Saturday, February 25
Pullman, Wash.
2:00 PM
Colorado
15-14, 5-13
56
at
67
Washington State
11-18, 6-12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
15
13
15
13
56
Washington State
26
11
12
18
67
Kennedy Leonard led CU with 17 points Saturday at Washington State.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buffs Fall Behind Early, Struggle In 67-56 Loss To Cougars
February 25, 2017 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
Chance to create momentum for upcoming Pac-12 tourney is squandered
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State's Beasley Coliseum continues to be a perilous Pac-12 Conference stop for the Colorado women's basketball team.
Sabotaged by a flat start and shooting woes that continued for four quarters, the Buffaloes were beaten 67-56 here Saturday afternoon, dropping them to 1-5 in their six most recent visits to Beasley and enabling the Cougars to snap a five-game losing streak.
Ending the regular season at 15-14 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-12, CU now awaits next week's conference tournament in Seattle. The Buffs closed out the regular season with a 79-46 loss on Thursday night at No. 11 Washington – CU's worst loss of the season – and Saturday's loss to a team the Buffs had beaten 70-58 in Boulder.
CU never led on Saturday, falling behind 16-0 before cutting WSU's advantage to three points on two occasions – once in the second quarter and once in the third.
"We can't start like that," CU coach JR Payne said. "Normally we start really well. For some reason we were really flat. We felt it (at the pregame meal). We felt it in warm-ups and we've got to find a way to not be flat. You can't play against any teams in this conference and come out with not enough energy and that's something that as a group we need to be able to do better."
Trailing by six entering the final period, the Buffs closed to within 57-52 with 3:55 remaining but could come no closer to the Cougars (11-18, 6-12).
Kennedy Leonard (17 points) was the only CU player in double figures.
Alexys Swedlund led WSU with 20 points while Nike McClure blocked 12 CU shots – a Buffs' opponent record.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs' start couldn't have been much worse; just under halfway through the opening quarter they found themselves in a 16-0 hole and didn't get their first point until Haley Smith hit one of two free throws with 5:23 left in the period.
CU's first field goal came 3 seconds later when Makenzie Ellis plucked off a rebound and hit a short jumper. That made the score 16-3, leaving the Buffs with a steep climb ahead of them.
By quarter's end, behind 3-pointers by Smith and Leonard and a couple of layups by Ariana Freeman, they had cut their deficit to 26-15.
A 7-0 run to open the second quarter brought CU to within 26-22 before WSU finally got its first points of the period on a jumper by Penolpi Pavlopoulou.
The Buffs answered with a 3-pointer by Monica Burich, pulling to 28-25 – the closest they'd been since 2-0 – with 4:34 left in the half. But from then until the halftime buzzer, the rim appeared to shrink for CU.
While scoring opportunity after opportunity fizzled or clanked away, WSU closed the half with a trio of treys – one by Pavlopoulou, two by Swedlund – and outscored CU 9-3 in the period's final 3:13.
The Cougars led 37-28 at the break, leaving the Buffs another deficit to make up once the third quarter began.
CU shot just 31 percent (11-of-35) in the first half while WSU was at 58 percent (14-of-24). The Cougars committed 18 turnovers but the Buffs capitalized for only 11 points – one less than the Cougars totaled from the Buffs' 11 miscues.
The Buffs' shooting didn't improve in the first 5:16 of the third quarter; they made just three of their nine field goal attempts as the Cougars kept their lead at seven points – 43-36 – at the quarter's halfway point.
With 1:59 left in the period, CU again crept to within three – 43-40 – on a pair of free throws by Ellis. But the Buffs scored only three more points – a trey by Quinessa Caylao-Do – and faced a 49-43 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
For what it was worth, CU was slowly chipping away: the first quarter deficit had been 11, the halftime deficit was 9. When WSU visited Boulder earlier this season, the Buffs were down 14 points in the third quarter but rallied to win 70-58.
There was no such magic in the rematch. Outscoring CU 7-0 to open the final period, Wazzu opened a 13-point lead – 56-43 – before the Buffs finally got a 3-pointer by Leonard with 5:32 to play.
They managed to pull as close as 57-52 on back-to-back treys by Alexis Robinson – her first points of the game – but the Cougars began a parade to the free throw line.
After Robinson's second 3-pointer with 3:55 to play, WSU shot 14 free throws, making eight of them to hold off CU. For the period, the Cougars were 9-of-19 from the foul line while the Buffs were 2-of-4.
TURNING POINT: The Buffs opened lethargically, falling behind 16-0 and struggling all afternoon to catch up. The hole was too deep, the shooting not good enough.
