Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
5-13, 0-7Pac-12
Oregon
13-5, 2-5Pac-12
Lappe's Buffs Fall To Oregon, 59-46
January 22, 2016 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For much of the season, inconsistency has been the downfall of Linda Lappe's Colorado Buffaloes.
The bug bit the Buffs again Friday night, as they let an early lead slip away and fell 59-46 to visiting Oregon before 3,818 at the Coors Events Center.
The loss, CU's eighth in a row, dropped CU to 5-13 overall and 0-7 in Pac-12 play while Oregon improved to 13-5, 2-5.
Jamee Swan and Lauren Huggins each scored eight points for the Buffs while Lexi Bando and Jillian Alleyne each scored 14 for the Ducks.
As has been the case throughout the Pac-12 season, the Buffs put together some solid stretches. With Swan back in the starting lineup after missing two games because of a back injury and coming off the bench for two more, CU jumped out to a 12-7 first-quarter lead. Swan scored the first four points of the game and had six by the end of the period.
The Buffs then extended that margin to 18-10 early in the second period, getting a pair of buckets from Zoe Beard-Fails, and looked to be on the verge of seizing control for good. But Swan drew her second foul with seven minutes left in the period, and the Buffs' offense went stagnant and their defense slipped as well. The Ducks hit three 3-pointers in a four minute stretch and the 18-10 CU lead melted away into a 28-22 Oregon edge at the half, as the Ducks outscored the Buffs 18-4 over the stretch.
CU never led again.
"We've got to be able to regroup," Lappe said. "We have players that can score the basketball. We're getting good shots, we've just got to knock them down."
Indeed, the Buffs were plagued by poor shooting for much of the night. CU shot just 32 percent for the evening (19-for-60) while the Ducks, who missed nine of their first 13 field goal tries, rebounded to shoot nearly 50 percent (19-for-40) the remainder of the game.
Colorado did manage to shave Oregon's lead down to three, 33-30, early in the second half. Â Swan hit a left-handed scoop shot from the lane, Haley Smith canned a jumper and Huggins turned a steal into a bucket to narrow the Oregon lead to 33-30.
But after a timeout, the Ducks regained control and outscored the Buffs 12-5 the rest of the period to take a 45-35 lead into the fourth quarter. Oregon then managed to keep the Buffs at bay for the remainder of the game.
"It just came down to key possessions at key times that we needed to either score or get a stop," Lappe said. "We did a nice job after halftime cutting the lead, but then we let our guard down a little on the defensive end."
Despite their poor shooting, the Buffs kept it close in the first half by outrebounding the Ducks, holding a 22-17 edge on the boards after two periods. Oregon, however, took that edge away in the second half and finished with a 41-36 rebounding lead.
"We let our guard down on rebounding," Swan said. "We didn't crash as hard as we did in the first half. We let them throw the first punch and then realized it two punches too late."
Swan led CU with eight rebounds while Makenzie Ellis came off the bench to grab six and Huggins added five. The Buffs also got some scoring help off the bench, with Beard-Fails scoring six and Thomas adding four.
"Our bench came in and gave us a spark in the first half," Lappe said.
But overall, the Buffs couldn't put together any sustained stretches on either end of the floor.
"There are just a few breakdowns in succession," Lappe said. "Not one turnover, but three or four in a row. Not one layup that we give up, but three or four in a row. We have to have the right mindset."
The Buffs won't have long to regroup, as they play host to No. 11 Oregon State on Sunday in a 3 p.m. game (Pac-12 Networks).
"Everybody is working hard, everybody wants to win," Lappe said. "It's just a matter of everybody putting it together at the right time. We don't have a large margin for error … we just need everybody to come in and do their job."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
