Friday, January 6
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
11-3, 1-2Pac-12
65
vs
56
Arizona
9-5, 0-3Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Arizona
12
10
18
16
56
Colorado
17
13
14
21
65
Kennedy Leonard dishes one of her nine assists against Arizona.
Photo by: Pro-Motion Photography
Buffs Break Into Pac-12 Win Column, End Three-Game Losing Skid
January 06, 2017 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
Leonard leads 65-56 win over Arizona with 20 points, 9 assists
BOULDER – The Colorado women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak and claimed its first Pac-12 Conference win, defeating Arizona 65-56 on Friday night at the Coors Events Center.
CU (11-3, 1-2) never trailed but was forced to hold off Arizona (9-5, 0-3) in the final minute. The Wildcats cut a 14-point Buffs lead to 6, but five free throws by Kennedy Leonard and Makenzie Ellis helped subdue the visitors. The Buffs made only one field goal in the final 3:10, scoring their last seven points at the free throw line.
"It wasn't very pretty but it went in the right column. I'll take it," said first-year CU coach JR Payne. "I love how aggressive we were initially at both ends of the floor."
Leonard led the Buffs with 20 points and was one of three CU players in double figures. Haley Smith and Alexis Robinson added 12 points each, while Leonard had a team-high nine assists and Smith a team-best nine rebounds.
Arizona was paced by Malena Washington with 22 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs – Robinson to be precise – made their first three shots and took an 8-0 lead that swelled to 11-0 when Smith knocked down CU's third straight trey, two of them by Robinson.
That hot start didn't last. The Buffs encountered a 4-minute scoring drought, allowing the Wildcats to pull to within 15-10, then 17-12 at quarter's end.
But CU started the second quarter as it had the first, launching a 7-0 run to take its largest lead to that point – 24-12. The surge consisted of Leonard scoring her first basket, Robinson adding two free throws and Ellis dropping a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
The Buffs' shooting was sporadic for the rest of the quarter but the Wildcats were only slightly better. By halftime CU was shooting 33.3 percent (11-of-33) yet still led 30-22. And Arizona went to the locker room with a 28 percent field goal percentage (7-of-25).
The Buffs committed 10 first-half turnovers, the Wildcats 9, and CU out-rebounded the visitors 26-15.
Robinson finished the half with a team-best 10 points while Washington matched that total for Arizona.
After quick starts in the first two quarter, the Buffs couldn't match that to open the third. They didn't get their first field goal – Leonard scored it – until nearly 3 minutes in and the Wildcats outscored them 8-3 to pull to within 33-30 on a Dejza James layup at the 6:14 mark.
A 5-0 CU run opened a 38-30 lead but Arizona wouldn't wilt. The Wildcats went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the third quarter, helping them stay close, and they outscored the Buffs 6-2 in the final 1:02 and trailed just 44-40 entering the fourth quarter.
But CU opened the last period on another flurry, scoring the quarter's first 10 points and taking their largest lead of the game at 14 points (54-40) with 6:14 to play.
Leonard and Zoe Correal each had four points during the run, with Smith getting the other basket.
The Wildcats closed to within 58-50 on a Washington jumper with 1:47 to play, then to 60-54 on a Taryn Griffey trey with 45 seconds remaining.
But the Buffs hit 5-of-6 free throws in the last 36 seconds to halt the Wildcats and earn their first conference win of the season.
TURNING POINT: With Arizona closing to 60-54 on a Taryn Griffey trey, Leonard hit three of four free throws and Ellis added two of two in the final 36 seconds to keep the Wildcats at bay.
CU STANDOUTS: Leonard had nine assists to go with her 20 points and was 8-of-11 from the free throw line . . . . Smith's nine rebounds tied her for the game high and was one more than teammate Ariana Freeman, whose eight boards tied a career best . . . . Smith also scored 12 points, as did Robinson.
KEY STATISTICS: While the Buffs didn't shoot impressively (23-of-62 from the field, 37 percent; 4-of-19 from long range, 21 percent; 15-of-24 from the free throw line, 63 percent, they out-rebounded the Wildcats 46-35, including 18-9 on the offensive end. They also made 10 steals, helping push the Wildcats into 19 turnovers. CU committed 16 turnovers, but only six in the second half.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU needed to maintain momentum generated in the second half of last weekend's loss at No. 10 UCLA – and the Buffs, although not as crisp as Payne would like – were able to do it and earn their first conference win of the season. But they'll need to take it up a notch on Sunday when No. 19 Arizona State visits.
