Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
10-11,3-7Pac-12
Arizona
8-13, 1-9Pac-12
Buffs Bury Wildcats, Snap Three-Game Losing Streak
February 01, 2015 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – If the University of Colorado women's basketball team ever needed a respite it was Sunday morning. CU entered its Super Bowl matinee against the Arizona Wildcats having lost three straight heartbreaking Pac-12 games, but the Buffs gave themselves the break they needed.
Colorado never trailed on its way to an 81-69 stomping of Arizona behind 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Jasmine Sborov. Lexy Kresl added 20 points and four assists, while Jen Reese contributed 19 points and eight boards. Haley Smith was the fourth Buff in double figures with 10 points.
"Didn't think we played our best of the season, by any means," Colorado coach Linda Lappe said. "Like that we did enough to win down the stretch. I thought our offense really clicked."
The deep shooting funk the Buffs (10-11, 3-7) suffered against Arizona State had all but disappeared by tipoff against the Wildcats (8-13, 1-9). Colorado shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and 50 percent from deep. It wasn't just the scoreboard, though — the Buffs looked like a completely different offensive team than the one that the Sun Devils stifled.
Colorado's ball movement was crisp, its passes quick and on target. The Buffs racked up 12 assists in the first half against Arizona after dishing out just nine Friday night. Sborov had four of those dimes — most of them to Reese on the elbows, where her jumper was automatic.
"We had been playing pretty well together in practice," Reese said. "That showed against ASU on Friday night and I just feel like, like coach said, our offense was clicking."
It seemed as if the only Buff baskets that weren't assisted were three pull-up threes that Kresl nailed to break the Wildcats' full-court press. Colorado has had mixed results against the press this season but against Arizona its ball movement and Kresl's hot shooting stretched the Wildcats too thin.
"We're just really getting to know each other and each other's tendencies a little better than we were at the beginning of the season," Sborov said. "I know where Jen's gonna be all the time, I know where my other players gonna be, they know where each other gonna be. It's a lot easier to play offense when you know your teammates."
Jamee Swan, who started despite the ankle injury she suffered Friday, struggled with her shot but fought hard on the glass and pulled down five offensive rebounds as CU held a 45-31 board advantage. Swan's presence alone helped the Buffs dominate inside; Arizona didn't score in the paint until there were eight minutes remaining in the first half and Colorado absolutely owned the boards — at one point the Buffs had as many offensive rebounds as the Wildcats had total boards.
Swan and Reese were bigger, stronger and more physical than anyone Arizona could throw at them. Had the Wildcats not attempted four times as many foul shots as the Buffs, Colorado's halftime lead would have been far greater than 41-31.
The Buffs' shooting cooled off slightly early in the second half, but their interior dominance did not. Colorado got three straight buckets off of possessions with two or more offensive rebounds. The Wildcats cut the Buffs' lead to six points with a 3-pointer from LaBrittney Jones but Colorado quickly pushed it back to double digits. Although the Buffs didn't shoot as well in the second half (36.7 percent, 45.3 for the game) their ball movement was still top-notch, their cuts were sharp and they rarely made a shot without at least two passes preceding it.
Malena Washington paced the Wildcats with 16 points but Arizona's offense was discombobulated all game en route to a 39 percent shooting performance.
Arizona did close the gap once again, with slightly less than four minutes remaining — Colorado committed more of the untimely turnovers (13 total) that have plagued it all season, and those gave the Wildcats easy transition opportunities. But they got no closer than five points and the Buffs closed the game out with free throws.
For the second straight game, though, Colorado lost a player late to an ankle injury. This time it was Kresl, who went down in the same spot on the floor that Swan did on Friday. She did not return to the game but rejoined the bench from the locker room in the closing seconds as Lauren Huggins nailed two free throws.
"She's tough," Lappe said of Kresl. "I thought she had a fantastic game."
Next up for the Buffs is the same Los Angeles road trip that the men's team just split. They face UCLA on Friday (8 p.m. MST, Live Stream through uclabruins.com) and USC next Sunday (1 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).
