Sunday, February 4
Boulder, Colo.
12:00 PM
Colorado
12-11,3-9Pac-12
74
vs
78
Utah
15-8, 6-6Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Utah
21
14
21
22
78
Colorado
19
16
25
14
74
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buffs Can't Hold On To Fourth-Quarter Lead As Utah Rallies
February 04, 2018 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Colorado could not hold onto a fourth-quarter lead as Utah rallied for a 78-74 win over the Buffs at the Coors Events Center on Sunday. CU dropped to 12-11 overall and 3-9 in the Pac-12, while the Utes improved to 15-8 and 6-6.
Utah avenged CU's win over the Utes in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
STAT LEADERS: Alexis Robinson led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range. She scored 14 points in the second half. Mya Hollingshed also hit 4-of-7 from the outside and provided 16 points off the bench. She had career-highs of nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
Zoe Correal was strong in the paint for CU with 10 points and seven rebounds. Brecca Thomas scored nine points and Kennedy Leonard had eight points and five assists.
Megan Huff led Utah with 21 points and nine rebounds and had eight of her points in the fourth quarter. Daneesha Provo added 18 points, burying all three of her 3-point attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the first half that featured eight ties and three lead changes. Utah held the largest lead of the first half at 10-5 midway through the first, but CU pulled within one point after the first quarter and the two teams went into halftime tied 35-35.
Utah led 46-45 with six minutes left in the third quarter when the Buffs got going. Hollingshed and Annika Jank scored back-to-back layups to give CU a 49-46 lead. A 3-pointer by Hollingshed at the 3:51 mark put the Buffs up 52-48. Altogether, the Buffs used a 13-5 run to take a 58-52 lead with 1:23 left in the quarter, their largest lead of the game.
CU clung to a 60-56 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but a 13-3 Utah run put the visitors back in front 67-63 after back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter by Provo.
Robinson briefly interrupted the run with a 3-pointer at the 7:41 mark, but the Utes answered right back with five more quick points to force CU's second timeout of the fourth quarter with 5:35 remaining, trailing 72-66.
The Buffs didn't go away, however. Hollingshed ended a four-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer at the 3:23 mark, cutting CU's deficit to three, and hit another one with 16 seconds left to bring CU within one point at 75-74.
Utah held a 76-74 lead after Tori Williams made 1-of-2 at the line for the Utes with 14 seconds remaining. Leonard took the ball up the floor and drove for a tough layup that rimmed out on a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds. She tried to grab her own rebound, but stepped on the baseline in the process as Utah took the ball and Provo sunk two free throws with four seconds left to seal the game.
KEY STATISTICS: Both teams committed 16 turnovers and the Buffs outrebounded Utah 38-36, but it was the hot shooting of Utah in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference. The Utes sunk 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the fourth and made 7-of-15 for the game, while also making 19-of-24 at the free throw line. Colorado hit just 7-of-11 free throws.
NOTES: Hollingshed had career highs of nine rebounds and four blocked shots ... Utah entered the game averaging +8.9 rebounds per game and CU outrebounded the Utes by two ... the loss dropped the all-time series to an even 16-16 ... it was Robinson's third 20+ point game this season and the sixth of her career.
UP NEXT: CU will be back in action on at No. 25 California at 8 p.m. MT.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
Opening Statement:
"Alexis Robinson and Zoe Correal were great today. They were hitting big baskets, and rebounding. Alexis led us in rebounds in the first half. The things that ultimately cost us the game were the small technical things. You win and lose ballgames with those details. We are as encouraged as we can be after a loss, because there are things that we need to change that are very fixable. We competed, we beat them on the boards, but we turned the ball over too much and gave up a couple too many threes. Other than that, we played a pretty good ballgame."
On Daneesha Provo hitting three consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth
"It definitely hurt us. I am okay with a shooter making a shot, but what we need to do better is to make proper adjustments. We cannot afford for it to snowball like it did."
On the loss being a missed opportunity to get to towards 15 wins and the postseason
"It was certainly a missed opportunity. I look at this game and think about where we lost this ballgame. It was things like giving up threes, missing box outs, or missing free throws. I try to look at the things we didn't do, and learn from those."