NOTEWORTHY: CU snapped a four-game losing streak in Pac-12 play .... it's the seventh time this season CU has held an opponent under 60 points .... CU improved to 15-4 all-time against Arizona, including 9-1 in Boulder with the last loss at home to UA coming in 1975 .... Leonard's 10th career game with 20+ points and sixth this season .... Ariana Freeman tied a career high with eight rebounds (last vs. Wyoming) .... Smith tied a career high with four steals (third time, last at Mississippi Valley State) .... CU has had 10+ steals in 13 of 14 games this season.
QUOTEWORTHY: "I'm very excited to get our first conference win. I was just telling the team that it wasn't beautiful but that it doesn't have to be beautiful. It's doesn't have to be pretty in order for us to execute down the stretch and do the things we need to do to be successful." – CU coach JR Payne
"Well we always say that our defense creates our offense. We know that our transition game is the best that we have and we were able to use that especially early on in the game when we turned them over and were able to score easy buckets because of that." – Makenzie Ellis on the importance of defense
"It's pretty big, it's just a momentum swing. So just coming out and being ready, especially in the beginning of the first quarter I think we went up eight to nothing, so just coming out and being ready to go. We always talk about coming out and hitting them first so the fact that we could do that in more than one quarter throughout the game probably says a lot about us." – Kennedy Leonard on surges to start three of the four quarters
NEXT UP: The Buffs return to the CEC on Sunday afternoon to play No.19 Arizona State (4 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) in the second of four consecutive home games.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Colorado Head Coach JR Payne
General
"I'm very excited to get our first conference win. I was just telling the team that it wasn't beautiful but that it doesn't have to be beautiful. It's doesn't have to be pretty in order for us to execute down the stretch and do the things we need to do to be successful. There's a lot of good things to take from the stats sheet. We had six turnovers in the second half against a team that was trying to pressure and pick up things defensively. We outrebounded them by 11, we had three different players in double figures and we got to the free throw line 10 more times than our opponent which is important for us to do. I think that showed some aggressive tendencies. Even though it wasn't the prettiest game ever it went into the column of the left so we're happy."
On Out Rebounding Arizona
"We held them to nine offensive rebounds and I thought was huge since that's a big part of their offense."
On Handling All of Arizona's Comeback Attempts
"That speaks to the experience and strength of this team. We talk about how there's always going to be runs and its about how are you going to handle that. When you're the team making the run you need to stay on it and push and when the other team is making the run you have to dig your heels in and be able to make stops. A big part of that tonight was defensive rebounding."
On Prepping for Arizona State
"I'm superstitious in the sense that I won't watch film on the next opponent until the game right now is over. I'll be up all night watching Arizona State. They'll defend you for 40 minutes and they're one of the best defensive teams in the country with great interior play. One of our assistant coaches happened to play for Arizona State so we'll have her give us some scouting information on them. It's a great challenge to have a top 20 team come into your home court and play you in the best conference in the country."
Colorado Player Quotes
Makenzie Ellis
On the importance of rebounding:
"I think that's a big part, I mean as team we want to establish that as our identity. But also we knew this team scores a lot on second chance opportunity so we knew we had to box out, keep them off the glass, and limit those second opportunities. Myself and everyone, we came in and got a lot of rebounds--Correal and Ariana-- the whole team just as a whole did a great job of getting on the glass really hard.
On the importance of defense:
"Well we always say that our defense creates our offense. We know that our transition game is the best that we have and we were able to use that especially early on in the game when we turned them over and were able to score easy buckets because of that."
On their upcoming opponent ASU and playing them in the past:
"Yeah they do pressure really hard. I remember last year they were up in the full court ready to play you. You just have to come out calm and ready to go against them."
Kennedy Leonard
On the importance of the large scoring runs the Buffs went on to start some quarters:
"It's pretty big, it's just a momentum swing. So just coming out and being ready, especially in the beginning of the first quarter I think we went up eight to nothing, so just coming out and being ready to go. We always talk about coming out and hitting them first so the fact that we could do that in more than one quarter throughout the game probably says a lot about us."
On their first conference win:
"It's huge. You know anytime we get a win it's kind of exciting. And you know we're getting better with each game, we kind of started off a little slow. I think with each game we're getting better, in fact we know we have to defend our home court, we're here, we're in Boulder, we're home so we have to defend our home court. I think that we did a really good job of getting this win, but you know this win is over, we're going to relax tonight, and then get after Arizona State tomorrow."
On their upcoming opponent ASU and playing them in the past:
"They just work hard. We're going to need to outwork them and being in control is a big thing for us. So as long as we control them and control ourselves and play our game we'll be good."
