Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
8-4
Colgate
5-8
Buffs Overcome Slow Start, Overrun Raiders
December 30, 2010 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Not many fans were willing to leave their living rooms, dens or wherever there was warmth on a frigid, snowy Thursday night for a trip to the Coors Events Center.
And for nearly half of the opening half, the Colorado women's basketball team made those who stayed away appear all the wiser.
Fortunately for the announced crowd of 1,802 that braved the elements and treacherous roads, there was an eventual reward: the Buffaloes shook off a spell of early lethargy and errors and disposed of Colgate, 74-52.
The victory came at a good time for the Buffs, who had dropped two games in the Women of Troy Tournament on Dec. 18-19 in Los Angeles. It was the first time this season they had lost consecutive games.
"It was good to be back home and good to get a win after a couple losses," CU Coach Linda Lappe said. "I thought the end of first half and beginning of second half we played really well."
It took almost 10 minutes for the Buffs to put their early errors behind them and find anything that resembled an offensive rhythm. The Raiders scored their first six points courtesy of Buffs turnovers and were tied 12-12 with their hosts at the 10:18 mark of the first half.
"Things could have been better," senior Brittany Spears said of CU's offense. "We turned the ball over a lot. We had 11 turnovers in the first half. To take care of the ball and run the offense, we have to do that."
But shortly after that 12-12 tie, CU rediscovered its three-point shooting range to launch a 21-6 run that carried the Buffs to a 33-18 halftime lead. Contributing treys in that surge were Spears and Brittany Wilson, who made two each, and Meagan Malcolm-Peck, who hit one.
CU also got a pair of free throws and a short jumper during the run from senior Chelsea Dale, who saw her first home duty of the season after sitting out the fall semester to regain her academic eligibility. She returned to the court for the Women of Troy Tournament.
Dale, of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., entered Thursday night's game with 7:37 left before intermission and played the rest of the half. In addition to her four points, she contributed two assists and one rebound. Dale finished the night with a career-best 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes.
Lappe called Dale "a smart player . . . . she brings a good tempo and doesn't get in a rush. She comes off with her feet set ready to take her shots and tonight she did a nice job of crashing the glass and got a couple of her own rebounds. She also is smart on her drives. I thought she drove it well also, she took it when it was there and didn't force anything."
Dale simply was happy to be back on her home court and part of her team. The shots she made came naturally through the offense "and I took them," she said. "I shoot the ball. That's kind of what my teammates expect from me. When I get a pass from Chucky (Jeffery) or (Brittany) Spears, I'm expected to knock that down and I want to do that for them."
Also in double figures for CU were Spears (21), Brittany Wilson (12) and Jeffery, who contributed her sixth double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) this season and the seventh of her career. Jeffery also made seven steals, and Spears chipped in with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot - a stat line that Lappe called "what you hope for and what you want" from an experienced senior.
While CU found an offensive spark with its long-distance shooting to close out the first half, tight defense throughout was equally crucial. Thursday night's first half marked the sixth time in nine home games this season that CU has held its opponent under 20 first-half points.
"We played together (defensively)," Jeffery said. "We definitely stepped it up on defense, but we let them get a few too many offensive rebounds. We've been harping on defense all week and I think our defense was really good tonight. We forced them into a lot of turnovers and we got a lot of scores off of that. I thought that was pretty good."
But Jeffery also admitted the early turnovers took their toll: "Everybody kept getting down a little bit. In the second half we came out and knew that we couldn't let them gain any momentum . . . we had to come out and jump on them at the beginning."
The Buffs finished the first 20 minutes with 11 turnovers, but the bulk of those were committed in the first 6 minutes. They finished the night with only four more, and their 15 was down from the 24 and 22 they committed in the two LA games.
Meanwhile, CU forced the visitors into 14 first-half errors and 26 for the game.
The second half brought more of the same pressure from the Buffs. Forcing another five Colgate turnovers in the first 6 minutes, CU took control with an 11-1 run and extended its lead to 25 (44-19) before reserve guard Candice Green canned a three-pointer with 17:01 remaining.
It was Colgate's first field goal of the second half, but it did nothing to shift the momentum or alter the outcome. When Dale hit a three-pointer with 13:57 to play, CU had a 27-point lead (53-26) - its largest of the game - and Colgate had had enough.
The Raiders never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way, but Lappe was concerned about her team going to "cruise control a little bit in the second half, but I thought overall we had great production off the bench and some of our starters."
CU's bench - such as it is with only nine players suited up - outscored Colgate's 31-12. The Buffs also parlayed the Raiders' 26 turnovers into 33 points.
"I thought we hurt ourselves with the unforced turnovers we gave up and CU was able to capitalize on that," Colgate Coach Pam Bass said. "But I am very proud on how my team performed."
Colgate, a member of the Patriot League, now is two-thirds of the way through a three-game Western swing. Two nights before they visited Boulder, the Raiders (5-8) dropped a 57-53 overtime decision at Northern Colorado. Their final stop is at Air Force Sunday afternoon.
The Buffs (8-4) have one non-conference game remaining before they open Big 12 play on Jan. 8 at Texas A&M. North Dakota visits the Events Center on Tuesday (7 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
