Colorado
7-2
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Dartmouth
7-2
Jank's 26 Not Enough As Buffs Fall to Dartmouth 81-75
December 11, 2017 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER -- The Colorado Buffaloes saw their six-game winning streak snapped at the Coors Events Center on Monday night at the hands of the visiting Dartmouth Big Green (7-2), as an all-around tough night of shooting from the field resulted in a 81-75 CU defeat.
It was the first loss at home on the season for the Buffs (7-2), who saw a fourth-quarter lead slip away at the hands of 19 fourth-quarter points from Dartmouth's junior point guard Cy Lippold as part of her 24-point outing.
The Buffs ended on just 38 percent shooting from the field, including 14 percent from deep on just 2-of-14 shooting and 75 percent from the free throw line in a game that featured eight lead changes when it was all said and done.
Freshman Annika Jank put up an absolutely dominating first half before ending with a new career-high of 26 points to go along with the Buffs defeat, marking the most points for a CU freshman since Tera Bjorklund had 28 against Wyoming in 2000.
How it Happened
Dartmouth got the scoring started on Monday by opening the game shooting 66 percent from the field to get off to an early 9-4 lead behind junior Isalys Quinones' soft touch. The Buffs settled in though and found some momentum at the 4:25 mark in the first quarter that featured two straight Kennedy Leonard dishes to reigning Pac-12 freshman of the week Jank to cut the lead to 13-12 at the 4:00 mark in the quarter.
The Big Green then marched on its own 5-0 run to build the lead to 17-12 at the 1:22 mark in the quarter to regain control of the court. But an Alexis Robinson corner jumper, two Leonard free throws, a Janea Bunn putback, capped off by an Aubrey Knight buzzer-beating lay-in on one of Leonard's five first-quarter assists gave the Buffs a 20-19 lead at the end of the first.
The game remained contested as the second quarter began, as the Buffs found themselves behind early after another Quinones floater from the corner. Senior Brecca Thomas and Jank both matched with jumpers to give the Buffs a brief 25-24 lead, followed immediately by an Emily Dryden lay-in and a Lippold corner jumper to regain a 29-24 lead for the Big Green at the 6:58 mark.
The Buffs resorted to charity to regain composure, as Jank went 4-of-4 from the free throw stripe and was a menace on the offensive glass for a minute-and-a-half stretch to help tie the contest at 29-29 with 4:53 to go in the half. The Buffs took their first lead of the second quarter on a Bunn lay-in, which was immediately followed by a Robinson lay-in off a steal, and yet another Jank contested jumper to give the Buffs a 35-32 lead at the with 2:28 to go in the half.
The Buffs finally connected on the team's first three pointer with just under two minutes in the half on a pull-up from Jank at the top of the key, as the team had been 0-for-10 prior to Jank's hit to help push the lead to 40-34 at the intermission.
In a first half that featured seven lead changes and plenty of adversity for the young Buffs to overcome, the freshman Jank absolutely dazzled on both ends of the court to take 19 points (7-of-10 shooting) and four boards (two offensive) into halftime.
The third quarter got underway and featured the same back-and-forth battle that had occurred all game. A Lippold jumper, Bunn putback, Kate Letkewicz trey, and Leonard banker all occurred on subsequent possessions, as the Big Green matched every CU move to keep the Buffs lead controlled at 44-39 with 7:42 to play in the third.
Leonard used her ability to get to the line via hard drives and physical falls to keep the Buffs composed and gradually extend the lead, which when combined with a blocked shot by Jank and a lay-in by Bunn stretched the CU lead to 51-43 at the 5:14 mark in the quarter--its largest of the game.
Dartmouth refused to vanish though, as another Letkewicz trey and freshman Anna Luce jumper --followed by two made free throws-- cut the CU advantage to 59-52 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Big Green opened the fourth looking to 5-foot-2 Lippold for answers, and she provided. She connected on her first trey of the game after starting 0-for-7 from deep before finding Olivia Smith for two down low and adding two more jumpers, cutting the deficit for Dartmouth to just two at 62-60 with 6:33 to play after an 8-3 Big Green run to start the quarter.
