Thursday, March 2
Seattle, Wash.
7:00 PM
Colorado
15-15, 5-13
78
vs
79
Washington State
12-18, 6-12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
25
8
25
20
78
Washington State
13
24
28
14
79
Senior Haley Smith (22) led the Buffs with 21 points against the Cougars.
Photo by: Sean Kent
Buffs Ousted From Pac-12 Tournament As Late Rally Falls Short
March 02, 2017 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
WSU holds on for 79-78 win; CU hopes 15-15 mark good enough for WNIT
SEATTLE – Down by nine points in the fourth quarter, the Colorado women's basketball team battled back to within one before falling 79-78 to Washington State on Thursday night in the opening round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
Redshirt freshman Monica Burich, shooting for Kennedy Leonard, missed a game-tying free throw attempt with 12 seconds to play after Leonard hit the floor on a layup that cut CU's deficit to 79-78. Trainers came on the floor to attend to Leonard, sending her to the bench for one possession.
The No. 10-seeded Buffaloes' final possession ended with a missed jump shot by Ariana Freeman, closing out JR Payne's first season at 15-15 and launching a waiting game for a possible WNIT bid.
"We got exactly what we wanted," Payne said of the final possession. "We got our best finisher near the basket with a ball and an opportunity to score the ball. We've said all year long, Ariana makes the toughest shots of any player we've ever coached."
CU had four players in double figures, topped by Haley Smith with 21 points. Alexis Robinson added 17, Freeman scored 16 and Makenzie Ellis 11. Leonard, the Buffs' leading scorer, finished with 8 points, going 3-of-13 from the field.
CU fell to 3-2 in Pac-12 first-round games and 5-6 overall in the tourney since joining the conference for the 2011-12 season. The Buffs and Cougars split their regular season games, with CU winning 70-58 in Boulder before dropping a 67-56 decision last Saturday in Pullman, Wash.
Alexys Swedlund had a game-high 23 points for the No. 7-seeded Cougars (12-18), who advance to play No. 2 seed Stanford on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED: After falling behind 16-0 on Saturday in Pullman, the Buffs opened Thursday's rematch apparently determined to not permit a replay – and they didn't.
Getting balanced scoring from its starters, CU roared to a 17-4 advantage and led 25-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Buffs led by as many as 14 points in the period, taking a 23-9 lead after back-to-back baskets – including a trey – by freshman guard Quinessa Caylao-Do.
But the early CU flourish that featured 10-of-16 shooting from the field (63 percent) withered quickly.
Wazzu opened the second quarter with a 17-0 run, with Swedlund scoring 12 points, and pulled ahead 30-25 before Freeman scored the Buffs' first points of the period with 2:54 before intermission.
"We've been talking about [getting off to a fast start] since we left Pullman last weekend, so I knew we'd come out aggressive," Payne said. "I knew we'd be really tenacious. That was the game plan going in, and we executed it perfectly. We just got in a tough spot with our starting lineup all in foul trouble. That was hard to overcome."
Freeman then accounted for CU's next four points and Smith added another basket for a 6-0 run that pushed the Buffs back ahead 33-32. But the Cougars answered with the second quarter's final five points – the last three on a step-back trey with 2 seconds left before halftime that sent WSU into its locker room with a 37-34 lead as three of CU's five starters sat for much of the second quarter with foul trouble.
After its torrid start, CU went only 4-of-10 from the field in the second period to finish 14-of-26 (54 percent) for the half. The Buffs were out-rebounded 17-11, with each team committing 12 first-half turnovers. Freeman (10 points) and Swedlund (13) were the only two players in double figures.
If they hoped to advance to Friday night, a better second-half was mandatory for the Buffs. They got it with an 8-3 opening run, getting a jumper by Ellis that preceded 3-pointers by Smith and Robinson.
But the Cougars were finding their stroke from beyond the arc. Of their six field goals counting Hailey's final shot of the first half, five were 3-pointers – including another pair by Swedlund.
That long-range accuracy enabled WSU to build its lead to 48-41. And after another three treys to close out the period the Cougars entered the final quarter 10-of-16 from beyond the arc and still leading by 7 (65-58).
With Freeman scoring six of CU's first nine points of the fourth quarter, the Buffs closed to within 68-67 with 6:58 to play. But they wouldn't score another field goal for almost 5 minutes (4:56), and the Cougars outscored them 8-1 to take a 76-68 advantage with 2:18 remaining.