On Mya Hollingshed and Alexis Robinson's shooting
"It kept us in the game. It put us up or brought us back in the game. They made timely shots and shots that we ask them to take and they stepped up and knocked them down with confidence."
On Mya Hollingshed's late 3-pointer to bring the deficit to one point
"That was her shot. She loves to take that shot and had been shooting the ball well all day. It was also something that we didn't run all game so they hadn't seen it yet. It was the best play in our playbook at that time. She stepped up and knocked it down. It was big for a young kid to do that."
Alexis Robinson, Jr., G
On momentum shift in fourth quarter after Provo's threes
"That was a huge momentum shift in the game."
On not being able to close out the game
"They just hit us in the mouth and we couldn't bounce back. We tried and they had us on our heels."
On regrouping and moving forward with confidence
"Yeah definitely, getting two wins in the Bay Area would be a huge confidence boost for us."
Zoe Correal, Sr., C
On the way she battled in the paint
"Coach J always talks about just doing your job and doing what you're supposed to do and that's my job. To be big down low and to try to get buckets and rebounds."
On playing differently in the fourth quarter with four fouls
"I like to be aggressive and I like to battle down in the post. So knowing that I really can't do that does hinder me in a way but I just have to be smarter, keep my hands up, and really be fundamental and still do my job."
On moving forward after this loss
"It's just a win and a loss. We've got to get back in the gym, get back to practice, and gear up for our next game."
Lynne Roberts, Utah head coach
General
"We needed that. I think Colorado is a lot better than their record. They are a good team and they can shoot the three. I have a lot of respect for them. Any win on the road is a good one – I don't care. This is a big rivalry. It was physical. Both teams wanted to win. Players played their hearts out. We are happy to get the win. I thought that fourth quarter is where we pulled away. Huffy [Megan Huff] hit a couple of big shots too. They answered too. They hit some big shots. We are fortunate to get the win."
On being undefeated in Pac-12 play on the road
"Good grief. I don't know. I wish we could duplicate it at home. 5-0 on the road is great. We'll take it. We go on the road next weekend. Stanford and Cal will be tough road games. We have to pack our bags, pack that mentality, and head down that way."
Utah avenged CU's win over the Utes in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
STAT LEADERS: Alexis Robinson led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range. She scored 14 points in the second half. Mya Hollingshed also hit 4-of-7 from the outside and provided 16 points off the bench. She had career-highs of nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
Zoe Correal was strong in the paint for CU with 10 points and seven rebounds. Brecca Thomas scored nine points and Kennedy Leonard had eight points and five assists.
Megan Huff led Utah with 21 points and nine rebounds and had eight of her points in the fourth quarter. Daneesha Provo added 18 points, burying all three of her 3-point attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the first half that featured eight ties and three lead changes. Utah held the largest lead of the first half at 10-5 midway through the first, but CU pulled within one point after the first quarter and the two teams went into halftime tied 35-35.
Utah led 46-45 with six minutes left in the third quarter when the Buffs got going. Hollingshed and Annika Jank scored back-to-back layups to give CU a 49-46 lead. A 3-pointer by Hollingshed at the 3:51 mark put the Buffs up 52-48. Altogether, the Buffs used a 13-5 run to take a 58-52 lead with 1:23 left in the quarter, their largest lead of the game.
CU clung to a 60-56 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but a 13-3 Utah run put the visitors back in front 67-63 after back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter by Provo.
Robinson briefly interrupted the run with a 3-pointer at the 7:41 mark, but the Utes answered right back with five more quick points to force CU's second timeout of the fourth quarter with 5:35 remaining, trailing 72-66.
The Buffs didn't go away, however. Hollingshed ended a four-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer at the 3:23 mark, cutting CU's deficit to three, and hit another one with 16 seconds left to bring CU within one point at 75-74.
