Colorado University Athletics
Sunday, December 31
Boulder, Colo.
1:00 PM
Colorado
10-3, 1-1Pac-12
79
vs
60
Arizona
4-9, 0-2Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Arizona
12
14
19
15
60
Colorado
16
26
20
17
79
Photo by: Jivan West
Leonard's Double-Double Lifts Buffs To 79-60 Win Over Arizona
December 31, 2017 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Kennedy Leonard was three rebounds shy of a triple-double as she led Colorado to 79-60 win over Arizona on Sunday at the Coors Events Center. She helped CU bounce back from a loss to Arizona State on Friday night as the Buffs improved to 10-3 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12 on Sunday. The Wildcats fell to 4-9 and 0-2.
"I'm really proud of the way we bounced back," head coach JR Payne said. "This is such a young team. With a defeat two days ago, we could have easily hung our heads and cried about it and said this is going to be a long season...I thought we did our job really well today.""
STAT LEADERS: Leonard had 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, recording her sixth career double-double, all with points and assists. She led a strong shooting day for the Buffs as she buried 4-of-7 from the outside and 6-of-9 overall.
Alexis Robinson matched two Arizona players for a game-high 18 points, also hitting four 3-pointers. Freshman Annika Jank had 15 points and eight rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting.
Janea Bunn provided nine points and eight rebounds. Quinessa Caylao-Do and Mya Hollingshed each had six points off the bench.
JaLea Bennett and Sam Thomas each had 18 points to lead Arizona. Thomas also had nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU came out a bit slow over the first several minutes of the game as the visitors jumped out to a five-point lead early, but an 8-0 run gave the Buffs a 16-10 lead late in the first quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Leonard and Knight.
Colorado built its lead to nine points early in the second quarter after a pair of free throws by Hollingshed. The Wildcats tried to climb back into the game and got within four points at 23-19 midway through the second quarter. But the Buffs responded with 3-pointers on three of their next four possessions as Jank, Leonard and Robinson all connected from the outside and CU led 32-21 at the 3:16 mark.
CU closed the first half by making 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes to lead 42-26 at the break. The Buffs made 6-of-14 from the outside in the first half and forced nine turnovers, converting those into nine points.
The Buffs were able to stretch their lead to 17 after a wild third quarter. The Wildcats scored the first four baskets of the second half to cut CU's lead to eight. After Bunn and Arizona's Destiny Graham were tangled up for a rebound, Bunn was assessed a technical foul. The Buffs responded with more energy and used the momentum to close the third quarter on a 9-2 run for a 62-45 lead.
"I need to give some credit to Janea [Bunn], she is the one that gave us that spark to play hard," Robinson said. "If it was not for her, I'm not sure we would have made the changes we did."
Colorado led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter, holding the Wildcats to just 4-of-15 (.267) shooting in the fourth.
KEY STATISTICS: Sunday was Colorado's cleanest game this season as the Buffs committed just 10 turnovers and shot 11-of-27 (.407) from 3-point range. Overall, they made 27-of-61 (.443) from the floor, while holding Arizona to just 33.9 percent shooting and 4-of-16 (.250) from the outside. CU also enjoyed a 41-34 rebounding advantage and made 14-of-18 (.778) at the free throw line.
NOTES: It was CU's largest margin of victory over a Pac-12 opponent since a 78-57 (+21) win over California on Feb. 21, 2016 ... Leonard's double-double was her sixth career and second this season ... Leonard was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in the first half for 10 points ... the 16-point halftime lead was the largest since leading Oregon 42-25 (+17) at the intermission last season ... Robinson's 18 points were a season high, as were her four 3-point field goals.
UP NEXT: Colorado will travel to the state of Washington next weekend to take on Washington State on Friday at 9 p.m. MT in Pullman.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
General
"I'm really proud of the way we bounced back. This is such a young team. With a defeat two days ago, we could have easily hung our heads and cried about it and said this is going to be a long season. In our approach to this game, we were able to take a lot of criticism and a lot of film work in between Friday and today, and were we were able to put those changes into action and come out confident and aggressive. We did our job from top to bottom; I thought we did our job really well today."
On Arizona's run to start the third quarter
"It (the lead) went from 16-10 pretty quickly; I think it was a minute and 24 seconds. They closed that gap and 10 points is anyone's game. Out of the timeout, we talked about everything that had gotten us the lead; rebounding, playing hard and finishing plays, and everyone responded from one through five."
On the inside play in the post
"I don't know how much trash talking was going on; I think Janea got hit in the mouth and said, 'Don't hit me in the mouth,' and it went from there. Those are two really good kids. I know Destiny Graham very well and she is a good kid and Janea is a good kid. I love the competitive fire between two teams that really care and want to win. Like Lex said, Janea's toughness and willingness to stand up for herself and her teammates is really important for this team. We feed off of that mentality of you've got my back and I have your back. I thought that was really important.
