Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
2-1
Minnesota
3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 41 | 37 | 78 |
| Minnesota | 45 | 42 | 87 |
Minnesota Beats Colorado At The Line
November 22, 2009 | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota made the most of its opportunities from the foul line, making 30-of-34 including all 21 attempts in the second half as the Gophers defeated Colorado 87-78 in the final game of the 2009 Subway Classic Sunday evening at Williams Arena.
Colorado split its tournament games and is 2-1 overall. Minnesota won the tournament title at 2-0 and is 3-1 overall. Both teams beat Illinois-Chicago (0-4); the Buffs doused the Flames 64-49 on Friday while the Gophers took care of business with a 94-58 win on Saturday.
Brittany Spears and Bianca Smith earned All-Tournament honors for Colorado. Spears had a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds for her 17th career double-double. Smith had 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
Minnesota outscored Colorado 30-12 from the line, and 21-10 in the second half. The Gophers' were 21-of-21 from the line in the second frame, setting CU opponent records for free throws made in one half and most without a miss. Saint Louis had the previous mark of 20 made in one half, set on Dec. 22, 2008.
Minnesota needed every one of those free throws, because the Buffaloes had one of their best offensive nights on the road in the last few years. Colorado shot 49 percent from the field and nailed 10 3-pointers as the Buffaloes enjoyed their highest road point total since scoring 82 at Colorado State on Dec. 1, 2007 (an 82-47 win).
"I'm very proud of our team," Smith said. "I think we are young coming into this (tournament) and our expectation is to get better with every game. We came out tonight and showed we can play with some of the tougher teams in the country."
The Gophers, which shot 60 percent Saturday night against UIC, came out firing again hitting 11 of their first 19 shots, building an 11 point first half lead. CU erased that lead by the end of the period, going on a 19-8 run that tied the score at 41 on a 3-pointer by Kelly Jo Mullaney.
Minnesota responded with four quick points to take a 45-41 lead at intermission. The 41 points scored by Colorado were its most first half points on the road since scoring 41 at Missouri on Jan. 18, 2004.
Colorado made five of its first six shots to open the second half, including three 3-pointers, two coming from Smith as the Buffaloes led 54-49 with 15:48 remaining.
But the Gophers started pounding the ball inside and getting to the line. Minnesota's duo of Kiara Buford and Ashley Ellis-Milan were a combined 14-of-14 in the second half alone. Buford finished with 24 points, 11-of-11 from the line.
Minnesota, which shot 50 percent for the game, had some big buckets as well. With Colorado leading 61-60 with 10:39 left, the Gophers got back-to-back 3-pointers by Leah Cotton and Jackie Voigt sparked a 15-3 run to match their biggest lead at 75-64 with 7:11 remaining.
The Buffaloes fought back once again, getting six straight points, four from Spears to cut the Minnesota lead to five. After Buford hit a pair of free throws, Spears and Mullaney each sank a pair of free throws to make it a 79-76 game with 2:36 left. Although not the same in volume, the Buffaloes were excellent from the line, making 12-of-13 attempts.
Ellis-Milan made two free throws at the other end to put UM back up by five. Mullaney answered with a short jumper to make it a one possession game at 81-78 with just 1:08 left. CU forced Ellis-Milan to miss a jumper with 39 seconds left, but Buford was there for the put-back for a 83-78 lead. The Gophers iced the game with four more free throws as CU was unable to score.
"We played back-to-back halves for the first time this year," CU head coach McConnell-Miller said. "I thought they fought hard. We executed and hit shots, and when you hit shots on the road good things are going to happen.
"It was a great night for the Buffs. We're going to walk away feeling good about our effort, knowing an extra rebound, a stop here; maybe the outcome is a little different.
Whitney Houston had 10 points and three assists off the bench. Mullaney finished with nine points and two assists.
Colorado returns to host the Omni Hotels Classic on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28 at the Coors Events/Conference Center. Harvard and New Orleans kick off the tournament with a 4:30 p.m. game while the Buffaloes facing Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Friday's losers play in Saturday's consolation game at 4:30 p.m., followed by the championship at 7 p.m.
