Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
22-6
Oklahoma
19-12
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 24 | 44 | 68 |
| Colorado | 31 | 42 | 73 |
Bjorklund's 32 Leads CU To Win
March 12, 2003 | Women's Basketball
DALLAS, Texas- Tera Bjorklund tied a Big 12 Conference tournament record with 32 points and Colorado hit all six of its free throws in the final minute as the Buffaloes held off a late Oklahoma rally to win 73-68 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the women's tournament.
Bjorklund, who had only 10 points in the Buffaloes' last meeting against Oklahoma, was nearly unstoppable in the second half as Colorado (22-6) outscored the Sooners 14-2 early in the half to go up 50-35.
The 6-foot-5 junior's bucket with 3:57 left in the game gave Colorado a 65-51 lead and appeared to put the game out of reach.
Then, Oklahoma (19-12) went on a frenzied 13-2 run in the next three minutes, including Theresa Schuknecht's putback of a missed free throw with 55 seconds remaining. She was fouled on the play and hit a free throw, cutting Colorado's lead to 67-64.
Oklahoma would get no closer than three points the rest of the way as Linda Lappe, Kate Fagan and Sabrina Scott each made a pair of free throws for fourth-seeded Colorado.
Maria Villaroel and Dionnah Jackson each scored 16 points to lead the Sooners.
The win was a sort of payback for the Buffaloes, who were stopped one game short of the Final Four by Oklahoma last season. The year before, the Sooners knocked Colorado out of the Big 12 tournament in the semifinals.
This time, however, Bjorklund nearly single-handedly kept the Buffaloes from losing to their conference rival.
She scored 22 of her points in the second half on a series on turnarounds, jump hooks and short jumpers to exploit the Sooners' soft interior defense.
Bjorklund's 32 points, which was also a career high, tied Nebraska's Nicole Kubik record against Kansas in the 2000 tournament.
Fagan added 14 points and Lappe had 13 for Colorado.
Colorado will play top-seeded Texas, the nation's fifth-ranked team, in Thursday's semifinal.