CU (11-3, 1-2) never trailed but was forced to hold off Arizona (9-5, 0-3) in the final minute. The Wildcats cut a 14-point Buffs lead to 6, but five free throws by Kennedy Leonard and Makenzie Ellis helped subdue the visitors. The Buffs made only one field goal in the final 3:10, scoring their last seven points at the free throw line.
"It wasn't very pretty but it went in the right column. I'll take it," said first-year CU coach JR Payne. "I love how aggressive we were initially at both ends of the floor."
Leonard led the Buffs with 20 points and was one of three CU players in double figures. Haley Smith and Alexis Robinson added 12 points each, while Leonard had a team-high nine assists and Smith a team-best nine rebounds.
Arizona was paced by Malena Washington with 22 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs – Robinson to be precise – made their first three shots and took an 8-0 lead that swelled to 11-0 when Smith knocked down CU's third straight trey, two of them by Robinson.
That hot start didn't last. The Buffs encountered a 4-minute scoring drought, allowing the Wildcats to pull to within 15-10, then 17-12 at quarter's end.
But CU started the second quarter as it had the first, launching a 7-0 run to take its largest lead to that point – 24-12. The surge consisted of Leonard scoring her first basket, Robinson adding two free throws and Ellis dropping a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
The Buffs' shooting was sporadic for the rest of the quarter but the Wildcats were only slightly better. By halftime CU was shooting 33.3 percent (11-of-33) yet still led 30-22. And Arizona went to the locker room with a 28 percent field goal percentage (7-of-25).
The Buffs committed 10 first-half turnovers, the Wildcats 9, and CU out-rebounded the visitors 26-15.
Robinson finished the half with a team-best 10 points while Washington matched that total for Arizona.
After quick starts in the first two quarter, the Buffs couldn't match that to open the third. They didn't get their first field goal – Leonard scored it – until nearly 3 minutes in and the Wildcats outscored them 8-3 to pull to within 33-30 on a Dejza James layup at the 6:14 mark.
A 5-0 CU run opened a 38-30 lead but Arizona wouldn't wilt. The Wildcats went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the third quarter, helping them stay close, and they outscored the Buffs 6-2 in the final 1:02 and trailed just 44-40 entering the fourth quarter.
But CU opened the last period on another flurry, scoring the quarter's first 10 points and taking their largest lead of the game at 14 points (54-40) with 6:14 to play.
Leonard and Zoe Correal each had four points during the run, with Smith getting the other basket.
The Wildcats closed to within 58-50 on a Washington jumper with 1:47 to play, then to 60-54 on a Taryn Griffey trey with 45 seconds remaining.
But the Buffs hit 5-of-6 free throws in the last 36 seconds to halt the Wildcats and earn their first conference win of the season.
TURNING POINT: With Arizona closing to 60-54 on a Taryn Griffey trey, Leonard hit three of four free throws and Ellis added two of two in the final 36 seconds to keep the Wildcats at bay.
CU STANDOUTS: Leonard had nine assists to go with her 20 points and was 8-of-11 from the free throw line . . . . Smith's nine rebounds tied her for the game high and was one more than teammate Ariana Freeman, whose eight boards tied a career best . . . . Smith also scored 12 points, as did Robinson.
KEY STATISTICS: While the Buffs didn't shoot impressively (23-of-62 from the field, 37 percent; 4-of-19 from long range, 21 percent; 15-of-24 from the free throw line, 63 percent, they out-rebounded the Wildcats 46-35, including 18-9 on the offensive end. They also made 10 steals, helping push the Wildcats into 19 turnovers. CU committed 16 turnovers, but only six in the second half.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU needed to maintain momentum generated in the second half of last weekend's loss at No. 10 UCLA – and the Buffs, although not as crisp as Payne would like – were able to do it and earn their first conference win of the season. But they'll need to take it up a notch on Sunday when No. 19 Arizona State visits.
NOTEWORTHY: CU snapped a four-game losing streak in Pac-12 play .... it's the seventh time this season CU has held an opponent under 60 points .... CU improved to 15-4 all-time against Arizona, including 9-1 in Boulder with the last loss at home to UA coming in 1975 .... Leonard's 10th career game with 20+ points and sixth this season .... Ariana Freeman tied a career high with eight rebounds (last vs. Wyoming) .... Smith tied a career high with four steals (third time, last at Mississippi Valley State) .... CU has had 10+ steals in 13 of 14 games this season.
