Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
6-1
Texas State
2-3
Buffs Retain Defensive Intensity, Rout Bobcats
December 01, 2010 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Five nights after submitting what Coach Linda Lappe called "our most complete game of the season," her Colorado women's basketball team found a suitable way to encore.
CU limited Texas State to 16.7 percent shooting from the field in the first half, 24 percent for the game, and cruised past the Southland Conference visitors, 67-35, Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.
Lappe's calls for the Buffaloes to ratchet up their defense for 40 minutes haven't been ignored; they've allowed 34 and 35 points in their two most recent games. It was the first time in school history CU has kept an opponent under 40 points in consecutive games.
"It all started with our defense; we came out and did some really nice things. Our defense in the last two games has been good in spurts . . . but it was a little better (overall) on Saturday," said Lappe, whose team won its sixth consecutive home game (6-1 overall).
In Saturday night's championship game of the Omni Hotels Classic, CU played hard and smart from buzzer to buzzer and routed Loyola-Chicago, 65-34.
And by Wednesday, there had been no noticeable drop-off in the Buffs' intensity, or in sophomore point guard Chucky Jeffery's overall game. Fresh off the second triple-double in school history (10 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists), Jeffery paced the Buffs Wednesday night with 23 points and 13 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season and fifth of her career.
"As long as we get a win, I'm happy for everybody on team . . . everybody is contributing and I'm just going with the flow," Jeffery said.
Senior Brittany Spears (12) and freshman Ashley Wilson (10) were the only other CU players in double figures, but each of Lappe's players scored. Wilson, whose points were a career-high, also had five rebounds and two assists as she works her way back from a serious knee/leg injury suffered in her senior year of high school in Long Beach, Calif.
Wilson took a hard fall on a layup in the final minutes and drew an intentional foul. She tweaked her ankle, not her knee, in the collision, but said she felt fine afterwards.
"It's taken a long time to come back from the (high school) injury, but I'm making progress," she said. "I like playing with these guys."
The Bobcats (2-3) hadn't won a true road game since Dec. 10, 2006 at UT-Pan American, and the Buffs weren't interested in seeing that streak end in Boulder.
CU's defense was suffocating in the first 10 minutes, allowing Texas State only eight field goal attempts and four points (one field goal, two free throws). The visitors didn't score on consecutive possessions until the 8:30 mark of the first half - and by then the Buffs were up 20-8 and still hungry.
Jeffery said Lappe "never wants us to let up on defense. It sparks everything else, and we put a lot of emphasis on that. In the first half, our defense was good. But in the second half, we laid off a little. Overall, though, I think (the intensity) carried over, definitely."
The Bobcats regularly use a 15-player rotation, but coach Suzanne Fox kept it to 12 in the first half. Lappe, meanwhile, used all available personnel - The Crazy Eight? - and saw her team lead by as many as 23 (32-9) before intermission.
Jeffery's short jumper gave her 14 first-half points and CU its 34-12 halftime lead. After snatching nine rebounds in the opening half, Jeffery got No. 10 with just under 17 minutes remaining, then hit a layup and a converted a three-point play on consecutive possessions to give the Buffs a 41-14 lead - their largest of the night to that point - with 16:18 left.
CU led 45-22 at the second half's half-way point and was never threatened in the final 10 minutes. The Buffs outscored the Bobcats 42-18 in the paint, 10-0 on fast breaks, 13-4 on second-chance points and 20-12 in points off turnovers. Lappe said a point of emphasis has been limiting opponents' offensive rebounds, and Texas State managed only nine.
The Buffs play Illinois Saturday at 5 p.m. in the first game of a women's/men's doubleheader at the Events Center. The CU men face Oregon State at 8 p.m.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
