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The No. 23 Sun Devils (1-1) brought determination to Fort Defiance and came to the court with a strong presence. Unfortunately the presence could not hold up.
ASU lost to No. 4 Baylor (3-0) 65-59 Sunday night after leading the first three quarters of the game.
Leading the team, seniors Kianna Ibis and Courtney Ekmark scored 13 points each, senior Charnea Johnson-Chapman had seven rebounds and junior Reili Richardson had four assists.
The Devils came out strong putting up 19 points in the first quarter and holding Baylor to just 8.
Freshman Jamie Loera got her first taste of action having recovered from injury. She nailed three three-pointers off the bench in six minutes of action.
Everything clicked for the Devils in the first 20 minutes, but the final 20 presented several issues for the Devils.
ASU took a lot of shots in the second half and could hardly get anything to fall.
In the second half they made seven of their 31 shots and were seven of 12 from the free throw line. Compared to their 13 of 36 from the floor in the first half, it is a drastic drop off.
The other stark statistical difference was the rebound totals.
Baylor crashed the boards on any and all opportunity. They out-rebounded ASU by 19 in total rebounds. The Bears had 40 defensive rebounds compared to the Devils’ 19.
For a team displeased with their effort against Incarnate Word on Tuesday, they certainly made up for it, but could not finish.
The Devils will take the week off and return to action Sunday the 18th in Fayetteville, AR. It will be their first true road game this season against the Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0).
Tip off is at 6 p.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.