CU Looking For Road Wins This Weekend In Arizona

BOULDER – Colorado's women's basketball team will hit the road for two games this weekend in Arizona. CU will take on U of A at 6 p.m. on Friday. That game will be televised on Pac-12 Arizona. Sunday's game will be at No. 22/25 Arizona State at 2 p.m. and will be televised on Pac-12 Mountain and Pac-12 Arizona.

Both games will be on the radio in the Boulder and Denver area with Cory Lopez and Carol Callan calling the action. Friday's game will be on 1190 KVCU and Sunday's will be on 630 KHOW.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Arizona is in the midst of a rebuilding season, according to second-year head coach Adia Barnes, who said after CU's 79-60 win in Boulder on New Year's Eve that the main focus this season was not wins and losses, but on preparing the team's culture for next season. As a result, four freshmen are in Arizona's main rotation, led by Sam Thomas, who averages 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds. Marlee Kyles is scoring 9.1 points per game, but that averaged has dipped recently as she is averaging just 3.7 points in three Pac-12 games. Senior guard JaLea Bennett leads Arizona with 15.0 points per game.

The Wildcats enter Friday's game at 4-13 overall and 0-6 in the Pac-12. Their current RPI is reflective of a rebuilding team, and at 286, the lowest RPI of a Power Five school. However, CU cannot overlook Arizona. The Wildcats have still be competitive in some big games, suffering just a 53-51 loss to No. 23 Cal, a 15-point loss to Stanford, and an 18-point loss to No. 8/9 Oregon on the road.

In CU's win in Boulder earlier this season, Thomas and Bennett each scored 18 points and Destiny Graham had 12.

U of A has also been much tougher at home with a 3-5 record in Tucson and 1-8 out of town.

Arizona State comes into the weekend ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the WBCA poll. The Sun Devils are 13-5 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12, tied for third place. However, they are coming off a pair of losses at Oregon State and Oregon, though both were close results as they suffered a 57-54 loss at No. 22/21 OSU and a 74-64 loss at No. 8/9 Oregon.

Kianna Ibis, a junior forward, leads ASU at 13.6 points per game and also averages 4.2 rebounds. She shoots 51.8 percent from the floor and had 22 points at Oregon. Jamie Ruden (10.3 PPG) also averages double figures in scoring, shooting 51.3 percent from 3-point range, and has come off the bench in all 16 games this season. Robbi Ryan is just under a double-digit scoring average at 9.7 points per game, including a 19-point performance at Oregon State last weekend.

Ruden scored 16 against CU in ASU's 72-47 win in Boulder on Dec. 29. However, it was junior Sophia Elenga, who shot 7-of-8 from the floor, who led the Sun Devils with a career-high 17 points in a reserve role.

The Sun Devils have been strong rebounding this season, averaging a +6.5 rebounding margin. They also hold on to the ball with a +5.3 turnover margin average.

UP NEXT
CU returns home next weekend to face the two top-25 teams from Oregon. The Buffs will host now-No. 7/6 Oregon at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26. Then No. 18/19 Oregon State comes to Boulder on Sunday, Jan. 28, for a 2 p.m. game. It will be Alumnae Weekend as the Buffs are inviting all former players back for a weekend of activities. Sunday's game vs. the Beavers will also be the Elevation Game as the goal is to get 5,345 fans into the Coors Events Center, the same number as CU's elevation in feet.

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