Colorado
3-1
Miami (Fla.)
2-1
Buffs Get Balanced Scoring To Knock Off No. 24 Miami
November 18, 2017 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — This time around, the Colorado Buffaloes didn't let a big lead slip away.
One week after allowing a 15-point lead over North Carolina to dissipate, the Buffs carved out a big cushion against another ACC foe — but this time held on, taking a 67-61 win over Miami (ranked No. 24 in the latest coaches poll) on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.
The Buffs broke open a tight game with a 21-5 third-quarter run, then withstood a Hurricanes rally down the stretch to improve to 3-0. Miami, which came into the game ranked No. 24 in the coaches poll, slipped to 2-1.
"I'm proud of our effort, our tenacity and our toughness," CU coach JR Payne said. "We were not perfect for 40 minutes, but we were those things for 40 minutes."
CU's Brecca Thomas led all scorers with 16 points. Freshman Annika Jank added 14 points and 12 rebounds for her first career double-double and Kennedy Leonard chipped in 11 points, eight assists and five steals for the Buffs.
HOW IT HAPPENED: After playing to a 24-24 tie in the first half, the two teams engaged in a see-saw battle early in the third quarter, trading the lead three times in the first four minutes of the period.
But just after the Hurricanes took a 31-29 lead, the Buffs answered with a 14-0 run that blossomed into a 21-5 surge by the quarter's end.
Junior guard Alexis Robinson started the burst with five straight points (including CU's first 3-pointer of the game) before Jank scored six of the Buffs' next nine points to complete the 14-0 run.
Miami temporarily halted the onslaught with a Sarah Mortenson bucket, but Colorado put together a 7-3 spurt to end the quarter, getting four points from Thomas and three from Leonard for a 50-36 lead at the end of three quarters.
"I was just trying to stay out of the way," Payne joked of the 21-5 roll. "These guys just showed incredible tenacity."
The Hurricanes, however, didn't go away quietly, using a 9-2 burst to start the fourth period to cut into Colorado's lead, cutting the cushion to six with three minutes left to play. Miami continued to whittle away, and with 24 seconds remaining, narrowed Colorado's lead to just four, 63-59.
But Leonard — who had missed three of four free throws in the previous two minutes — hit four attempts in the final 21 seconds to seal the win.
"We really showed a lot of poise in that stretch," Payne said. "That's something that we can use next game, and in March we'll use that reminder that even against the best defense in the country, we can be composed and exert our will."
Thomas was a spark on both ends of the floor, including a four-point spurt in the final minute of the third period. Jank, meanwhile, was outstanding on the boards, and also had a big block and assist on a Thomas bucket.
Thomas called last week's loss at North Carolina an "eye opener," adding, "It was a learning experience and you build on it.
The Buffs definitely built on it Saturday, refusing to wilt under Miami's pressure in the fourth period.
"It was a big confidence booster," Thomas said. "We knew they were going to be aggressive."
Colorado finished with a 43-38 edge in rebounding. Along with Jank's double-double, CU also received a nine-rebound, eight-point performance from Janea Bunn and seven rebounds from Aubrey Knight.
"Rebounding wins games," Jank said. "We always focus on rebounding in practice so I really tried to focus on that tonight."
The Buffs jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the first quarter, thanks in large part to the Hurricanes shooting 0-for-16 from the field in the first 10 minutes. CU's Zoe Correal had three points in the first period while Bunn, Jank, Quinessa Caylao-Do and Knight all had three rebounds.
But the Hurricanes found their shooting eye in the second quarter, hitting 6 of their first 7 shots to quickly close the gap before briefly taking the lead, 16-14, midway through the period.
Colorado, though, responded with a 6-0 run to take a 20-16 edge, fueled by back-to-back buckets from Thomas, both on assists from Leonard.
Miami then came back to tie the game and again briefly take the lead before Leonard hit one of two free throws just before the half to tie the game at 24-24 heading into intermission. Bunn led CU with five points in the first half, while Jank, Knight, Thomas and Correal added four apiece.
TURNING POINT: Midway through the third quarter, the Buffs went on a 14-0 run to turn a 31-29 deficit into a 43-29 lead and finished the quarter with a 21-5 surge to take a 50-36 edge into the final period.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs not only improved to 3-1, they did it against a team that was ranked No. 24 in the coaches poll and was receiving votes in the AP poll. It should be a big confidence boost for a young team in the coming weeks.
CU STANDOUTS: Freshman Annika Jank had 14 points and 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. … Senior guard Brecca Thomas had 16 points. … Junior guard Kennedy Leonard had 11 points, eight assists, five steals and three rebounds. … Freshman Janea Bunn had nine rebounds and eight points. … Aubrey Knight had seven rebounds, four points and a pair of steals.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs had a 15-8 edge on the boards in the decisive third quarter, including a 6-0 edge in second-chance points and a 12-4 lead in bench points.
NICE BURST FROM ROBINSON: After missing CU's last game with an injury, Alexis Robinson came off the bench in the second half to provide a big spark. Robinson hit the first five points of CU's 14-0 run in the period, including a 3-pointer that ended an 0-for-8 stretch from beyond the arc for the Buffs.
"She should be good from here on out," Payne said. "She's good to go, we just had to get through a few steps before she could get on the floor, but I thought she gave us a real boost."
