Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
11-5, 1-2Big 12
Iowa State
13-3, 1-2Big 12
Lacey's Late Surge Buries Buffs
January 16, 2010 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Colorado's players claimed a solid plan was in place for Iowa State. But apparently nowhere in it was an antidote for Alison Lacey.
After the Buffaloes rallied to take a three-point second-half lead Saturday in a critical Big 12 Conference game, the Cyclones senior scored 16 of her team's final 18 points in a 68-62 victory at the Coors Events Center.
"Bottom line: Lacey hit some big-time shots," a dejected CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "We guarded them and did what we needed to do, but with the shot clock winding down, the ball was in Lacey's hands and she made plays.
"She's one of the best guards in the conference and she showed why tonight."
Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly called Lacey "one of those players that is very special . . . . She was rested in the second half so she could play the whole half and she had her legs underneath her to make those big shots."
Lacey scored only six of her game-best 32 points in the first half, sitting a good portion of the first 20 minutes with two fouls.
"I was dying to get back in," she said. "We have some inexperienced players, so it is my job as a senior point guard to take over."
She did her job very well, hitting half of Iowa State's eight three-point field goals. But another of the Cyclones' numbers was equally frustrating for the Buffs, who lost for only the second time (10 wins) on their home court this season.
Iowa State outrebounded CU 43-26, with the Cyclones' 26 defensive boards matching the Buffs' total. Little wonder that the second-chance point category was tipped heavily in Iowa State's favor (13-1).
"We felt pretty confident coming in here as far as how we were playing and how we prepared for the game," McConnell-Miller said. "(But) when a team has as many defensive rebounds as you have total, they're hard to beat."
CU senior guard Bianca Smith called the loss, which dropped the Buffs to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference, "pretty devastating . . . we had a good scouting report, but we didn't box out. We can't have lapses like that."
Freshman guard Chucky Jeffery, who led the Buffs with 17 points (15 in the second half), said the Cyclones' rebounding dominance "decided the game. We didn't box out . . . we try to out-jump people and it ain't working."
Smith added 13 points and teammate Brittany Spears produced her 20th career double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds). Spears, held to a season-low three points in CU's Tuesday loss at Texas Tech, scored 10 of her total after intermission while Smith managed only three of her 13 in the second half.
Iowa State improved to 13-3 overall and won its first conference game after back-to-back league losses to No. 11 Nebraska and No. 8 Texas A&M.
After a miserable start - they were down 7-0 and 12-4 - the Buffs rallied and took their own seven-point lead before the Cyclones rallied.
CU held a 26-24 lead at the break behind Smith's 10 first-half points. She was the only player from either team in double figures.
Neither team shot well in the first 20 minutes, the Cyclones hitting just 29.6 percent from the field (8-of-27), while the Buffs were at 28.6 percent (6-of-21).
Less than 6 minutes into the second half, Iowa State took a 37-31 lead and held off a CU run that closed the deficit to two (44-42) on a three-pointer by Smith 10:19 to play.
After falling behind by six points, the Buffs finally caught the Cyclones at 50-50 on a conventional three-point play by Spears, then took a 53-50 advantage on a trey by Jeffery with 6:32 remaining.
Lacey took over from there, scoring Iowa State's next 14 points and dropping CU behind 64-60 with just under 2 minutes to play.
The Buffs pulled to 64-61 on a free throw by Spears, then forced a turnover. Jeffery hit one of two free throws with 1:19 remaining to bring the Buffs to within 64-62.
At the other end, Anna Prins, a 6-foot-7 freshman from Broomfield, hit the first of two free throws, sending the Cyclones up 65-62.
Spears misfired on CU's next possession and Iowa State converted three more free throws - two by Lacey - in the final 32 seconds to seal the win.
The Buffs play at Kansas State Wednesday (6 p.m. MST, FSN Rocky Mountain), then return to the Events Center to face Oklahoma State on Sunday, Jan. 24 (2 p.m., FSN).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
