Colorado
6-1
San Jose State
4-4
Swan, Smith Propel Buffs To Overtime Win Over Spartans
December 05, 2014 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER—The Colorado Buffaloes starting front court of Jen Reese, Haley Smith and Jamee Swan, combined for 67 of 97 points, and Lexy Kresl scored the game's final six from the free throw line as the Buffs defeated San Jose State in overtime, 97-89, Friday morning at the Coors Events Center.
"That was a tough victory for us," Lappe said. "San Jose State is a good team, they do what they do and they do it really well. I like our fight and determination. It was another overtime experience for us, which you don't always want, but that will help us once we hit conference play."
Swan (26 points, 11 rebounds) and Smith (24 points, 12 rebounds) both had double-doubles and Reese just missed one (17 points, 9 rebounds) as the Buffs, who improved to 6-1 on the young season, scoring the most points in the Linda Lappe era and most in nearly a decade, since the Buffs knocked off Cal State Fullerton, 100-71, on Nov. 18, 2005.
"Jamee's presence inside was huge, I thought she did a nice job of helping the guards and took a couple charges," Lappe said. "On offense, she was very steady. You could see her confidence tonight and we needed her in the game. She did a nice job not picking up her fifth foul.
"Haley is playing really well right now," Lappe continued. "She's worked a ton on her outside shot and the last three or four games, she's knocked down 15-foot shots at about a 75-percent clip. She doesn't force things and gives what the defense gives her."
For Swan, her 26 points set a new career high and it was also her first double-double of the season and third of her career. She hit 9-of-14 from the field and 8-of-13 from the line. Her 11 rebounds matched her season high and her eight free throws matched her career high while her 13 free throw attempts set a new career high.
"The flow of the game just allowed me to make my shots," Swan said. "Coach Lapped talked to me about just going in and playing and not overthinking."
For Smith, it was her first career double-double and her 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 field goals made all set new career highs. She shot 10-of-14 from the field, hit both her 3-pointers and both her free throws. She also had three assists and a block in 34 minutes of action.
"I'm in a different role this season," Smith said. "My confidence has been a big part of it. We are all hitting the shots they're giving us and not taking any crazy shots."
The game also marked the first time CU has ever had back-to-back overtime contests, the other being an 87-81 double OT win over Colorado State Saturday, and it was the third overtime contest in the first seven games of the season. The Buffs have also scored 87 or more points in three straight games.
Kresl struggled from the field, hitting just 1-of-8 shots, none of her six 3-point attempts, but was clutch when it mattered, also securing two big defensive rebounds in the overtime period. Her six free throws all came in the final 1:14 of the game as the Buffs expanded their slim 91-89 advantage to the final 97-89 margin. She also added nine rebounds and six assists.
The Buffs jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game, as the Spartans didn't get on the scoreboard until Ta'Rea Cunnigan hit a 3-pointer at the 15:52 mark. Smith hit the game's first shot and had two free throws to end that 9-0 run.
After the Spartans Rachol West hit a jumper, was fouled and hit her free throw, the Buffs lead was down to five at 11-6. Lauren Huggins, who hit all four of her 3-pointers in the first half, knocked down her first triple and along with a Reese jumper and two free throws from Swan, the Buffs lead grew back to nine at 18-9.
Zoe Beard-Fails had a nice post-to-post dish to Reese under the basket, and then hit a lay-up of her own to push the Buffs lead to double figures at 22-11, after which the game remained pretty even for most of the rest of the first half.
Huggins hit her second, third and fourth 3-pointers in a span of three minutes on the game clock, each one alternating with a lay-up from Swan, as the Buffs led 35-25 with 7:25 left in the first half. Huggins final 3-pointer was matched by a 3-pointer from Cunnigan to cut the Buffs lead to seven, but then Smith followed a mid-range jumper with a 3-pointer in the span of 12 seconds to push the Buffs lead back to 12 at 40-28.
After a pair of Swan layups and another jumper from Swan, the Buffs led 46-36 with 3:34 remaining in the half. The Spartans used a 10-4 run to cut the Buffs lead to just four at the break, 50-46, powered by 3-poiners from Rebecca Woodberry and Ali Bettencourt.
Woodberry then became a thorn in the Buffs side, as she scored eight straight points to give the Spartans their first lead of the game at 58-56. That lead was short-lived, as Jasmine Sborov hit a triple to put the Buffs back up 59-58.
The Spartans used a 6-0 run to take a five point lead, 64-59 and led 69-63 after a Bettencourt 3, the Buffs would claw their way back into the game on the strength of Swan and Smith. Those two combined for 13 of the first 14 points in a 14-2 run as the Buffs turned their six point deficit into a six point advantage with five minutes left in regulation. Swan hit three lay-ups and three free throws in the run while Smith had a baseline jumper and nice reverse lay-up. Swan also took a huge charge on the defensive end to keep the game tied 71-71 in the midst of that run.
Woodberry then went back to work, hitting four straight free throws on back-to-back possessions to cut the Buffs lead down to two at 77-75. Riana Byrd made it a one-point game hitting 1-of-2 from the line before Brecca Thomas hit her only shot of the game, a huge 3-pointer to put the Buffs up 80-76 with 3:34 left.
Reese then had a layup on the Buffs next possession and with a 82-76 lead with less than three minutes left, the Buffs looked to be in good shape, but the Spartans had one more run in them, outscoring the Buffs 9-3 down the stretch, capped by a Cunnigan layup with just 3.0 seconds left, that tied the game at 85-85. Woodberry continued to hurt the Buffs, knocking down two free throws and hitting a 3-pointer with 1:54 left that made it a two point game.
San Jose State took the initial overtime lead after Byrd hit a layup to open the period, but the Buffs then took control as Smith hit two jumpers and Swan another to give the Buffs a 91-87 lead three-and-a-half minutes into the extra period.
Smith quickly tied the game at 87-87 less than a minute into overtime, then Swan completed a great post move that started that the high post and included a nifty spin move to put the Buffs up for the final time at 89-87. The Buffs then bucked down on the defensive end and controlled the boards for the next three possessions. After Lappe called a timeout with 1:42 left, the next play to Smith, including a pump fake, she dribbled once, hit her shot to put CU up 91-78 with 1:34 left.
After Cunnigan hit two free throws at the 1:26 mark, Kresl went to work, first drawing a foul and hitting two freebies at the 1:12 mark and then grabbing huge defensive rebounds and being fouled immediately. Her third and fourth free throws came with just 31 seconds left, making it 95-89, and her final two with just 16 seconds left, making the game 97-89.
