Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
5-5
Presbyterian
4-6
Swan, Huggins Lead Buffs Past Presbyterian, 72-60
December 19, 2015 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER— A little extra practice time this week proved to be extremely valuable for the Colorado Buffaloes in their Saturday afternoon game against Presbyterian.
The Buffs, who spent the week fine-tuning their press, used it with great effectiveness in the second half Saturday, paving the way for a 72-60 win over the Blue Hose. The win evened the Buffs record at 5-5 while the Blue Hose dropped to 4-6.
Colorado's defense struggled in the first half, allowing Presbyterian to play the Buffs to a dead-even 36-36 first half.
But when the Buffs began employing the press in the second half, it turned the tide. The Buffs forced 19 turnovers in the game — 13 in the second half — and converted those miscues into 24 points, allowing Colorado to break open a tight game midway through the third quarter and slowly pull away.
"It changed the momentum," CU head coach Linda Lappe said. "That was really the difference in the game."
CU senior Jamee Swan led the Buffs with 16 points and 11 rebounds, her 12th career double-double and second of the season. Lauren Huggins also scored 16, including a 4-for-8 day from 3-point range, Brecca Thomas added 10 and Kennedy Leonard handed out a game-high seven assists.
Taylor Petty led Presbyterian with 16 points and Rebecca Walker added 10.
Lappe said the Buffs installed their press early in the season, but hadn't had the opportunity to work on it much in practice. But with the Buffs having six days between games this week, it gave them the opportunity to fine-tune it.
"Our half-court defense wasn't where it needed to be," Lappe said. "We had some time with no games this past week teaching it, and we did work on it a lot. We have good personnel to do it."
It certainly made the difference in the second half when the Buffs began applying constant pressure. After a see-saw game for the first 25 minutes — the score was tied 36-36 at the half — the Buffs finally took control midway through the third period. A Thomas steal set up a Swan layup with 4:09 left in the quarter to give the Buffs a 46-45 lead, the beginning of a 13-5 CU run, and the Buffs never trailed again. Huggins hit back-to-back 3-pointers and two Alexis Robinson free throws gave CU a 57-50 edge heading into the final period.
The Buffs forced nine turnovers in the third period, including six in the final five minutes, and converted them into 12 points.
"The press is what ultimately won us this game," Huggins said. "It allowed to get a more defensive intensity; we got our hands on more loose balls. It was a game-changer for sure."
The Buffs then managed to keep the Blue Hose at bay in the final quarter. Colorado built the lead to as much as 12 when Haley Smith hit a basket and free throw at the 6:04 mark, and while Presbyterian was able to narrow the gap back to single digits for a brief period, Colorado regained control and put the game away in the final three minutes.
Along with her double-double, Swan surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career, the 28th player in CU history to hit that milestone.
"It's the biggest milestone I've ever done in my life," Swan said. "I have been so blessed to have teammates who can get me the ball."
The Buffs fell behind early, 17-9, as the Blue Hose opened by hitting four of their first five 3-point tries, two from Rebecca Walker. The Buffs, though, put together a 6-2 run at the end of the first quarter to cut the deficit to four, 19-15, at the end of the period. Swan had a bucket inside on a feed from Zoe Beard-Fails and Robinson ended the period with a pair of free throws.
The Buffs finally took the lead for the first time since the opening minutes when Huggins hit a 3-pointer early in the second period to give CU a 20-19 edge. Colorado slowly extended the led, building it to a much as seven, 32-25, on a Thomas basket and free throw at the 4:03 mark.
But Presbyterian came back to finish the half with an 11-4 surge and send the two teams into the locker room tied 36-36 at intermission.
NEXT UP: The Buffs conclude their nonconference schedule Monday with a 7 p.m. game at Wyoming in the Arena-Auditorium. A win would send them into conference play with a 6-5 record and momentum heading into their Jan. 2 Pac-12 opener against Washington in the Coors Events Center. "It's going to be imperative that we get a win," Huggins said. "We need to get that mindset now. We have to go up there and attack."
NOTABLE: Saturday was the first time in six games this year the Buffs have won after trailing at the end of the first quarter. … CU tied a season high with 13 steals. … Huggins' 16 points tied her career high, and she's had at least two 3-pointers in her last five games. … Leonard has had at least two assists in all 10 games this season. … Robinson tied a season high with three steals.