QUOTEWORTHY: "I'm very excited to get our first conference win. I was just telling the team that it wasn't beautiful but that it doesn't have to be beautiful. It's doesn't have to be pretty in order for us to execute down the stretch and do the things we need to do to be successful." – CU coach JR Payne
"Well we always say that our defense creates our offense. We know that our transition game is the best that we have and we were able to use that especially early on in the game when we turned them over and were able to score easy buckets because of that." – Makenzie Ellis on the importance of defense
"It's pretty big, it's just a momentum swing. So just coming out and being ready, especially in the beginning of the first quarter I think we went up eight to nothing, so just coming out and being ready to go. We always talk about coming out and hitting them first so the fact that we could do that in more than one quarter throughout the game probably says a lot about us." – Kennedy Leonard on surges to start three of the four quarters
NEXT UP: The Buffs return to the CEC on Sunday afternoon to play No.19 Arizona State (4 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) in the second of four consecutive home games.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Colorado Head Coach JR Payne
General
"I'm very excited to get our first conference win. I was just telling the team that it wasn't beautiful but that it doesn't have to be beautiful. It's doesn't have to be pretty in order for us to execute down the stretch and do the things we need to do to be successful. There's a lot of good things to take from the stats sheet. We had six turnovers in the second half against a team that was trying to pressure and pick up things defensively. We outrebounded them by 11, we had three different players in double figures and we got to the free throw line 10 more times than our opponent which is important for us to do. I think that showed some aggressive tendencies. Even though it wasn't the prettiest game ever it went into the column of the left so we're happy."
On Out Rebounding Arizona
"We held them to nine offensive rebounds and I thought was huge since that's a big part of their offense."
On Handling All of Arizona's Comeback Attempts
"That speaks to the experience and strength of this team. We talk about how there's always going to be runs and its about how are you going to handle that. When you're the team making the run you need to stay on it and push and when the other team is making the run you have to dig your heels in and be able to make stops. A big part of that tonight was defensive rebounding."
On Prepping for Arizona State
"I'm superstitious in the sense that I won't watch film on the next opponent until the game right now is over. I'll be up all night watching Arizona State. They'll defend you for 40 minutes and they're one of the best defensive teams in the country with great interior play. One of our assistant coaches happened to play for Arizona State so we'll have her give us some scouting information on them. It's a great challenge to have a top 20 team come into your home court and play you in the best conference in the country."
Colorado Player Quotes
Makenzie Ellis
On the importance of rebounding:
"I think that's a big part, I mean as team we want to establish that as our identity. But also we knew this team scores a lot on second chance opportunity so we knew we had to box out, keep them off the glass, and limit those second opportunities. Myself and everyone, we came in and got a lot of rebounds--Correal and Ariana-- the whole team just as a whole did a great job of getting on the glass really hard.
On the importance of defense:
"Well we always say that our defense creates our offense. We know that our transition game is the best that we have and we were able to use that especially early on in the game when we turned them over and were able to score easy buckets because of that."
On their upcoming opponent ASU and playing them in the past:
"Yeah they do pressure really hard. I remember last year they were up in the full court ready to play you. You just have to come out calm and ready to go against them."
Kennedy Leonard
On the importance of the large scoring runs the Buffs went on to start some quarters:
"It's pretty big, it's just a momentum swing. So just coming out and being ready, especially in the beginning of the first quarter I think we went up eight to nothing, so just coming out and being ready to go. We always talk about coming out and hitting them first so the fact that we could do that in more than one quarter throughout the game probably says a lot about us."
On their first conference win:
"It's huge. You know anytime we get a win it's kind of exciting. And you know we're getting better with each game, we kind of started off a little slow. I think with each game we're getting better, in fact we know we have to defend our home court, we're here, we're in Boulder, we're home so we have to defend our home court. I think that we did a really good job of getting this win, but you know this win is over, we're going to relax tonight, and then get after Arizona State tomorrow."
On their upcoming opponent ASU and playing them in the past:
"They just work hard. We're going to need to outwork them and being in control is a big thing for us. So as long as we control them and control ourselves and play our game we'll be good."
Team Stats
ARIZ
COLO
FG%
.345
.371
3FG%
.313
.211
FT%
.929
.625
RB
35
46
TO
19
16
STL
7
10
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballDesiree Wooten at media day ahead of the 2025-26 season #gobuffs
Monday, October 13
Erianna Gooden at media day ahead of the 2025-26 season #gobuffs
Monday, October 13
Jade Masogayo at media day ahead of the 2025-26 season #gobuffs
Monday, October 13
JoJo Nworie at media day ahead of the 2025-26 season #gobuffs
Monday, October 13