Colorado
8-10, 1-6Big 12
Kansas State
16-3, 7-1Big 12
CU FALLS SHORT AGAINST WILDCATS, 81-70
January 29, 2005 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER -- Jasmina Ilic and Veronica Johns-Richardson both scored over 20 points but it was not enough as No. 16 Kansas State defeated Colorado 81-70 on Saturday at the Coors Event Center.
Ilic led Colorado (8-10, 1-6) with a career-high 21 points and Johns-Richardson had 20. The Buffs played in front of a season-high 3,680 fans.
"We prepared well all week and were ready for what they were doing offensively. Our fan support makes a huge difference for us. It means a lot for us and makes a difference in how we play," said Colorado Head Coach Ceal Barry.
Kendra Wecker had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Claire Coggins added a career-high 25 points to lead the Wildcats.
Wecker, the Big 12 Conference's leading scorer, had 21 second-half points and finished 11-of-19 from the field. Coggins had five 3-pointers for Kansas State (16-3, 7-1 Big 12), winners of seven straight.
The Wildcats finished 11 of 24 from beyond the arc.
Kansas State never trailed in the second half, but its lead dwindled to 53-51 on a basket by Jackie McFarland midway through the half. Colorado had a chance to tie it, but Sarah Lini missed both free throws and Kansas State went on an 11-0 run. Coggins made two 3-pointers in the spurt to push the lead to 64-51.
"At 53-51, we needed to come out of the timeout, make the free throws and take advantage of the opportunity," Barry said.
McFarland had three points in a 6-0 run that got Colorado within 64-57 with 5:22 left, but Wecker, who averages 21 points per game, made a putback and 3-pointer.
Coggins had a three-point play and Wecker added four points in the final 3:27.
Kansas State started slowly, committing five turnovers in the first 7 minutes.The Wildcats fell behind 31-23 on Ilic's 3-pointer, which capped a 7-0 Buffalo run.
Chelsea Domenico and Coggins then added 3-pointers to help Kansas State to a 37-34 halftime lead.
Colorado's McFarland came out on top of the battle between her and her sister, Jessica, with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Jessica McFarland finished the game with four points and seven rebounds.
The Buffs now will travel to Ames, Iowa to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday Feb. 2 still looking for their second conference victory. The game will be broadcast on AM 630 KHOW because of a timing conflict with the CU men's basketall team.
