Colorado
15-12,5-11 P-12
Oregon
18-10,8-8Pac-12
Smith Scores 1,000th Point As Buffs Win On Senior Day
February 19, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Colorado will finish out regular season in Washington next weekend
BOULDER - Haley Smith scored her 1,000th career point in her final regular-season home game on Sunday as Colorado got a 76-66 win over the Oregon Ducks (18-10, 8-8 Pac-12) on Senior Day.
Coors Events Center saw its largest women's basketball crowd since March 2, 2014 against USC with the attendance on Sunday being 3,988.
The Buffaloes (15-12 overall, 5-11 Pac-12) head to Washington next weekend to finish out their regular season on the road at Washington (24-4, 12-3 Pac-12) then Washington State (10-16, 5-10 Pac-12).
HOW IT HAPPENED: Whether the Buffs were feeling the emotion of senior day or not it wasn't apparent as they come out firing on the Ducks quickly Sunday afternoon.
Leading the way was Mackenzie Ellis and Smith as they started the Buffs off fast with back-to-back three's from deep in the field. Rebounding, which had been a struggle for the Buffs recently, showed no signs of issues early on as Smith was aggressive inside the paint on both sides of the ball.
The Buffs 25 points were the most first quarter points for CU since scoring 25 against Colorado State on Dec. 8. Smith scored her most points since Jan. 6 against Arizona when she had 12 in the game in just the first half alone - only fitting for the senior on senior day.
By the end of the first half the Buffs went into the locker with a 17 point lead and three Buffs in double digits - Smith (12 pts), Alexis Robinson (11 pts) and Kennedy Leonard (10 pts). They were shooting an impressive 50 percent from the field as the Ducks were shooting a low 39 percent.
"I think part of our (less impressive) rebounding numbers today is that we shot the ball so well. The other night we had more opportunities to rebounds because we missed a lot more shots," Coach Payne said. "Rebounding for us is a work in progress—the effort we saw is what we want."Coming out of the locker room the Buffs never faltered. They continued their dominance from the field, shooting 58 percent and 75 percent from the line.
"It shows what we're capable of," Coach Payne said on shooting from the field. "I don't know that there's tons of games where we'll shoot 50% for the entire game, but it shows what we're capable of."
The defense of Coach Payne's campaign was strong today - though rebounding numbers weren't as impressive as the Buffs shooting percentages, defensively the Buffs never slowed down in their efforts.
Smith cherished the last time she would play at Coors Events Center today as she led the Buffs in scoring with 23 points. It was in the fourth period when she laid it up to hit her 1,000 career point mark.
"We thrive when we can create offense from our defense, so we are getting steals and turnovers, and able to really hit them downhill off the rebounds is when we do the best, said Smith. "Think this is how we want to play and shows how we want to play and how we should be playing. So when we are able to hit them downhill and force them to make a decision, draw a foul, I think that is when we play the best."
TURNING POINT: Buffs came out aggressive in shooting straight from tip-off getting a quick lead and never losing it for the remainder of the game.
CU STANDOUTS: Smith had her second double-double this season (23 pts, 11 rebounds). … Four Buffs were in the double digits today; Smith (23 pts), Robinson (14 pts), Ellis and Leonard (13 pts). It was the first time this season the Buffs have had four players score in double figures in Pac-12 play. … Leonard also had her second double-double with 13 points and 10 assists ... Ellis had a new career high with four assists.
NOTEWORTHY: Hitting her 1,000 career point mark, Smith is now the 29th player in Colorado history to score over 1,000 points. She is now one of only 15 players in school history with over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Her 23 points were her most since scoring a career-high 31 at UCLA on Jan. 1. … CU's 76 points were a season high in Pac-12 play. … It was the first time CU has shot 50 percent or better against a Pac-12 opponent since the 2015 Pac-12 Tournament against USC in the first round.
QUOTEWORTHY: "Wow what a great day. I love senior day because it's such a great opportunity to honor our seniors, and we have four fantastic seniors that have poured their heart and souls into this program, and into this community and university. I couldn't be more proud of the way we played today, we knew there would be adversity but we stuck together and genuinely played like a team today and I'm very proud of that." Coach JR Payne on the game (general)
"I think we had a tough one on Friday. We had a lot of things that we had to fix and work on but also a lot of good things we took from it. I think that we were able to really apply that. We came out really strong. Of course it is senior day, and seniors are going to come out with a lot of energy and the entire team wants to play well for those seniors. I think it was really good that we came out strong and were able to sustain that for the whole 40." Haley Smith on staying focused the entire game
"I think this is obviously such a big game, it is senior day. I was crying before I even got on the court. I think that it was really important for us to show our fans what we can do. It is our last game at home. We wanted to go out with a bang so that we could build momentum going into the two games into the weekend." Zoe Beard-Fails on her last home game
WHAT IT MEANS: The win today has ensured a .500 record through the regular season with its 15th win today and that makes the Buffs postseason eligible for the first time since 2014. The Buffs will need to finish the regular season strong next weekend in Washington and have a good Pac-12 tournament for hopes of making the NIT.
NEXT UP: Buffs head to Washington to wrap up the regular season next weekend for games at Washington and Washington State.
