Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
(2-1)
Santa Clara
(0-3)
Buffs Open Home Stand With Win Against Broncos
November 19, 2010 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - The best way to open a seven-game home stand? Start fast in Game 1 - and make certain there's a finish to match.
The Colorado women's basketball team did exactly that Friday night, leading from start to finish in overrunning Santa Clara 71-57 at the Coors Events Center.
Freshman Brittany Wilson and sophomore Chucky Jeffery led the Buffaloes with 18 points each, with Wilson's total a career best. Junior Julie Seabrook, increasingly establishing herself in the post, finished with a career-high 13 points and added 10 rebounds. Jeffery also had a double-double, adding 10 boards to go with her point total, and chipping in a game-high six assists.
It was the first time since Dec. 30, 2008 that the CU women's team had a pair of double-doubles. Brittany Spears had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Seabrook added 12 points and 13 boards against Idaho State. Spears had 14 points and 7 rebounds Friday night.
CU converted 19 SCU turnovers into 26 points and outrebounded the Broncos 41-35. SCU managed only 36.4 percent shooting (20-of-55) from the field.
"It was good to get a win," CU coach Linda Lappe said. "We came out in the first half and played well to start the game . . . then we got kind of stagnant at end of the half. I was not happy with that."
But the night ended well for the Buffs, who were coming off a one-point loss on Tuesday night at the University of Denver. If there was a hangover from their first defeat, it showed only in a lapse that allowed SCU to make a late run before intermission.
CU (2-1) took command early but temporarily lost it in the final minutes of the opening half. Limiting the Broncos to 2-for-11 shooting from the field in the 12 minutes, the Buffs had no trouble building an 18-4 lead.
With freshman Brittany Wilson and senior Britney Blythe combining for three treys, CU pushed its advantage to 16 points (22-6) and appeared on the verge of blowing the winless visitors (0-3) out of the building.
"We've been shooting it pretty well, but we can't rely on that," Lappe said. "When it's there, you've got to like it, when it's not you have to have a backup plan."
Lappe hopes that plan centers on the 6-foot-3 Seabrook and 6-4 freshman Rachel Hargis. It did Friday night because of Seabrook's early post presence; she collected a game-high eight rebounds in the first half and added eight points to go with Brittany Wilson's 13.
Wilson isn't low confidence: "I can shoot it . . . a lot of times it doesn't go in," she said. "But it went in today and it felt good." She hit two of her four trey attempts and finished 6-of-12 from the field.
Lappe said Wilson's touch has been there in practice and the carryover was expected: "Yeah, I expected it. She's been practicing very, very well and been showing it in games . . . We need all of our freshmen to do that."
Whether CU's interest waned or SCU perked up as the first half unfolded, things changed - temporarily.
The Broncos strung together a 9-2 spurt, and the Buffs' 16-point lead dwindled to single digits (24-15). After a pair of runs - 7-0 CU, 8-0 USC - were exchanged to close the half, the Buffs took a 33-25 advantage to the locker room.
"We came out slow shooting," Santa Clara coach Jennifer Mountain said. "If we knocked down a couple shots and a few layups, it would have changed the flow in the beginning of the game."
Santa Clara got the first point of the second half and closed to within 33-26, but CU responded with a 14-6 run and opened a 45-30 lead with 13:10 remaining and regained control.
A three-pointer by Spears halfway through the period restored the Buffs' 16-point lead (53-37). Their largest lead was by 18 with just over 6 minutes to play.
Seabrook said Lappe and her staff "challenged the post players after last game. I thought I needed to step up and have a more major offensive role . . . . This definitely helps my confidence; I didn't play as much as wanted to last couple of years. I just wanted to help out and do the best I could."
Said Jeffery: "'Jule's' confidence is up, so we're more confident getting the ball in there . . . It was real exciting to see 'Jules' having a good game."
The Buffs' homestand continues Sunday (2 p.m.) against the University of Tennessee-Martin, followed by a pair of games in the Omni Hotels Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Events Center.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