Robinson's trey at the 2:02 mark brought CU to 76-71, and less than a minute later a Smith 3-pointer closed the Buffs' deficit to 77-74 with 1:08 left.
CU regained possession on a steal by Leonard and called timeout with 25 seconds to play. Coming out of the timeout Swedlund fouled Leonard, who hit both free throws to cut the deficit to 77-76 with 19 seconds left.
Calla Hailey's pair of free throws gave WSU a 79-76 lead, but Leonard's layup brought CU to 79-78 with 12 seconds remaining. She was fouled on the basket, but couldn't shoot the free throw.
Burich, an 83 percent free throw shooter, came off the bench cold to attempt the tying foul shot but missed. The Buffs had one more possession but a Freeman jumper wouldn't fall.
TURNING POINT: Coming back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to within 68-67, the Buffs encountered an almost 5-minute span without a field goal. Still, they came within a free throw of tying the game in the final 12 seconds.
CU STANDOUTS: Smith went 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 1-of-1 from the foul line . . . . Robinson was 6-of-9 from the field and missed only one of her six 3-point attempts, had a team-best six rebounds and added three assists before fouling out. Her five made treys were a career high . . . . Ellis, who also fouled out, was 4-of-9 from the field and grabbed five rebounds . . . . Leonard dished out a game-high six assists and had a game-best six steals.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were out-rebounded 39-21, costing them a 20-4 disadvantage in second-chance points. . . . In the two regular-season meetings, CU forced an astounding 54 turnovers – 27 in each game. On Thursday night, the Buffs forced 26 turnovers . . . . WSU hit 10-of-17 3-pointers, CU 11-of-20 . . . . The Buffs shot 49 percent (31-of-63) from the field, the Cougars 53 percent (29-of-55) . . . . CU scored 24 points off of WSU's 26 turnovers, WSU scored 17 off of CU's 17.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs lost back-to-back games to the Cougars, with the second of the two undoubtedly the most painful. But it underscored what this CU team has done all season – never roll over. Now, finishing becomes a priority for next season.
NOTEWORTHY: CU's 25 points in the first quarter matched a season high against Pac-12 opponents (also had 25 against Oregon on Feb. 19) . . . . WSU went on a 19-2 run midway through the second quarter to overcome a 14-point CU lead and go ahead 30-25 . . . . CU forced 27, 27 and 26 turnovers in three meetings with WSU this season, but went 1-2 in those games . . . . This is the second consecutive season the Buffs have lost in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
NEXT UP: The Buffs will await word for a possible invitation to the WNIT.
QUOTEWORTHY: Transcript from postgame press conference
JR Payne, head coach:
Opening statement:
"I'm here supporting our team in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. I say this every time, and I mean it with all my heart every time, I'm unbelievably proud of our team. I'm proud to be their coach, I'm proud to be a Buffalo.
"Our kids played their hearts out. And that's who we are. We've been down in games. We're younger than our opponents, we're smaller than our opponents, but we never stop fighting. I don't know what else I could ask for as a coach. To have a group of young women that play their hearts out every night and never give up and continue to fight and continue to scarp. I'm unbelievably proud to be a Buffalo today."
Q. Coach, walk me through that final play. What were you trying to draw up there?
"We got exactly what we wanted. We got our best finisher near the basket with a ball and an opportunity to score the ball. We've said all year long, Ariana makes the toughest shots of any player we've ever coached. She doesn't always make the easy ones, but she makes the tough ones, and that was a tough one. But it was a simple up-screen and created an overload two-on-one on the weak side, and we got what we wanted."
Q. Take me through the start of that one, went off on a 17-4 run to start the game. Where did that intensity come from?
"We've been talking about that since we left Pullman last weekend, so I knew we'd come out aggressive. I knew we'd be really tenacious. That was the game plan going in, and we executed it perfectly. We just got in a tough spot with our starting lineup all in foul trouble. That was hard to overcome."
Haley Smith, senior
Q. Haley, you finished with 21 points tonight. What was allowing you to get the looks that you did?
"I think that since we had just played in Pullman last week, we kind of knew what our looks were going to be. We were really looking to attack from the corner and have shooter spot up. I think we executed that really well, and we were able to attack the way we wanted to. Yeah, kind of our spread motion was look working really well. And yeah, we were just able to kick it out to shooters and pretty much get whatever we wanted either at the rim or on the three-point line."
Q. Do you think your season will continue after this?
"Absolutely. I'm certainly hoping so, yeah."