CU STANDOUTS: Leonard's 17 points came on 6-of-19 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 free throw shooting. She was 2-of-4 from long range and had two assists . . . . Smith finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: CU shot only 29 percent (20-of-69) and hit just 8-of-17 free throws (47 percent) . . . . The Buffs were out-rebounded 49-39 and outscored in the paint 26-18 . . . . WSU's 27 turnovers resulted in only 21 CU points – an indication of the Buffs' inaccuracy from the field as well as McClure's dozen blocks . . . . WSU was 16-of-30 from the free throw line . . . . CU had only 7 assists on 20 made baskets.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs have work to do, questions to answer, before next week's Pac-12 Tournament. After suffering their worst loss of the season against No. 11 U-Dub, Wazzu – reeling from five consecutive losses – could have been a get-well stop to end the regular season. Instead, it opened in nightmarish fashion and ended the same way.
NOTEWORTHY: WSU led 16-0 with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter . . . . CU made just two of its first 10 free throw attempts in the game . . . . WSU's Nike McClure broke the record for most blocked shots against CU, the previous record of 11 held by Brittney Griner (2010 at Baylor) and Pauline Jordan (1989 vs. UNLV) . . . The 27 forced turnovers ties the third most this season for CU . . . . WSU leads the all-time series 7-5, including 5-1 in Pullman.
QUOTEWORTHY
Colorado Coach JR Payne
On the slow start
"I thought we played relatively hard [after the slow start], but with that type of deficit, it's hard to come back against a good team."
On the first half
"Nothing was going inside. I think we were 4-for-18 on layups in the first half and then 2-for-9 from the free throw line. And those are the ones you've got to make. You can't rely on shooting 60 percent from the 3-point line, but you've got to be able to hit free throws and make layups, and when those weren't falling in either regard, then that made it really tough."
On the play of Quinessa Caylao-Do
"Q's been great. She's been playing more and more. This is a team that we had to run a little different offense against, spread them out more. While they're a good rebounding team, they're not like Oregon State where you have big post players in the game defensively to rebound, so we felt like we could spread them out a little bit and get them in transition. In some regards it went well, and in other regards it didn't. The second half, they just beat us on the glass really well."
On getting ready for the Pac-12 Tournament
"I think we need to re-focus on our job, 'What is my job? My job is to be a great screener and a great rebounder; I've got to be able to do that.' So maybe rewind to the basics a little bit. Maybe a readjustment of, we have a new season starting with the conference tournament. Come in with a really positive attitude and really look to get sort of a fresh start."
NEXT UP: The Buffs return to Seattle next week for the Pac-12 Tournament. It opens on Thursday.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Sabotaged by a flat start and shooting woes that continued for four quarters, the Buffaloes were beaten 67-56 here Saturday afternoon, dropping them to 1-5 in their six most recent visits to Beasley and enabling the Cougars to snap a five-game losing streak.
Ending the regular season at 15-14 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-12, CU now awaits next week's conference tournament in Seattle. The Buffs closed out the regular season with a 79-46 loss on Thursday night at No. 11 Washington – CU's worst loss of the season – and Saturday's loss to a team the Buffs had beaten 70-58 in Boulder.
CU never led on Saturday, falling behind 16-0 before cutting WSU's advantage to three points on two occasions – once in the second quarter and once in the third.
"We can't start like that," CU coach JR Payne said. "Normally we start really well. For some reason we were really flat. We felt it (at the pregame meal). We felt it in warm-ups and we've got to find a way to not be flat. You can't play against any teams in this conference and come out with not enough energy and that's something that as a group we need to be able to do better."
Trailing by six entering the final period, the Buffs closed to within 57-52 with 3:55 remaining but could come no closer to the Cougars (11-18, 6-12).
Kennedy Leonard (17 points) was the only CU player in double figures.
Alexys Swedlund led WSU with 20 points while Nike McClure blocked 12 CU shots – a Buffs' opponent record.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs' start couldn't have been much worse; just under halfway through the opening quarter they found themselves in a 16-0 hole and didn't get their first point until Haley Smith hit one of two free throws with 5:23 left in the period.
CU's first field goal came 3 seconds later when Makenzie Ellis plucked off a rebound and hit a short jumper. That made the score 16-3, leaving the Buffs with a steep climb ahead of them.
By quarter's end, behind 3-pointers by Smith and Leonard and a couple of layups by Ariana Freeman, they had cut their deficit to 26-15.
A 7-0 run to open the second quarter brought CU to within 26-22 before WSU finally got its first points of the period on a jumper by Penolpi Pavlopoulou.
The Buffs answered with a 3-pointer by Monica Burich, pulling to 28-25 – the closest they'd been since 2-0 – with 4:34 left in the half. But from then until the halftime buzzer, the rim appeared to shrink for CU.