Lippold continued her fourth-quarter one-woman show by picking Leonard's pocket and scoring a breakaway layup to bring the score even at 64-64 with 4:51 to go, forcing a timeout from the Buffs. The timeout did little though, as a missed layup from Jank resulted in yet another Lippold fast-break layup to give Dartmouth a 66-64 lead with 4:03 to play--its first lead of the half.
Coming out of the mid-quarter timeout, the Buffs regained momentum on an "and-1" from Bunn on a tough finish that tied the game again. From there, the same back-and-forth lead changes that served as the theme of Monday's contest took over in crunch time.
A Quinones "and-1" finish with 2:24 to play stretched the Dartmouth lead to four after a missed free throw, which was immediately followed by two made Jank free throws to keep the lead within two. After a series of defensive stops on both ends, Lippold hit yet again on a baseline drive before a Leonard turnover put the Buffs in foul-mode with :49 to play.
After two made free throws from Quinones, Jank pulled up from the top of the key and connected on both her and the team's second deep ball on the night to cut the Big Green lead to 74-71 with :41 to play, keeping the Buffs alive.
From there, the Buffs resorted to foul-mode once again, hoping for a lapse on the Dartmouth end. A 1-of-2 session at the line from Lippold resulted in a Leonard floater in transition to cut the Dartmouth lead to 77-75 with :12 to play, but Lippold redeemed herself by hitting both free throws on the ensuing possession to ultimately ice Monday's contest after a missed trey by Mathilde Diop at the buzzer, capping off a 81-75 Dartmouth victory on Monday.
Turning Point
After a sluggish team start, it appeared as though Jank's 19-point showing in the first half of Monday's contest would serve as the turning point for the Buffs to capitalize on a six-point halftime lead.
However, the Big Green refused to give in even with a seven-point deficit as the fourth quarter began, and relied on the back of Lippold to what in all reality was a single-handed comeback from a statistical standpoint. Highlighted by a fast-break layup to give Dartmouth its first lead of the second half with 4:03 to play, Lippold shined down the stretch in her point guard role and made the Big Green comeback possible to begin with.
Jank's 26-point performance was complemented by seven rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line--a stat line she hopes will result in her third freshman of the week honors from the Pac-12.
Even on a night where she managed just 3-of-14 from the floor, including 0-of-5 from deep, Leonard still nearly recorded a triple double by ending with 15 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in a game where she showed no quit until the final buzzer sounded.
Notable Stats
Jank led the way on a night where the only ability to connect from deep came from her fingertips, as she accounted for both of the team's made treys on 14 team attempts. The team ended shooting 14 percentage points below their already-low 29 percent team average before Monday's contest.
Dartmouth's ability to consistently hit free throws down the stretch hampered any chance the Buffs had of surviving the foul game and reclaiming the lead, as the Big Green outshot the Buffs 89 percent to 75 percent from the line on Monday--largely from Lippold.
Even with the game's eight lead changes, seven of them occurred in the first half on Monday, further highlighting how the Buffs were in steady control for much of the second half until the Lippold-led Dartmouth took over for good.
What it Means?
Coming into Monday's matchup at 7-1 with their only concession a competitive overtime defeat in Chapel Hill, the Buffs saw any chance of sneaking into the AP poll squashed by tonight's performance. The team will have just two more non-conference games to get back on track before opening Pac-12 play on December 29th versus Arizona State.
Noteworthy
Knight recorded two quarter-ending buzzer beaters on Monday, as her putbacks beat the clock for both the end of the first and third quarters of play…...Jank's 26 points were the most for a CU freshman since Tera Bjorklund scored 28 at Wyoming on Nov. 29, 2000 ... it was also the first time a freshman has had 20+ points in back-to-back games since Leonard had 23 and 20 in consecutive games in Feb. 2016 ... Leonard tied her own CU record for assists in a quarter with five in the first (also had five at Kentucky, Nov. 22, 2015 in the third quarter) ... CU missed its first 10 3-point attempts before Jank made one at 2:07 in the second quarter ... CU is now 0-2 this season when it does not win the rebounding battle ... the 75 points allowed were the most in regulation this season and the 14 turnovers forced were the second-lowest this season (13 vs. George Mason).
Up Next
CU plays at Air Force on Friday at 7 p.m.
