerous than maybe having one player.”

The Sun Devils had three players in double figures; forward Janae Fulcher, guard Promise Amukamara and guard Adrianne Thomas ended the game with 14 points apiece.

The Buffs outrebounded their opponents 50-35, with four CU players grabbing seven or more boards. CU also committed just 10 turnovers compared to ASU’s 13, an improvement from Friday’s matchup against Arizona in which the Buffs’ turnover total was 20.

Colorado returns home this week to take on Washington State on Friday (7 p.m.) and Washington on Sunday (2 p.m.) at the Coors Events Center.

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