Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
7-20,2-14Pac12
California
12-15,3-13Pac12
Brooks: Leonard, Smith, Swan Make CU Senior Day A Success
February 21, 2016 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – Jamee Swan probably didn't mind a bit, but Sunday's Senior Day for the Colorado women's basketball team came very close to being a freshmen showcase.
CU's Kennedy Leonard and California's Kristine Anigwe, a pair of first-year players, showed why they appear to be locks for the Pac-12's All-Freshman team, with Leonard leading the Buffaloes to a desperately needed 78-57 win at the Coors Events Center.
It was the fluid Leonard's ability to counter Anigwe's first half scoring and Leonard's overall floor leadership that provided the edge for the Buffs, who snapped a five-game losing streak and compensated for their worst loss of the season – an 80-49 rout on Friday night by No. 15 Stanford.
Leonard finished with a career-best 23 points – 19 in the first half – and a career-high 13 assists while Anigwe scored 30 for Cal, which remained winless in Pac-12 road games (0-11) and lost for the sixth time in its last seven games. Leonard became just the second CU women's player to have a 20/10 (points/assists) game, with her 13 assists the fourth most in school history.
"Kennedy had great composure and made great decisions," CU coach Linda Lappe said. "This season has been up and down for her but we know she's a great player. She played with a lot of confidence (Sunday); she was engaged and found her teammates when they were open – which shows by her 13 assists."
Swan did her part in her final home game, scoring 18 points and gathering 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. She left the game with 57.7 remaining to a standing ovation and the crowd chanting "Jamee Swan, Jamee Swan, Jamee Swan."
Said Swan of her final home 'W': "It feels amazing. It's hard to put into words. It's nice to get a win, but on Senior Night it's even better."
In her farewell weekend at the CEC, she scored 43 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Lappe said she and Swan had talked about exiting with that kind of performance: "It was her second great game in a row. (We) talked about her being on a mission, stepping up and playing like a senior . . . she played with a lot of energy and heart."
And not to be overlooked was CU junior Haley Smith, who continued her steady play by scoring a team-high 24 points – 13 in the second half. Smith's point total matched her career high, set in 2014 against San Jose State.
As much as her point/assist total, Leonard found joy in her team's attitude reversal from Friday night. After an anemic effort in the 31-point loss to the Cardinal, the Buffs were motivated to rekindle their energy as well as provide a fitting farewell for Swan.
"Coming out of the gates everybody wanted to get this win, not only just to get another win, but for Swan and all that she's done for this program," Leonard said.
As for her hitting 50 percent of her field goal attempts (9-of-18) and four of her seven 3-point tries, Leonard said she was comfortable with her pregame shooting: "I felt good today . . . my teammates were giving me the ball and telling me to keep shooting. That meant a lot. It got my confidence back up. Everybody has bumps in the road."
The Buffs (7-20 overall, 2-14 Pac-12) led 42-31 – their largest first-half advantage – at halftime, with that total surpassing their four-quarter output in the first meeting, a 64-35 January loss at Cal (12-15, 3-13).
But by the end of the first quarter, it appeared that Anigwe might singlehandedly own the afternoon. With 18 first-quarter points, she had matched her average and had CU fans believing that the Buffs' best defense on her was 5,430 feet.
And the altitude might have been a factor.
The 6-4 Anigwe – the Pac-12's No. 3 scorer – went scoreless in the second quarter as CU built its 11-point halftime lead. Anigwe managed only two second-quarter field goal attempts and didn't get to the free throw line, going to the dressing room with her 18 first-quarter points on 5-of-8 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line.
CU's 20-7 scoring edge in the second quarter, said Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb, "just absolutely killed us, and I credit Colorado. They were ready on Senior Night . . . we knew they were streaky and we let them get hot."
With Cal dressing only nine players, Lappe agreed that Anigwe might have been "wearing down a little." But she said the Buffs also altered their defensive scheme for her, noting that Leonard and the guards were tasked with helping deny Anigwe the ball.
"She was our number one, two and three defensive keys," Lappe said. "She might be the best low-block player in the league . . . (but) she had to work to get her 30."
Anigwe briefly left the court, limping slightly, with 6:40 left in the half but returned less than a minute later, finished out the quarter and started the second half.
Meanwhile, the other stellar freshman on the court – CU's Leonard – enjoyed her best half of the season. Hitting all four of her 3-point attempts, she finished the first half with 19 points and her six assists were instrumental as the Buffs revved up their fast break.
Leonard downplayed her record-setting assist total, claiming, "I was just hitting people who were open and moving to the right spots . . . I owe it all to them."
But Swan offered a good-natured rebuke, indicating to Leonard that she should never sell herself short in her ball-sharing ability: "She's got very good ball recognition."
With Swan scoring the second half's first four points and freshman Makenzie Ellis adding an inside basket, CU extended its advantage to 48-31 – the Buffs' largest lead in any Pac-12 game this season.
After Anigwe scored her first points since the first quarter, Leonard followed with a nifty layup to put CU up by 19 (52-33) with 7:24 left in the third. It was a rare and heady position for the Buffs – a double-digit lead in a conference game and the very real prospect of a blowout.
At the start of the fourth quarter, CU led 59-40 and looked to be in control if their turnovers and Anigwe could be kept in check. Both were; entering the period with 17 turnovers, the Buffs committed just four in the final 10 minutes while limiting Anigwe to seven points.
CU led by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter and Cal never got closer than 15.
"We talked about Saturday that whoever played with more energy would win this game," Lappe said. "That was the theme and message of this game. We played with the most energy that we've played with.
"We obviously had some great individual performances but I loved how our team played together. I love how hard they played. And now we just have to keep it going."
At 0-11 on the road, the Buffs close the regular season this week with a chance to end that streak. They play at Washington State (Thursday, 8 p.m. MST, WSU Live Stream) and at Washington (Saturday, 2 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks). The Pac-12 Tournament runs from March 3-6 in Seattle.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