NOTEWORTHY: Miami's one point in the first quarter was the lowest point total for a CU opponent (previous was 7 vs. Northern Colorado on Nov. 19, 2015, in the 1st quarter) ... Miami's .000 FG percentage in the first quarter was the lowest ever against CU in a quarter (previous was .077 by UMass on Nov. 27, 2015 in the 2nd quarter –1-for-13) ... Thomas's 16 points were a career high (previous was 12 vs. Northern Arizona in 2015 and again vs. Florida Atlantic this past Wednesday) ... Jank is the first CU freshman with a double-double in points and rebounds since Arielle Roberson (11 points, 12 rebounds) on March 23, 2013 vs. Kansas ... Jank's 12 rebounds were also the most for a CU freshman since Roberson in 2013 vs. Kansas ... CU's first win over a ranked team since beating No. 24 (WBCA poll) California on Feb. 12 last season on the road ... first win at home over a ranked team since Nov. 19 last season when CU defeated No. 15/19 Kentucky ... Leonard's eight assists were a season high ... This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We were very prepared. It was a good fight. We had a couple of runs. They had a couple of runs. We went back and forth. We buckled down and did what we needed to do. It is always nice to see us win that way – because then you know you can do it. You know you can buckle down and do the little things like pressure a little bit more, take a little bit more risks – which I think we did this game." — CU guard Brecca Thomas
"We definitely tried to set the tone. To have a really athletic ACC, top-25 team come into our place, we felt it was really important to be aggressive early. From the opening tip we were aggressive." — CU coach JR Payne
NEXT UP: The Buffs host the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic next Friday and Saturday, with Mississippi Valley State, Drake and George Mason also participating. Colorado meets MVSU on Friday at noon in the opener.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
General comments on the game
"I'll just start off by saying how proud I am of our effort, our tenacity, our toughness, we talk all the time about being the toughest, hardest working team. We weren't perfect for 40 minutes, but we were those things for 40 minutes and I'm really proud of that. That's where we want our program to be. I'm really proud of us."
On guard's exerting their will on the game
"I think they exerted their will defensively and offensively. There were no easy looks for Miami tonight. I thought our ball pressure was great at the top of our zone, our forwards played great angles, we were aggressive in our zone. I don't even know if we went man (defensively) tonight, which is rare for us. Great pressure defensively and great poise down the stretch, all our guards, everyone that was in the game showed incredible poise down the stretch."
On setting the tone
"We definitely tried to set the tone. To have a really athletic ACC, top-25 team come into our place, we felt it was really important to be aggressive early. From the opening tip we were aggressive."
On holding off Miami's late run
"Incredible. We were in this scenario last weekend (against North Carolina) and it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. I thought we showed a lot of poise down the stretch, we had two or three point guards in the game at a time, but we had a freshman post player inbounding the basketball against one of the most athletic defensive teams in the country. Annika [Jank] showed poise. Aubrey [Knight] flashed back and got to the ball. BT [Brecca Thomas] was composed, Kennedy [Leonard] was composed. Lexi [Robinson] came in after sitting down. That's something that we can use next game, and in March we'll use that reminder that even against the best defense in the country, we can be composed and exert our will."
On 21-5 third quarter run
"I was just trying to stay out of the way. It was all these guys, we (as coaches) didn't do anything different, we didn't call any special plays. These guys just had incredible effort, tenacity, toughness, the defensive rebounding was incredible because this team thrives on the boards, it kick starts our transition, it was really fun to watch."
On Alexis Robinson's health
"She should be good from here on out. She's good to go, we just had to get through a few steps before she could get on the floor, but I thought she gave us a real boost. She's been out until today, she got cleared to play at halftime, so I thought I'd throw her in and see how she does, and she came in and did great. She has a lot of experience and a lot of confidence, I knew she would be fine."
Brecca Thomas, senior
On this win being a confidence booster for a young team
"It is definitely a big confidence booster for sure. We knew watching from the scout that Miami was going to be aggressive and we knew who they were coming in. We were very prepared. It was a good fight. We had a couple of runs. They had a couple of runs. We went back and forth. We buckled down and did what we needed to do. It is always nice to see us win that way – because then you know you can do it. You know you can buckle down and do the little things like pressure a little bit more, take a little bit more risks – which I think we did this game. In the end, it led to fast-break layups, open shots, and steals. I thought it was a really fun win and a good win."
On if the loss against North Carolina was a learning experience for the team
"It is one of those things where it is a learning experience and you build on what you see on film. You build on the mistakes. We are going to make mistakes. We just have to go hard and learn from them. We have to keep building and building the team and the core. Everything that we do in practice, we have to show it when game time comes and be focused. That UNC game was definitely an eye opener – could've, should've, would've. Right now, this game is a big confidence booster. So from here on out, it is a snowball effect in a good way to give us good motivation and confidence going into the next one. UNC definitely opened our eyes."
Annika Jank, freshman
On tallying a double-double I today's game
"It is really exciting. It is a lot on the team too. We always focus on rebounding in practice so I tried to get after it tonight because rebounding was one of our keys. I am just trying to take the open shot. When the shot is open, I take it and go for it."
On the importance of rebounding in today's game
"I truly believe that rebounding wins games. We know that Miami is a great crashing team so our main key was boxing out and I think we did a great job of doing that."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
