Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
5-6
Wyoming
7-3
Rough Third Quarter Dooms Buffs In Loss To Cowgirls
December 21, 2015 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LARAMIE, Wyo. — For 20 minutes Monday night in Wyoming, the Colorado Buffaloes depended on their rebounding to make up for a poor shooting night, and it was enough to produce a 29-29 tie at half with the Cowgirls.
But when the Buffs' rebounding and defense abandoned them, the Cowgirls took advantage and took control in the third quarter, building a 14-point lead, 62-48, by the end of the period. While the Buffs did battle back to cut the deficit to single digits early in the fourth period, they could never completely close the gap and Wyoming held on down the stretch for a 77-68 win.
The loss in their last nonconference game of the season dropped the Buffs to 5-6. They don't play again until a Jan. 2 home game against Washington in their Pac-12 season opener.
"The first quarter may have been the best we've played all year …. but we have to learn how to sustain our focus and energy," CU head coach Linda Lappe said. "You see lapses of unfocused basketball. In the second half, it looked like we were in mud at times."
CU senior Jamee Swan did her part, finishing with 28 points and 13 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Kennedy Leonard added 18 for CU, but they were the only two Buffs in double figures. The Cowgirls, meanwhile, had six players in double figures, led by 13 from Liv Roberts.
Colorado shot just 36 percent for the game (26-for-72). In the first half alone, CU had 16 offensive rebounds, but produced just five points from those second-chance opportunities, allowing the Cowgirls to rally from a 20-12 first-quarter deficit to forge 29-29 halftime time.
But CU's dominance on the boards disappeared in the second half. After holding a 28-18 rebounding edge in the first half, CU managed just two rebounds the entire third period as the Cowgirls finished the quarter with a 27-12 surge for a 14-point edge at the end of the period.
"It's just a mindset," Lappe said. "(In the first half) we rebounded better than we had all year. We just didn't maintain the effort in the second half."
The Cowgirls also found their shooting eye after intermission. After hitting just 36 percent of their field tries in the first 20 minutes, they were 13-for-18 in the third period. The Buffs trailed by just five, 51-46, with three minutes left in the period, but Wyoming closed the quarter with an 11-2 run to build a lead the Buffs could never overcome.
"Our defense just fell apart," Swan said. "We work a lot on defense, that's kind of our hill to die on. Our defense just kind of fizzled out. We started really slow coming out of halftime and we lost our mental focus."
CU managed to cut the deficit back down to seven early in the fourth quarter when a Leonard 3-pointer sparked a 9-0 run. The Buffs couldn't keep the momentum, however, and Wyoming built the lead back to double figures and managed to keep the Buffs at bay down the stretch for the win.
As Lappe noted, the Buffs' first quarter may have been one of their best of the season. CU Â jumped out to a 20-12 lead after the first 10 minutes, getting six points from Swan and five from Leonard. The Buffs also dominated the boards, holding a 14-8 edge, and held the Cowgirls to just 29 percent shooting (4-for-14).
But Colorado went cold in the second period, as Wyoming outscored the visitors 17-9.
The Buffs will now head home for the holidays before returning Dec. 27 to begin preparation for their Pac-12 opener. Lappe believes there's still plenty of time for the Buffs to shore up the problems that have plagued them thus far.
"I like this team," Lappe said. "I know we're beginning to figure it out. We just have to start having a different mindset defensively. We have to take it personally."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
