Colorado
3-1
Denver
0-3
Colorado Runs Away From Denver With Big Second Half
November 25, 2014 | Women's Basketball
DENVER – Lexy Kresl was in a giving mood for the first 20 minutes of Tuesday night's game. But in a crucial moment early in the second half, there was no spreading the wealth, she would take control.
Kresl scored five straight points to stop a Denver run and in turn sent the Buffaloes rolling to a 77-49 win at Magness Arena Tuesday night on the DU campus.
Kresl recorded her first career double-double scoring 10 points and dishing out a career-high 10 assists, nine of which came in the first half, tying a CU single-half record.
Colorado (3-1) used a 12-3 run late in the first half to open up a double-digit lead. Kresl had five assists in a span of six baskets late in the period to build a 38-27 advantage at the break.
Junior forward Jamee Swan was one of the main benefactors, scoring 17 of her season-high 23 points in the first 20 minutes.
"It took us a little while to figure out how to play with (Denver's) changing defenses," Kresl said. "We were playing a motion offense against a zone, so once we found those areas there were a lot of gaps and we had a lot of opportunities to score."
Denver (0-3) opened the second half on a 7-0 run. The Buffaloes missed their first three shots and had a turnover, which allowed consecutive layups by Alecia Espinoza and Paige Bradley. Denver's Morgan Van Riper-Rose then hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 38-34
Scoreless in the first half, Kresl stopped the Pioneers' run with a 3-pointer from the baseline. Then, Kresl stayed in the backcourt, darted in front of Espinoza's inbounds pass for a steal and laid the ball back up and in for a 43-34 Colorado lead.
"I knew we needed a spark so I just wanted to pick up the intensity," Kresl said. "After that (play) everyone else caught on with that same aggressiveness."
That was just the beginning. Jen Reese scored the next basket for the Buffaloes and Haley Smith added her sixth and final field goal of the night to cap off the 9-0 run and the Buffaloes rolled from there, outscoring the Pioneers 30-15 the rest of the way.
"That was a huge five points for our team," coach Linda Lappe said. "They started to get some of that momentum and as soon as that happened, they were deflated a little bit and that's when we knew we needed to go on a run, and our players did a really nice job capitalizing on that."
Swan made 8-of-12 from the field and hit all seven free throw attempts. She also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and had two blocks.
"Jamee was outstanding tonight," Lappe said. "She played hard and was disciplined. She played a lot tougher on both the offensive and defensive end."
Smith finished with 12 points, hitting 6-of-8 from the field, with seven rebounds and two steals. Reese had 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Colorado shot 48 percent from the field while holding Denver to just 28 percent. Despite some early troubles on the boards, the Buffaloes out rebounded the Pioneers 47-37.
Bradley led Denver with 15 points.
Colorado returns home to host the 28th annual Omni Hotels Classic Friday and Saturday, Nov. 28-29. Colorado State and TCU play the opening game on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by Colorado and Missouri State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday features a consolation game at 5 p.m., followed by the championship at 7:30 p.m.
