Friday, November 24
Boulder, Colo.
12:00 PM
Colorado
4-1
85
vs
48
Mississippi Valley State
0-3
1
2
3
4
F
Mississippi Valley State
11
15
10
12
48
Colorado
16
22
27
20
85
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buffs Roll Past Mississippi Valley State In First Round Of RMHC
November 24, 2017 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER - Colorado exploded for 47 points in the second half as the Buffs rolled past Mississippi Valley State 85-48 on Friday in the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic. CU will play George Mason in the championship game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
STAT LEADERS: Alexis Robinson led all scorers with 15 points as six Buffs scored in double figures. Robinson shot 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the outside.
Kennedy Leonard had 13 points and seven assists. Janea Bunn, Annika Jank , Aubrey Knight and Mathilde Diop each had 10 points as well. Diop had a double-double with 10 rebounds and contributed five steals. Bunn had five blocked shots.
Jaimie Curtis, who had played four seconds all season entering Friday, had eight rebounds in 12 minutes. Peyton Carter added five assists in her first career game.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game and never trailed. After hitting just 4-of-19 (.211) from the floor in the first quarter, the offense came alive in the second as the Buffs made 10-of-14 (.714), led by nine points from Robinson, who knocked down all four of her shots.
Colorado broke a 12-point halftime lead wide open, using an 18-0 run early in the second half to take a 56-28 lead at the midway point in the third quarter. CU made 6-of-7 shot during the run, scoring three of its baskets in transition as the Buffs forced four turnovers.
CU buried 5-of-6 shots from the outside in the third quarter, including two each from Leonard and Robinson.
Curtis tied a CU record with seven rebounds in the fourth quarter, helping the Buffs to a 17-8 advantage in the period.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot 43.8 percent from the floor, while holding MVSU to just 22.2 percent. The Buffs also outrebounded the Devilettes 54-40, while tying a season high with 10 3-point field goals.
NOTES: Leonard is now four points away from 1,000 for her career ... CU is 49-12 all-time in the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic and is trying for its 21st championship in the 31st year of the tournament ... Diop's double-double was the first of her career (she had played just three minutes all season entering Friday) ... Bunn's five blocked shots were the most for a CU player since Zoe Correal had six at North Dakota State on Nov. 22, 2016 ... CU's .792 free throw percentage was its best of the season ... CU's 54 rebounds and 10 blocked shots were both the most since Nov. 30, 2016, against Southeastern Louisiana (65 rebounds and school-record 16 blocks) ... Curtis tied the school record for most rebounds in a quarter with seven in the fourth.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will face George Mason in the finals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. GMU defeated Drake 87-75 in the second game on Friday.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
General
"We are thrilled to open up the tournament with a really good athletic team, and a really great effort by all of us. We talked about dominating the boards and I thought we did that, not necessarily through the entire game, but I thought we did a great job on the glass. It was really fun to see everyone get in the game and have an impact both scoring and rebounding."
On dominant third quarter
"For three days we've been talking about being aggressive, and at times we were but not like I wanted them to. When Lex (Alexis Robinson) says I got on them at halftime, that's all we were talking about was being aggressive. I thought we did that more consistently in the third quarter. Aggression leads to rebounds, paint touches, more open shots, so that's where I really thought the game turned."
On play of sophomore Mathilde Diop
"One thing we really emphasize and stat a lot in practice is rebounding, and even with as big and as long as we are, Mathilde led us in rebounding this week. Some people have been surprised to see her with 10 rebounds tonight, but I wasn't because she's been doing that all week."
On playing a deep rotation
"It's great. Any time you play, whether you play 10 minutes or minutes, you're going to be tired, but I think it was great for the experience factor. Tomorrow's opponent, whether it's George Mason or Drake, they'll be really tough and really disciplined, so I don't know how much of an impact it has (on playing tomorrow)."
On defensive effort and Janea Bunn's defensive presence inside
"I think a lot of the credit goes to these guards defending on the perimeter, we talk about hands up and being active, and I think they did that. Janea (Bunn) kind of set the tone on the first possession of the game with a monster block and I think everybody fed off of that. I don't know if Janea (Bunn) was a volleyball player, but she looked like it at times today. But like I said, these guys were really pressuring on the perimeter and funneling them into Janea, and I thought Janea had great timing (blocking shots). You can pick up fouls going for blocks like that, but she did a great job reaching the ball at it's highest point and it was great for all of us."
Alexis Robinson, junior
On the momentum the team had during an 18-0 run in the third quarter
"During halftime, coach Payne told us we needed to be more disciplined and more tough. She told us we needed to focus on ourselves as a team."
