Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
8-8, 1-4Pac-12
Utah
6-10, 0-5Pac-12
Brooks: Buffs Hang On, Go To OT For First Pac-12 Win
January 14, 2015 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – The Colorado women's basketball team had never opened conference play – any conference play – with five consecutive losses. It required an extra 5 minutes and stellar free throw shooting, but the resilient Buffs avoided that historical blemish with a 77-72 overtime escape against Utah Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.
CU (8-8, 1-4) broke a five-game losing streak and earned its first Pac-12 Conference win of 2015. Â "We worked hard for this and we deserve it," senior Jen Reese said. "We should be very proud of it and we are."
"It feels good to get that one," added Buffs coach Linda Lappe. "I liked how our team came out tonight."
That would be bold and aggressive, but the Utes (6-10, 0-5) didn't rattle or roll over. Rallying from an eight-point second-half deficit to tie the score at 63-63 with 1:23 to play, they forced the Buffs into their fourth overtime this season – the most in program history. CU is 3-1 in those games.
The Utes held a 41-32 rebound advantage and outscored the Buffs 42-16 in the paint. But in OT, CU showed the same determination it discovered in a Sunday loss to UCLA and didn't falterl.
Two minutes into the extra period, freshman Joeseta Fatuesi hit a 3-pointer for Utah's first lead – 68-67 – since 9-7. The teams traded one-point leads until Reese, Lexy Kresl, Jasmine Sborov and Haley Smith hit eight of 10 free throws in the final 1:33 to seal CU's win.
"We were comfortable going into overtime – we've been in a lot of them -- although we could have won it in regulation," Lappe said. "But we made enough plays down the stretch (in OT)."
Making those plays led to Utes fouls and to Buffs free throws. CU made 31 of 40 attempts for the night, but went 10-of-13 in the overtime. Smith was perfect in the extra period – 4-for-4 – and for the night – 11-for-11. Kresl canned 11 of her 16 foul shot tries and finished with a career-high 26 points.
Smith added 15 and freshman Brecca Thomas scored a career-high 11 points. Utah's Taryn Wicijowski led all scorers with 29 points and also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
Thomas was one of three freshmen – Zoe Correal and Alina Hartmann were the other pair – who aided in the Buffs' bench productivity. CU's subs outscored Utah's 18-6. "I thought our bench did a fantastic job," Lappe said. "They got an extra day of drill work and it carried it over . . . our freshmen keep getting better every single day. All three freshmen came in and did some great things."
Up by a point with 3:04 left before intermission, the Buffs closed out the half with an 8-2 run and took a 38-31 lead to their locker room. It was their largest advantage of the first half, and they never trailed after the 15-minute mark when the Utes forged a 9-9 tie.
Kresl scored her 10 first-half points in the first 12 minutes, going 3-for-3 from the field and hitting a pair of treys and two of three free throws. But her second personal foul sent her to the bench with 8:12 left in the period and she didn't return.
Also missing court time due to a pair of quick fouls was Swan, who played only 6 minutes and scored three first-half points (seven total). And Reese, coming off a career-high 30 points against UCLA, missed her only three field goal attempts and went to the locker room scoreless. She finished with six points.
Given those circumstances, CU needed bench help – and the subs delivered. Thomas (nine points), Hartmann (three) and Correal (two) combined for 15 first-half points.
But CU's late first-half momentum didn't spill into the second half. Opening the final 20 minutes with a 6-0 run, Utah crept to 38-37 and forced a Buffs timeout. Coming out of that break, Tanaeya Boclair missed a pair of free throws that would have given the Utes the lead – and that might have stirred the Buffs.
Kresl and Sborov hit back-to-back jumpers, putting CU ahead 42-37 with 15:30 remaining. Not quite half a minute later, one of two free throws by Kresl sent the Buffs up 43-37, and when Reese hit a 15-foot jumper for her first points CU finished a 7-0 run and pushed its advantage to eight (45-37).
But Wicijowski and the Utes Utah kept pushing. After her 3-pointer from the top of the key drew them to 52-50, her pair of free throws with 1:23 to play tied the game at 63-63. After a timeout with a minute remaining, the Utes turned the ball over with 38.9 seconds left. CU called timeout, but a traveling call on Kresl ended that possession and left Utah with 26 seconds to win it.
With 15.3 seconds showing, the Utes took a timeout to set their final play. A layup attempt by Danielle Rodriguez missed, the Buffs controlled the rebound and used their last timeout with 1.1 seconds remaining.
A full-court pass by Reese was fielded at the top of the key by Swan, who steered a pass to Smith for a desperation shot from the left corner. It missed and once again the Buffs were headed for OT.
Lappe said her team handled its lapse at the end of regulation "really well" and went into the overtime confident and exuberant. "I saw a group of women that were excited to keep playing."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDUÂ
