Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
10-12, 3-8 P-12
UCLA
9-13, 5-6 P-12
Buffs Rally But Can't Close Out Bruins In 72-65 Loss
February 07, 2015 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES - The Colorado women's basketball team rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit and even took a pair of late one-point leads Friday night against UCLA. But the comeback was in vain; the Buffs couldn't close out the Bruins and lost 72-65 at Pauley Pavilion.
The Buffs used a 20-6 run to overtake the Bruins 61-60 on a three-point play by Jasmine Sborov for their first lead of the game with 3:12 remaining.
CU (10-12 overall, 3-8 Pac-12) led again 63-62 on a pair of Lexy Kresl free throws with 2:30 left, but UCLA (9-13, 5-6) took advantage of four late turnovers and finished with a 10-2 run to finish the Buffs.Â
The Buffs committed 28 turnovers, 18 of them in the first half as the Bruins led by as many as 17 points before a 7-2 run cut CU's halftime deficit to 34-22. The Buffs battled from behind all night, falling behind 11-0 in the first 4 minutes.
With their 90-84 win in Boulder on Jan. 11, the Bruins swept the Buffs after losing three games to CU last season. Those three CU wins had tied the series at 5-5, including 3-3 in Pac-12 play.
Jamee Swan led the Buffs with 17 points, with Kresl adding 13 and Sborov 11. Jen Reese, who scored a career-high 30 points in the first meeting, was held to four points Friday night. She hit two free throws with 5:10 to play and didn't make her first field goal until 47 seconds remained.
Nirra Fields scored 24 points for the Bruins. Monique Billings added 14 and Jordin Canada 12.
The Buffs turned on themselves early, committing four turnovers in less than 5 minutes and quickly falling behind 11-0. By the first half's halfway point they had committed 10 turnovers and trailed 17-5, finally getting a put-back by Zoe Correal at the 14:32 mark and a 3-pointer by Kresl two possessions later.
But the error epidemic didn't subside. By halftime CU had committed 18 turnovers that led to 18 UCLA points and a 34-22 Bruins lead. The Buffs entered the night averaging 17 turnovers a game, so with 20 minutes remaining ball-handling and mental perfection would be needed to head off a truly embarrassing outing.
Neither team's first-half shooting was close to stellar. After opening 0-for-7, CU finished the half 10-for-29 (34 percent) while UCLA was 13-for-37 (35 percent). The Bruins also got 10 second-chance points to the Buffs' zero and finished the game with an 18-15 edge in that category.
CU shot 42 percent (23-of-55) for the game while UCLA was at 38 percent (35-of-66).
If CU was to stage a second-half comeback, it would have to start with being more careful with the basketball. The Buffs were, and they slowly began to climb back into the game.
Lauren Huggins hit three consecutive 3-pointers to start the Buffs on their comeback, cutting a 16-point Bruins lead to 8 (45-37). From there, CU kept applying the defensive pressure while Swan and Sborov supplied most of the offensive work in the Buffs' 20-6 run.
After Kresl's two free throws gave CU a 63-62 lead, a chance to pad that advantage disappeared when she turned it over. It was the first of four turnovers in five possessions, leading to the Bruins' 10-2 run to finish the night.
CU plays at USC on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).Â
