Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
11-0
Creighton
6-5
Kresl's Buzzer Beater Preserves Buffs' Perfect Mark
December 21, 2011 | Women's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO - Freshman guard Lexy Kresl scored 15 points and hit a 3-point basket at the buzzer to lift Colorado to a 52-49 win over Creighton in the Buffaloes' final game of the UTSA Holiday Classic Wednesday afternoon at the Convocation Center on the UTSA campus.
The win gives CU its second-ever perfect preseason record at 11-0. Only the 1992-93 team, which started 15-0, went into conference play unbeaten.
Kresl, who also matched a personal best with six rebounds, was named to the UTSA Holiday Classic All-Tournament team. She was joined on the team by her classmate, forward Jen Reese, who had a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 from the field and eight rebounds.
"It feels great," Kresl said. "I'm really proud of Jen stepping up too. I always wanted to be an impact player immediately and I'm just glad I've been able to do it."
Creighton's Carli Tritz, UTSA's Ashley Gardner and Texas-Pan American's Donna Jackson rounded out the All-Tournament Team.
Tuesday's bout was CU's toughest to date with nine ties and five lead changes. Colorado missed its first seven shots and faced its largest deficit of the season right out of the gate. Creighton's Sarah Nelson opened the game with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws and Tritz added two freebies as Creighton built a 7-0 lead.
Chucky Jeffery finally put Colorado on the scoreboard with a long jumper at the top of the key at the 15:30 mark. Kresl then hit her first 3-pointer to quickly get CU back to 7-5.
Creighton extended its early lead back to seven as a McKenzie Fujan jumper gave the Bluejays a 12-5 advantage. From there, the Buffaloes started clamping down. Brittany Wilson set off a 7-0 CU run with a 3-poitner. The Buffaloes then tied the game at 12-12 on a Julie Seabrook layup.
In the closing minutes of the first half, Colorado gained its first lead when Kresl scored four straight points. First she tied the game on a coast-to-coast layup and scored on a pull up jumper in transition to give CU a 19-17 lead. The Buffaloes took that same margin into the locker room at 23-21.
Creighton opened the second half in almost carbon copy fashion, a Jordan Garrison 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run as the Bluejays rebuilt a 28-23 lead.
Colorado answered with a 9-0 run to take a 32-28 lead, but Tritz and the Bluejays were not done. Creighton started to press Colorado, and the Buffaloes struggled with it to the tune of 20 turnovers. Tritz nailed a 3-pointer to give Creighton back the edge and a Nelson floater put the Bluejays up 39-36.
From there it was Reese's turn to shine. The former two-time Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year picked a perfect time for her first career 3-pointer, off an assist from Seabrook. She added another mid-range jumper to cap off a personal 7-0 run for a 41-39 lead with 7:39 remaining.
"Jen stepped up in the second half and hit some key shots," CU head coach Linda Lappe said. "She did a good job executing throughout the game. She really gave us a spark."
The Buffaloes extended their lead to 47-41 late, but the Bluejays had one more comeback. Jasmin Corbin hit a 3-pointer with 3:52 left to cut the lead in half. After a Jeffery miss, Tritz cut the lead to one on a beautiful one-motion catch and lay-in off a bullet pass from Fujan.
The score remained 47-46 for the next minute, when Reese gave CU a 3-point lead on a layup off a Jeffery pass. CU regained possession, but couldn't capitalize off missed a Jeffery jumper. Meagan Malcolm-Peck snared the offensive rebound, but a Wilson turnover gave the Bluejays a chance to tie.
And Tritz did just that. She evened the game at 49 with a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left. Colorado had a timeout available, but chose not to use it. Jeffery brought the ball down and dribbled to the right. With nothing open on that end, she came back to the top of the key and found Kresl wide open on the left wing for the game-winner from 25-feet.
"It means a lot that Chucky had the confidence in me to take the last shot," Kresl said. "I just got down the floor and tried to stay wide because I knew we needed a shot. We were going to run a play originally, but we kind of got confused, so I just got to a spot and I was wide open."
Jeffery finished with 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals. Wilson and Seabrook each dished out three assists.
"I really liked our demeanor tonight, we didn't get too rattled at any point of the game," Lappe said. "It was good for us to play in a close game against a really good Creighton team. Creighton doesn't make mistakes. You have to beat them, they're never going to beat themselves. I liked our toughness, especially down the stretch."
Colorado takes a holiday break and will open Pac-12 Conference play at Utah on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. MT in Salt Lake City.