Ariana Freeman, sophomore
Q. Ari, you had a very good game today. You were very aggressive. Talk about what was working for you so well tonight?
"Like Haley said, we just got done playing them, so we knew attacking the baseline was going to be wide open, so I just stuck to the game plan."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Redshirt freshman Monica Burich, shooting for Kennedy Leonard, missed a game-tying free throw attempt with 12 seconds to play after Leonard hit the floor on a layup that cut CU's deficit to 79-78. Trainers came on the floor to attend to Leonard, sending her to the bench for one possession.
The No. 10-seeded Buffaloes' final possession ended with a missed jump shot by Ariana Freeman, closing out JR Payne's first season at 15-15 and launching a waiting game for a possible WNIT bid.
"We got exactly what we wanted," Payne said of the final possession. "We got our best finisher near the basket with a ball and an opportunity to score the ball. We've said all year long, Ariana makes the toughest shots of any player we've ever coached."
CU had four players in double figures, topped by Haley Smith with 21 points. Alexis Robinson added 17, Freeman scored 16 and Makenzie Ellis 11. Leonard, the Buffs' leading scorer, finished with 8 points, going 3-of-13 from the field.
CU fell to 3-2 in Pac-12 first-round games and 5-6 overall in the tourney since joining the conference for the 2011-12 season. The Buffs and Cougars split their regular season games, with CU winning 70-58 in Boulder before dropping a 67-56 decision last Saturday in Pullman, Wash.
Alexys Swedlund had a game-high 23 points for the No. 7-seeded Cougars (12-18), who advance to play No. 2 seed Stanford on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED: After falling behind 16-0 on Saturday in Pullman, the Buffs opened Thursday's rematch apparently determined to not permit a replay – and they didn't.
Getting balanced scoring from its starters, CU roared to a 17-4 advantage and led 25-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Buffs led by as many as 14 points in the period, taking a 23-9 lead after back-to-back baskets – including a trey – by freshman guard Quinessa Caylao-Do.
But the early CU flourish that featured 10-of-16 shooting from the field (63 percent) withered quickly.
Wazzu opened the second quarter with a 17-0 run, with Swedlund scoring 12 points, and pulled ahead 30-25 before Freeman scored the Buffs' first points of the period with 2:54 before intermission.
"We've been talking about [getting off to a fast start] since we left Pullman last weekend, so I knew we'd come out aggressive," Payne said. "I knew we'd be really tenacious. That was the game plan going in, and we executed it perfectly. We just got in a tough spot with our starting lineup all in foul trouble. That was hard to overcome."
Freeman then accounted for CU's next four points and Smith added another basket for a 6-0 run that pushed the Buffs back ahead 33-32. But the Cougars answered with the second quarter's final five points – the last three on a step-back trey with 2 seconds left before halftime that sent WSU into its locker room with a 37-34 lead as three of CU's five starters sat for much of the second quarter with foul trouble.
After its torrid start, CU went only 4-of-10 from the field in the second period to finish 14-of-26 (54 percent) for the half. The Buffs were out-rebounded 17-11, with each team committing 12 first-half turnovers. Freeman (10 points) and Swedlund (13) were the only two players in double figures.
If they hoped to advance to Friday night, a better second-half was mandatory for the Buffs. They got it with an 8-3 opening run, getting a jumper by Ellis that preceded 3-pointers by Smith and Robinson.
But the Cougars were finding their stroke from beyond the arc. Of their six field goals counting Hailey's final shot of the first half, five were 3-pointers – including another pair by Swedlund.
That long-range accuracy enabled WSU to build its lead to 48-41. And after another three treys to close out the period the Cougars entered the final quarter 10-of-16 from beyond the arc and still leading by 7 (65-58).
With Freeman scoring six of CU's first nine points of the fourth quarter, the Buffs closed to within 68-67 with 6:58 to play. But they wouldn't score another field goal for almost 5 minutes (4:56), and the Cougars outscored them 8-1 to take a 76-68 advantage with 2:18 remaining.
Robinson's trey at the 2:02 mark brought CU to 76-71, and less than a minute later a Smith 3-pointer closed the Buffs' deficit to 77-74 with 1:08 left.
CU regained possession on a steal by Leonard and called timeout with 25 seconds to play. Coming out of the timeout Swedlund fouled Leonard, who hit both free throws to cut the deficit to 77-76 with 19 seconds left.