Mathilde Diop, sophomore
On her performance against Mississippi Valley State
"It's crazy. I didn't think I'd do that well. I just tried to focus on the details. I just tried to play my game."
STAT LEADERS: Alexis Robinson led all scorers with 15 points as six Buffs scored in double figures. Robinson shot 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the outside.
Kennedy Leonard had 13 points and seven assists. Janea Bunn, Annika Jank , Aubrey Knight and Mathilde Diop each had 10 points as well. Diop had a double-double with 10 rebounds and contributed five steals. Bunn had five blocked shots.
Jaimie Curtis, who had played four seconds all season entering Friday, had eight rebounds in 12 minutes. Peyton Carter added five assists in her first career game.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game and never trailed. After hitting just 4-of-19 (.211) from the floor in the first quarter, the offense came alive in the second as the Buffs made 10-of-14 (.714), led by nine points from Robinson, who knocked down all four of her shots.
Colorado broke a 12-point halftime lead wide open, using an 18-0 run early in the second half to take a 56-28 lead at the midway point in the third quarter. CU made 6-of-7 shot during the run, scoring three of its baskets in transition as the Buffs forced four turnovers.
CU buried 5-of-6 shots from the outside in the third quarter, including two each from Leonard and Robinson.
Curtis tied a CU record with seven rebounds in the fourth quarter, helping the Buffs to a 17-8 advantage in the period.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot 43.8 percent from the floor, while holding MVSU to just 22.2 percent. The Buffs also outrebounded the Devilettes 54-40, while tying a season high with 10 3-point field goals.
NOTES: Leonard is now four points away from 1,000 for her career ... CU is 49-12 all-time in the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic and is trying for its 21st championship in the 31st year of the tournament ... Diop's double-double was the first of her career (she had played just three minutes all season entering Friday) ... Bunn's five blocked shots were the most for a CU player since Zoe Correal had six at North Dakota State on Nov. 22, 2016 ... CU's .792 free throw percentage was its best of the season ... CU's 54 rebounds and 10 blocked shots were both the most since Nov. 30, 2016, against Southeastern Louisiana (65 rebounds and school-record 16 blocks) ... Curtis tied the school record for most rebounds in a quarter with seven in the fourth.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will face George Mason in the finals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. GMU defeated Drake 87-75 in the second game on Friday.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
General
"We are thrilled to open up the tournament with a really good athletic team, and a really great effort by all of us. We talked about dominating the boards and I thought we did that, not necessarily through the entire game, but I thought we did a great job on the glass. It was really fun to see everyone get in the game and have an impact both scoring and rebounding."
On dominant third quarter
"For three days we've been talking about being aggressive, and at times we were but not like I wanted them to. When Lex (Alexis Robinson) says I got on them at halftime, that's all we were talking about was being aggressive. I thought we did that more consistently in the third quarter. Aggression leads to rebounds, paint touches, more open shots, so that's where I really thought the game turned."
On play of sophomore Mathilde Diop
"One thing we really emphasize and stat a lot in practice is rebounding, and even with as big and as long as we are, Mathilde led us in rebounding this week. Some people have been surprised to see her with 10 rebounds tonight, but I wasn't because she's been doing that all week."
On playing a deep rotation
"It's great. Any time you play, whether you play 10 minutes or minutes, you're going to be tired, but I think it was great for the experience factor. Tomorrow's opponent, whether it's George Mason or Drake, they'll be really tough and really disciplined, so I don't know how much of an impact it has (on playing tomorrow)."
On defensive effort and Janea Bunn's defensive presence inside
"I think a lot of the credit goes to these guards defending on the perimeter, we talk about hands up and being active, and I think they did that. Janea (Bunn) kind of set the tone on the first possession of the game with a monster block and I think everybody fed off of that. I don't know if Janea (Bunn) was a volleyball player, but she looked like it at times today. But like I said, these guys were really pressuring on the perimeter and funneling them into Janea, and I thought Janea had great timing (blocking shots). You can pick up fouls going for blocks like that, but she did a great job reaching the ball at it's highest point and it was great for all of us."
Alexis Robinson, junior
On the momentum the team had during an 18-0 run in the third quarter
"During halftime, coach Payne told us we needed to be more disciplined and more tough. She told us we needed to focus on ourselves as a team."
Mathilde Diop, sophomore
On her performance against Mississippi Valley State
"It's crazy. I didn't think I'd do that well. I just tried to focus on the details. I just tried to play my game."
Team Stats
WMVSU
COLO
FG%
.222
.438
3FG%
.167
.385
FT%
.552
.792
RB
40
54
TO
22
23
STL
15
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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