Quoteworthy
JR Payne, head coach
On the game (general)
"Two really good teams who came in to tonight with really good records and good wins. We knew this was going to be a difficult game. The foundation of success comes from defense and rebounding, and I don't think we did those two things as well as we needed to tonight. There's going to be positives that we can take from the film, but there's also a lot of areas we can improve."
On what led to sub-par defense and rebounding
"Our shoot around wasn't very good, our warm up wasn't very good. There was kind of a flat feeling all day long, I don't know if that was fatigue or getting ready for finals or what it was, but Dartmouth came in ready to play. They're a great team, they did everything that we thought they would do, things that we had worked on. We had talked about communicating defensively and I think when we turn on the film we'll see that we could have done a better job there. But [Dartmouth] exerted their will, they did whatever they wanted to and we didn't put up enough resistance to stop them."
On the turning point in the game
"I never really felt super in control of the game all night long. From the opening tip, we had a play that we were going to run on the first play of the game and we came out on the first possession of the game and didn't run it. From that point on, I never really felt as though we were as dialed in as we needed to be. Again, Dartmouth is a great team. I'm not trying to take anything away from them, because they came in here and they beat us. We're +10 a game on the glass and they came in here and tied us. They came in and did what they needed to do to be successful."
On poor shooting performance in the fourth quarter
"I think it was the combination of [Dartmouth] shooting 62% in the fourth quarter and us shooting 21% in the fourth quarter. Unless you're absolutely dominating the glass, that's going to be a really difficult quarter to win. There was a stretch where I thought we were getting to the basket, they had five fouls with five minutes to go, so we got to the free throw line. We missed some bunnies near the basket that we don't normally miss. I thought we got good looks. When we watch the film I think we'll say 'man, if we had just made this one or that one,' but that's why you play. You want to go 30-0 every year, but that's not reality. The reality is, Pac-12 play is coming quickly. All these [non-conference] games are preparation for conference play, so if a tough loss at home where a team came in and beat us can prepare us for Pac-12 play, that's a positive. I'm always positive, so I'll find a way to make this into a positive and we'll get better from it."
On Dartmouth's fundamentals
"Everything is a jump-stop, a strong pass, a catch-and-shoot, they have great footwork. They're a very well-coached team."
On whether she felt that Dartmouth's confidence grew as the game unfolded
"I didn't sense any fear in them. They came out here with a mindset: roll the balls out and we're going to play hard and let the chips fall where they may. They're very fundamentally sound, and they definitely knew that they were in a game they could win."
On whether the loss tonight puts the last two non-conference games at a premium
"This game was a must-win. The next game, in my mind, is a must-win. We just try to go 1-0 on game day. In my mind it puts more of a premium on practice. We're off tomorrow, but what is our mindset coming into practice on Wednesday. The game Friday will be won or lost based on our effort and discipline on Wednesday and Thursday."
Kennedy Leonard, junior guard
On whether they felt flat before game
"I think we were just a little bit dull, but that's on us, that's not anybody else. We need to be able to get ourselves hyped."
On whether finals played a role on lack of motivation
"I think that it could. That doesn't mean that it should, but this is a young team and it's going to take everyone some time to figure out that every day, they aren't good enough yet. I think that we needed this."
On how team could have stopped Cy Lippold
"We just have to play better defense. We just need to look at the scouting report and do what we trained to do. We needed to keep her in front of us and we didn't. She started to hit shots in the 4th quarter that we weren't expecting, and we needed to lock in on her.
Annika Jank, freshman forward
On why team couldn't finish in fourth quarter
"We just weren't really energized, and we could have been more dialed in. I guess that that's just a learning lesson that we can improve on in the future."
On why she cooled down in second half
"I stopped pushing, which I shouldn't have done. I settled in more in the second half, and I need to be aggressive at all times."
Belle Koclanes, Dartmouth head coach
How team played
"Our focus from day one has been continuous development. We focus one day at a time. Every day we wake up the score is 0-0 and our record is 0-0 because the past is over. That's our focus, we prepare the same way for every opponent. We try not to listen too much to the noise. We just focus in on what we are here to do and how to best prepare for each opponent.
What's Next?
The Buffs will look to get back on track with brief trip down to Colorado Springs to face the Air Force Academy Falcons on Friday Nov. 11 with a 7:00 p.m. tip.