Calla Hailey's pair of free throws gave WSU a 79-76 lead, but Leonard's layup brought CU to 79-78 with 12 seconds remaining. She was fouled on the basket, but couldn't shoot the free throw.
Burich, an 83 percent free throw shooter, came off the bench cold to attempt the tying foul shot but missed. The Buffs had one more possession but a Freeman jumper wouldn't fall.
TURNING POINT: Coming back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to within 68-67, the Buffs encountered an almost 5-minute span without a field goal. Still, they came within a free throw of tying the game in the final 12 seconds.
CU STANDOUTS: Smith went 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 1-of-1 from the foul line . . . . Robinson was 6-of-9 from the field and missed only one of her six 3-point attempts, had a team-best six rebounds and added three assists before fouling out. Her five made treys were a career high . . . . Ellis, who also fouled out, was 4-of-9 from the field and grabbed five rebounds . . . . Leonard dished out a game-high six assists and had a game-best six steals.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were out-rebounded 39-21, costing them a 20-4 disadvantage in second-chance points. . . . In the two regular-season meetings, CU forced an astounding 54 turnovers – 27 in each game. On Thursday night, the Buffs forced 26 turnovers . . . . WSU hit 10-of-17 3-pointers, CU 11-of-20 . . . . The Buffs shot 49 percent (31-of-63) from the field, the Cougars 53 percent (29-of-55) . . . . CU scored 24 points off of WSU's 26 turnovers, WSU scored 17 off of CU's 17.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs lost back-to-back games to the Cougars, with the second of the two undoubtedly the most painful. But it underscored what this CU team has done all season – never roll over. Now, finishing becomes a priority for next season.
NOTEWORTHY: CU's 25 points in the first quarter matched a season high against Pac-12 opponents (also had 25 against Oregon on Feb. 19) . . . . WSU went on a 19-2 run midway through the second quarter to overcome a 14-point CU lead and go ahead 30-25 . . . . CU forced 27, 27 and 26 turnovers in three meetings with WSU this season, but went 1-2 in those games . . . . This is the second consecutive season the Buffs have lost in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
NEXT UP: The Buffs will await word for a possible invitation to the WNIT.
QUOTEWORTHY: Transcript from postgame press conference
JR Payne, head coach:
Opening statement:
"I'm here supporting our team in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. I say this every time, and I mean it with all my heart every time, I'm unbelievably proud of our team. I'm proud to be their coach, I'm proud to be a Buffalo.
"Our kids played their hearts out. And that's who we are. We've been down in games. We're younger than our opponents, we're smaller than our opponents, but we never stop fighting. I don't know what else I could ask for as a coach. To have a group of young women that play their hearts out every night and never give up and continue to fight and continue to scarp. I'm unbelievably proud to be a Buffalo today."
Q. Coach, walk me through that final play. What were you trying to draw up there?
"We got exactly what we wanted. We got our best finisher near the basket with a ball and an opportunity to score the ball. We've said all year long, Ariana makes the toughest shots of any player we've ever coached. She doesn't always make the easy ones, but she makes the tough ones, and that was a tough one. But it was a simple up-screen and created an overload two-on-one on the weak side, and we got what we wanted."
Q. Take me through the start of that one, went off on a 17-4 run to start the game. Where did that intensity come from?
"We've been talking about that since we left Pullman last weekend, so I knew we'd come out aggressive. I knew we'd be really tenacious. That was the game plan going in, and we executed it perfectly. We just got in a tough spot with our starting lineup all in foul trouble. That was hard to overcome."
Haley Smith, senior
Q. Haley, you finished with 21 points tonight. What was allowing you to get the looks that you did?
"I think that since we had just played in Pullman last week, we kind of knew what our looks were going to be. We were really looking to attack from the corner and have shooter spot up. I think we executed that really well, and we were able to attack the way we wanted to. Yeah, kind of our spread motion was look working really well. And yeah, we were just able to kick it out to shooters and pretty much get whatever we wanted either at the rim or on the three-point line."
Q. Do you think your season will continue after this?
"Absolutely. I'm certainly hoping so, yeah."
Ariana Freeman, sophomore
Q. Ari, you had a very good game today. You were very aggressive. Talk about what was working for you so well tonight?
"Like Haley said, we just got done playing them, so we knew attacking the baseline was going to be wide open, so I just stuck to the game plan."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
COLO
WSU
FG%
.492
.527
3FG%
.550
.588
FT%
.500
.579
RB
21
39
TO
17
26
STL
13
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
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