Thursday, February 1
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
Colorado
12-10, 3-8
69
at
65
Utah
14-8, 5-6
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
14
13
22
20
69
UTAH
20
13
14
18
65
Photo by: Ed Kosmicki
Leonard's Big Night Sparks Huge Comeback As Buffs Win 69-65 At Utah
February 01, 2018 | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Kennedy Leonard tied a career high with 31 points as Colorado recovered from an atrocious start to win 69-65 at Utah on Thursday night. The win snapped a six-game losing streak as the Buffs improved to 12-10 overall and 3-8 in the Pac-12. Utah dropped to 14-8 and 5-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU could not have had a tougher start as the Buffs missed their first 16 shot attempts and trailed 16-0 midway through the first quarter. After Aubrey Knight hit 1-of-2 free throws with 4:20 left in the first quarter to get CU on the board and Leonard and Jank combined to hit three consecutive 3-pointers and the Buffs went on a 12-0 run to get within 16-12 and ended up trailing 20-14 heading into the second quarter.
CU pulled within two points at 29-27 after a layup by Leonard with 3:55 left in the half, but that was as close as the Buffs would get before halftime as Utah led 33-27 at the break after holding CU to 27.5 percent shooting.
Utah quickly built its lead to 11 just 45 seconds into the second quarter as the Utes buried a 3-pointer and then scored in transition on its first two possessions. But again the Buffs fought back, scoring three straight layups, including a steal and layup in transition by Leonard, as they cut the deficit to 38-33 at the 7:22 mark.
Colorado then used a 14-0 run late in the third quarter to take its first lead of the game. Leonard scored a transition layup and drew the foul, hitting the free throw to tie the game at 44-44 with 2:49 left. She scored another layup for a 46-44 lead with 1:11 left in the third, the first lead for the Buffs in the game. Brecca Thomas then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession to cap the run, putting CU in front 49-44.
The 14-0 run stretched into a 20-3 run into the fourth quarter as Thomas stayed hot, hitting back-to-back jumpers to put the Buffs ahead 55-47 with 8:02 remaining in the game.
CU led 60-52 with 6:45 left in the game, but the Utes climbed back into it. The Buffs went scoreless over the next six-and-a-half minutes until Leonard hit a layup through traffic with 28 seconds left to put the Buffs up 64-61.
Utah answered right back as Tilar Clark drove into the lane and laid a basket in around a CU defender with 14.1 seconds to go.
Leonard then made a pair of free throws with 10.3 seconds left for a 66-63 lead. Clark sunk two free throws with 6.4 second remaining for Utah and Robinson made 1-of-2 with 5.1 seconds on the clock, bringing the margin to 67-65.
Utah turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds and Leonard sealed the win at the free throw line with 2.6 seconds left.
STAT LEADERS: Leonard shot 12-of-24 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and hit all five of her free throw attempts in the game. She also had eight assists in the game and scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter when she hit four free throws in the final 11 seconds, and 21 of her points were in the second half.
Thomas scored 13 points and hit 6-of-9 from the floor, scoring all of her points in the second half. Annika Jank had seven points and nine rebounds as well.
CU's comeback overshadowed two Utes players with double-doubles as Megan Huff had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Emily Potter had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: CU shot 38.4 percent in the game, but 51.5 percent in the second half, while committing a season-low eight turnovers. That helped overcome Utah outrebounding the Buffs 49-42.
NOTES: Leonard's 31 points tied a career high set last season against Colorado State ... it was the second time this season that CU has dug itself into a 16-0 hole to start the game (also vs. UCLA); CU missed its first 16 shot attempts vs. Utah) ... Leonard and Thomas shot a combined 18-for-33 (.545), while the rest of the team was 10-for-40 (.250) ... CU's eight turnovers were a season low ... it was the third time this season CU has overcome a double-digit deficit to win (trailed by 17 at Samford on Nov. 10 and by 13 at Washington on Jan. 7) ... CU is averaging 10.5 turnovers over the past four games after averaging 18.2 over the first 18 games.
UP NEXT: The two teams will play a rematch in Boulder on Sunday at noon at the Coors Events Center.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Coach JR Payne
On the 16-0 deficit
"You know what's really neat, you never want to start a game like that, but the tenacity, we dug deep, we didn't rely on any one person to save the day. We really went possession by possession. It was a great team effort tonight."
On how key Brecca Thomas was off the bench
"There were so many people who played their role tonight. For our team to be down that big and everybody buying in to do their job. We talked pregame about being a hero in their role tonight. Brecca Thomas came in off the bench. She had foul trouble in the first half, but came in and hit three big shots. Aubrey's down there, she's 150 pounds soaking wet going against Potter. I could talk all day about our mental toughness."
On Utah being a good shooting team
"They have so many good shooters on their team. We felt we were trying to be active defensively, our communication was better. We weren't doing anything abnormal. We were aggressive in transition off those turnovers."
On Leonard's play in the fourth quarter
"Kennedy had big buckets and big free throws down the stretch, when the game was on the line. You could tell she was comfortable and wanted it."
Kennedy Leonard
On the game
"Everything runs through me at the point guard. We ran a lot of plays that way. I think on my first shot I bricked it off the backboard, but my teammates got it going, I got it going."
On the key to the comeback
"The weird thing is, Coach Payne wrote on the board that adversity is an obstacle that will build you up. We got punched in the mouth, we had adversity out of the gate. At the timeouts, we said stop, score, stop, that's what we do in practice. Nobody was getting mad at each other. We're all comfortable with whomever had their ball in the game. I'm really proud of everybody, we showed a ton of fight. I'm really glad we got one tonight."
