Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
7-22, 2-16
Washington
20-9, 11-7
Buffs Wrap Regular Season With 68-47 Loss To Huskies
February 27, 2016 | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE — Colorado junior Haley Smith recorded a 14-point, six-rebound, three-assist performance Saturday in her return to her home area, but it wasn't enough as the Buffaloes dropped a 68-47 decision to Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The loss in the regular season finale dropped CU's record to 7-22 on the season (2-16 Pac-12) while Washington improved to 20-9 (11-7). Â The two teams will meet again this Thursday in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament at Key Arena in Seattle.
A cold-shooting first quarter put the Buffs in a 19-6 hole after the first quarter. While they did come back to play the Huskies on a relatively even basis the rest of the game, they could never overcome the big early deficit.
Smith, who played prep ball at nearby Skyline High School in Sammamish, scored all six of Colorado's first-quarter points on 3-for-4 shooting, but her teammates couldn't match her hot hand.
CU managed to briefly cut UW's lead down to 11 at two different junctures in the second quarter, the latest coming on a Makenzie Ellis jumper with just three minutes left before intermission. But, a late Washington burst put the Huskies back in control and CU trailed 32-16 at the half.
Defensively, the Buffs held UW's  Kelsey Plum, the nation's third-leading scorer, to 18 points, 8.8 points under her average. But the Huskies did counter with balance, putting five scorers in double figures while Smith was the only player in double digits for the Buffs.
CU senior forward Jamee Swan finished with four points, five rebounds and four assists.
One bright spot for Linda Lappe's Buffs was their bench, which produced 20 points. Brecca Thomas had six points and four rebounds, and she and Kennedy Leonard each had three assists. Lauren Huggins and Zoe Beard-Fails had five points each for Colorado.
Colorado will no doubt be looking to recreate a little of last year's Pac-12 Tournament magic beginning Thursday. A year ago, the Buffs entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed, but proceeded to knock off USC and No. 1 Oregon State before finally falling to Cal in the semifinals.
The Buffs enter this year's tourney as the No. 12 seed; the first three rounds will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and ESPN will carry the Championship.
Washington is fixed as the No. 5 seed regardless of Sunday's results, thus the CU-UW rematch is set for Thursday at 9:30 p.m. Mountain Time. The winner will face the No. 4 seed (either Stanford or UCLA) on Friday.Â
UW swept the season series from CU, winning the conference opener back on Jan. 2 in Boulder, 76-74, along with Saturday afternoon's win on its home court.