While scoring opportunity after opportunity fizzled or clanked away, WSU closed the half with a trio of treys – one by Pavlopoulou, two by Swedlund – and outscored CU 9-3 in the period's final 3:13.
The Cougars led 37-28 at the break, leaving the Buffs another deficit to make up once the third quarter began.
CU shot just 31 percent (11-of-35) in the first half while WSU was at 58 percent (14-of-24). The Cougars committed 18 turnovers but the Buffs capitalized for only 11 points – one less than the Cougars totaled from the Buffs' 11 miscues.
The Buffs' shooting didn't improve in the first 5:16 of the third quarter; they made just three of their nine field goal attempts as the Cougars kept their lead at seven points – 43-36 – at the quarter's halfway point.
With 1:59 left in the period, CU again crept to within three – 43-40 – on a pair of free throws by Ellis. But the Buffs scored only three more points – a trey by Quinessa Caylao-Do – and faced a 49-43 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
For what it was worth, CU was slowly chipping away: the first quarter deficit had been 11, the halftime deficit was 9. When WSU visited Boulder earlier this season, the Buffs were down 14 points in the third quarter but rallied to win 70-58.
There was no such magic in the rematch. Outscoring CU 7-0 to open the final period, Wazzu opened a 13-point lead – 56-43 – before the Buffs finally got a 3-pointer by Leonard with 5:32 to play.
They managed to pull as close as 57-52 on back-to-back treys by Alexis Robinson – her first points of the game – but the Cougars began a parade to the free throw line.
After Robinson's second 3-pointer with 3:55 to play, WSU shot 14 free throws, making eight of them to hold off CU. For the period, the Cougars were 9-of-19 from the foul line while the Buffs were 2-of-4.
TURNING POINT: The Buffs opened lethargically, falling behind 16-0 and struggling all afternoon to catch up. The hole was too deep, the shooting not good enough.
CU STANDOUTS: Leonard's 17 points came on 6-of-19 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 free throw shooting. She was 2-of-4 from long range and had two assists . . . . Smith finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: CU shot only 29 percent (20-of-69) and hit just 8-of-17 free throws (47 percent) . . . . The Buffs were out-rebounded 49-39 and outscored in the paint 26-18 . . . . WSU's 27 turnovers resulted in only 21 CU points – an indication of the Buffs' inaccuracy from the field as well as McClure's dozen blocks . . . . WSU was 16-of-30 from the free throw line . . . . CU had only 7 assists on 20 made baskets.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs have work to do, questions to answer, before next week's Pac-12 Tournament. After suffering their worst loss of the season against No. 11 U-Dub, Wazzu – reeling from five consecutive losses – could have been a get-well stop to end the regular season. Instead, it opened in nightmarish fashion and ended the same way.
NOTEWORTHY: WSU led 16-0 with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter . . . . CU made just two of its first 10 free throw attempts in the game . . . . WSU's Nike McClure broke the record for most blocked shots against CU, the previous record of 11 held by Brittney Griner (2010 at Baylor) and Pauline Jordan (1989 vs. UNLV) . . . The 27 forced turnovers ties the third most this season for CU . . . . WSU leads the all-time series 7-5, including 5-1 in Pullman.
QUOTEWORTHY
Colorado Coach JR Payne
On the slow start
"I thought we played relatively hard [after the slow start], but with that type of deficit, it's hard to come back against a good team."
On the first half
"Nothing was going inside. I think we were 4-for-18 on layups in the first half and then 2-for-9 from the free throw line. And those are the ones you've got to make. You can't rely on shooting 60 percent from the 3-point line, but you've got to be able to hit free throws and make layups, and when those weren't falling in either regard, then that made it really tough."
On the play of Quinessa Caylao-Do
"Q's been great. She's been playing more and more. This is a team that we had to run a little different offense against, spread them out more. While they're a good rebounding team, they're not like Oregon State where you have big post players in the game defensively to rebound, so we felt like we could spread them out a little bit and get them in transition. In some regards it went well, and in other regards it didn't. The second half, they just beat us on the glass really well."
On getting ready for the Pac-12 Tournament
"I think we need to re-focus on our job, 'What is my job? My job is to be a great screener and a great rebounder; I've got to be able to do that.' So maybe rewind to the basics a little bit. Maybe a readjustment of, we have a new season starting with the conference tournament. Come in with a really positive attitude and really look to get sort of a fresh start."
NEXT UP: The Buffs return to Seattle next week for the Pac-12 Tournament. It opens on Thursday.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
COLO
WSU
FG%
.290
.468
3FG%
.444
.389
FT%
.471
.533
RB
39
49
TO
16
27
STL
15
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
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