Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
22-7, 11-5
Oklahoma
21-8, 9-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 27 | 36 | 63 |
| Colorado | 20 | 36 | 56 |
COLORADO FALLS TO OKLAHOMA IN BIG 12 FIRST ROUND
March 10, 2004 | Women's Basketball
DALLAS - Colorado shot just 33 percent from the field and Oklahoma held a sizeable rebounding advantage as the No. 6 seed Sooners knocked off the No. 3 seed Buffaloes, 63-56, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday night at Reunion Arena.
Colorado, 22-7 overall, will await Sunday's NCAA Tournament announcement while Oklahoma, 21-8, will face No. 2 seed Kansas State in Thursday's semifinals.
The Buffaloes made just 16-of-48 field goals on the night and were out-rebounded 40-23 by the Sooners. OU's Dionaah Jackson had a game high 19 points with nine rebounds while Maria Villarroel had nine points and 14 rebounds.
"It was a disappointing loss for us," Colorado head coach Ceal Barry said. "We were close the entire game but we couldn't get over the hump. Dionnah Jackson also caused problems for us all night."
Colorado trailed 27-20 at the half and scored the first five points of the second half to pull within two. Unfortunately, the Buffs would not pull any closer. CU was down two with just 23 seconds remaining when OU's Erin Higgins missed a pair of free-throws, but Sooner forward Caton Hill corralled the offensive rebound, was fouled, and hit two of her own free-throws to put the game away.
"Looking at the stats, they got 40 (rebounds) to our 23," CU forward Randie Wirt said. "We came in focused on trying to beat them at the rebounding battle, and it doesn't look like we did that. They got the key offensive rebounds toward the end of the game. Their post players are real physical and their guard crash for a lot of rebounds also."
Senior Tera Bjorklund had a team-high 15 points but was just 3-of-12 from the field and was held scoreless in the first half. Wirt had 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists. The Buffs kept it close in part from the free-throw line, hitting 21-of-24 foul shots while Oklahoma hit just 9-of-13.