On getting ready for a rematch on Sunday
"I know tonight I'm going to sleep like a baby and get my rest. The biggest thing is we can't let them get off to a 16-point start. We did it tonight, but you can't do it night in and night out, that's hard to overcome. We won on their home court, we know they're mad about that and they'll come after us. If we understand that, we'll be ok."
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU could not have had a tougher start as the Buffs missed their first 16 shot attempts and trailed 16-0 midway through the first quarter. After Aubrey Knight hit 1-of-2 free throws with 4:20 left in the first quarter to get CU on the board and Leonard and Jank combined to hit three consecutive 3-pointers and the Buffs went on a 12-0 run to get within 16-12 and ended up trailing 20-14 heading into the second quarter.
CU pulled within two points at 29-27 after a layup by Leonard with 3:55 left in the half, but that was as close as the Buffs would get before halftime as Utah led 33-27 at the break after holding CU to 27.5 percent shooting.
Utah quickly built its lead to 11 just 45 seconds into the second quarter as the Utes buried a 3-pointer and then scored in transition on its first two possessions. But again the Buffs fought back, scoring three straight layups, including a steal and layup in transition by Leonard, as they cut the deficit to 38-33 at the 7:22 mark.
Colorado then used a 14-0 run late in the third quarter to take its first lead of the game. Leonard scored a transition layup and drew the foul, hitting the free throw to tie the game at 44-44 with 2:49 left. She scored another layup for a 46-44 lead with 1:11 left in the third, the first lead for the Buffs in the game. Brecca Thomas then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession to cap the run, putting CU in front 49-44.
The 14-0 run stretched into a 20-3 run into the fourth quarter as Thomas stayed hot, hitting back-to-back jumpers to put the Buffs ahead 55-47 with 8:02 remaining in the game.
CU led 60-52 with 6:45 left in the game, but the Utes climbed back into it. The Buffs went scoreless over the next six-and-a-half minutes until Leonard hit a layup through traffic with 28 seconds left to put the Buffs up 64-61.
Utah answered right back as Tilar Clark drove into the lane and laid a basket in around a CU defender with 14.1 seconds to go.
Leonard then made a pair of free throws with 10.3 seconds left for a 66-63 lead. Clark sunk two free throws with 6.4 second remaining for Utah and Robinson made 1-of-2 with 5.1 seconds on the clock, bringing the margin to 67-65.
Utah turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds and Leonard sealed the win at the free throw line with 2.6 seconds left.
STAT LEADERS: Leonard shot 12-of-24 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and hit all five of her free throw attempts in the game. She also had eight assists in the game and scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter when she hit four free throws in the final 11 seconds, and 21 of her points were in the second half.
Thomas scored 13 points and hit 6-of-9 from the floor, scoring all of her points in the second half. Annika Jank had seven points and nine rebounds as well.
CU's comeback overshadowed two Utes players with double-doubles as Megan Huff had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Emily Potter had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: CU shot 38.4 percent in the game, but 51.5 percent in the second half, while committing a season-low eight turnovers. That helped overcome Utah outrebounding the Buffs 49-42.
NOTES: Leonard's 31 points tied a career high set last season against Colorado State ... it was the second time this season that CU has dug itself into a 16-0 hole to start the game (also vs. UCLA); CU missed its first 16 shot attempts vs. Utah) ... Leonard and Thomas shot a combined 18-for-33 (.545), while the rest of the team was 10-for-40 (.250) ... CU's eight turnovers were a season low ... it was the third time this season CU has overcome a double-digit deficit to win (trailed by 17 at Samford on Nov. 10 and by 13 at Washington on Jan. 7) ... CU is averaging 10.5 turnovers over the past four games after averaging 18.2 over the first 18 games.
UP NEXT: The two teams will play a rematch in Boulder on Sunday at noon at the Coors Events Center.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Coach JR Payne
On the 16-0 deficit
"You know what's really neat, you never want to start a game like that, but the tenacity, we dug deep, we didn't rely on any one person to save the day. We really went possession by possession. It was a great team effort tonight."
On how key Brecca Thomas was off the bench
"There were so many people who played their role tonight. For our team to be down that big and everybody buying in to do their job. We talked pregame about being a hero in their role tonight. Brecca Thomas came in off the bench. She had foul trouble in the first half, but came in and hit three big shots. Aubrey's down there, she's 150 pounds soaking wet going against Potter. I could talk all day about our mental toughness."
On Utah being a good shooting team
"They have so many good shooters on their team. We felt we were trying to be active defensively, our communication was better. We weren't doing anything abnormal. We were aggressive in transition off those turnovers."
On Leonard's play in the fourth quarter
"Kennedy had big buckets and big free throws down the stretch, when the game was on the line. You could tell she was comfortable and wanted it."
Kennedy Leonard
On the game
"Everything runs through me at the point guard. We ran a lot of plays that way. I think on my first shot I bricked it off the backboard, but my teammates got it going, I got it going."
On the key to the comeback
"The weird thing is, Coach Payne wrote on the board that adversity is an obstacle that will build you up. We got punched in the mouth, we had adversity out of the gate. At the timeouts, we said stop, score, stop, that's what we do in practice. Nobody was getting mad at each other. We're all comfortable with whomever had their ball in the game. I'm really proud of everybody, we showed a ton of fight. I'm really glad we got one tonight."
On getting ready for a rematch on Sunday
"I know tonight I'm going to sleep like a baby and get my rest. The biggest thing is we can't let them get off to a 16-point start. We did it tonight, but you can't do it night in and night out, that's hard to overcome. We won on their home court, we know they're mad about that and they'll come after us. If we understand that, we'll be ok."
Team Stats
COLO
UTAHW
FG%
.384
.359
3FG%
.462
.214
FT%
.700
.800
RB
42
49
TO
8
14
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
31
FGM
12
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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