Utah held a 76-74 lead after Tori Williams made 1-of-2 at the line for the Utes with 14 seconds remaining. Leonard took the ball up the floor and drove for a tough layup that rimmed out on a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds. She tried to grab her own rebound, but stepped on the baseline in the process as Utah took the ball and Provo sunk two free throws with four seconds left to seal the game.
KEY STATISTICS: Both teams committed 16 turnovers and the Buffs outrebounded Utah 38-36, but it was the hot shooting of Utah in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference. The Utes sunk 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the fourth and made 7-of-15 for the game, while also making 19-of-24 at the free throw line. Colorado hit just 7-of-11 free throws.
NOTES: Hollingshed had career highs of nine rebounds and four blocked shots ... Utah entered the game averaging +8.9 rebounds per game and CU outrebounded the Utes by two ... the loss dropped the all-time series to an even 16-16 ... it was Robinson's third 20+ point game this season and the sixth of her career.
UP NEXT: CU will be back in action on at No. 25 California at 8 p.m. MT.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
Opening Statement:
"Alexis Robinson and Zoe Correal were great today. They were hitting big baskets, and rebounding. Alexis led us in rebounds in the first half. The things that ultimately cost us the game were the small technical things. You win and lose ballgames with those details. We are as encouraged as we can be after a loss, because there are things that we need to change that are very fixable. We competed, we beat them on the boards, but we turned the ball over too much and gave up a couple too many threes. Other than that, we played a pretty good ballgame."
On Daneesha Provo hitting three consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth
"It definitely hurt us. I am okay with a shooter making a shot, but what we need to do better is to make proper adjustments. We cannot afford for it to snowball like it did."
On the loss being a missed opportunity to get to towards 15 wins and the postseason
"It was certainly a missed opportunity. I look at this game and think about where we lost this ballgame. It was things like giving up threes, missing box outs, or missing free throws. I try to look at the things we didn't do, and learn from those."
On Mya Hollingshed and Alexis Robinson's shooting
"It kept us in the game. It put us up or brought us back in the game. They made timely shots and shots that we ask them to take and they stepped up and knocked them down with confidence."
On Mya Hollingshed's late 3-pointer to bring the deficit to one point
"That was her shot. She loves to take that shot and had been shooting the ball well all day. It was also something that we didn't run all game so they hadn't seen it yet. It was the best play in our playbook at that time. She stepped up and knocked it down. It was big for a young kid to do that."
Alexis Robinson, Jr., G
On momentum shift in fourth quarter after Provo's threes
"That was a huge momentum shift in the game."
On not being able to close out the game
"They just hit us in the mouth and we couldn't bounce back. We tried and they had us on our heels."
On regrouping and moving forward with confidence
"Yeah definitely, getting two wins in the Bay Area would be a huge confidence boost for us."
Zoe Correal, Sr., C
On the way she battled in the paint
"Coach J always talks about just doing your job and doing what you're supposed to do and that's my job. To be big down low and to try to get buckets and rebounds."
On playing differently in the fourth quarter with four fouls
"I like to be aggressive and I like to battle down in the post. So knowing that I really can't do that does hinder me in a way but I just have to be smarter, keep my hands up, and really be fundamental and still do my job."
On moving forward after this loss
"It's just a win and a loss. We've got to get back in the gym, get back to practice, and gear up for our next game."
Lynne Roberts, Utah head coach
General
"We needed that. I think Colorado is a lot better than their record. They are a good team and they can shoot the three. I have a lot of respect for them. Any win on the road is a good one – I don't care. This is a big rivalry. It was physical. Both teams wanted to win. Players played their hearts out. We are happy to get the win. I thought that fourth quarter is where we pulled away. Huffy [Megan Huff] hit a couple of big shots too. They answered too. They hit some big shots. We are fortunate to get the win."
On being undefeated in Pac-12 play on the road
"Good grief. I don't know. I wish we could duplicate it at home. 5-0 on the road is great. We'll take it. We go on the road next weekend. Stanford and Cal will be tough road games. We have to pack our bags, pack that mentality, and head down that way."
Team Stats
UTAHW
COLO
FG%
.448
.426
3FG%
.467
.450
FT%
.792
.636
RB
36
38
TO
16
16
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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