On winning a conference game in the first weekend of Pac-12 play
"Huge. We want to win every game, but the reality is that we have to take it one game at a time. So when you let one slip Friday, you have to turn around with a short memory and get it back on Sunday, and we did that.
Kennedy Leonard, junior
On the message the team took away from the loss against Arizona State
"Rebound was the biggest thing we took from it. And do our jobs better and perform better. We are all better than we showed on Friday. So, to get back to the drawing board and back to practice helps. And for us to come out today the way we did I think is a huge thing."
On having a quiet game on Friday
"Everybody has those nights and I just happened to have one. Today I just came out with an aggressive mentality. Coach JR says to push it and Coach T (Towns) told us before the game to get to the basket and once you see your shots go in it will help you with your outside shots. I think we just pushed in transition and attached. We also rebounded from the guard position which helped us a lot too. It was not in my head a ton, but it was in my head to attack today."
Alexis Robinson, junior
On bouncing, back from Arizona State
"Every game we have to go in with that mentality; that we have to win this game. It was definitely a huge confidence booster and I think this win is really going to help us a lot."
On what worked today
"Rebounding. If we are beating a team in rebounding that is a huge plus for us."
On not allowing Arizona to come back
"I think that was pretty big. I need to give some credit to Janea [Bunn], she is the one that gave us that spark to play hard. If it was not for her, I'm not sure we would have made the changes we did. A lot of credit to her for that."
Adia Barnes, Arizona head coach
Opening Statement
"We have got to do a better job on the boards. Boxing out and timing is key. Ball pressure in our zone defense is a must and even though we do not have a long bench, we have to do a better job at energy conservation. It is normal that our players want to pace themselves to last the entirety of the game, but we have to work with what we have."
On the main focus heading into this season
"The main focus for me is not wins and losses. We are going to have a completely different team going into the next season. My focus is the process and the culture of our organization. It is about getter better and getting my freshmen a tremendous amount of experience to build this program for the future. We just have to be patient"
On how to improve on this level of play
"We are clearly undersized, so aggressive play is key. We have to go after every loose ball opportunity and also take advantage of our transition play, find the open shooters. Overall, I know it is tough for them to go all out when they only have a six-player bench rotation. But once again, we have to work with what we have."
"I'm really proud of the way we bounced back," head coach JR Payne said. "This is such a young team. With a defeat two days ago, we could have easily hung our heads and cried about it and said this is going to be a long season...I thought we did our job really well today.""
STAT LEADERS: Leonard had 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, recording her sixth career double-double, all with points and assists. She led a strong shooting day for the Buffs as she buried 4-of-7 from the outside and 6-of-9 overall.
Alexis Robinson matched two Arizona players for a game-high 18 points, also hitting four 3-pointers. Freshman Annika Jank had 15 points and eight rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting.
Janea Bunn provided nine points and eight rebounds. Quinessa Caylao-Do and Mya Hollingshed each had six points off the bench.
JaLea Bennett and Sam Thomas each had 18 points to lead Arizona. Thomas also had nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU came out a bit slow over the first several minutes of the game as the visitors jumped out to a five-point lead early, but an 8-0 run gave the Buffs a 16-10 lead late in the first quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Leonard and Knight.
Colorado built its lead to nine points early in the second quarter after a pair of free throws by Hollingshed. The Wildcats tried to climb back into the game and got within four points at 23-19 midway through the second quarter. But the Buffs responded with 3-pointers on three of their next four possessions as Jank, Leonard and Robinson all connected from the outside and CU led 32-21 at the 3:16 mark.
CU closed the first half by making 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes to lead 42-26 at the break. The Buffs made 6-of-14 from the outside in the first half and forced nine turnovers, converting those into nine points.
The Buffs were able to stretch their lead to 17 after a wild third quarter. The Wildcats scored the first four baskets of the second half to cut CU's lead to eight. After Bunn and Arizona's Destiny Graham were tangled up for a rebound, Bunn was assessed a technical foul. The Buffs responded with more energy and used the momentum to close the third quarter on a 9-2 run for a 62-45 lead.
"I need to give some credit to Janea [Bunn], she is the one that gave us that spark to play hard," Robinson said. "If it was not for her, I'm not sure we would have made the changes we did."
Colorado led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter, holding the Wildcats to just 4-of-15 (.267) shooting in the fourth.
KEY STATISTICS: Sunday was Colorado's cleanest game this season as the Buffs committed just 10 turnovers and shot 11-of-27 (.407) from 3-point range. Overall, they made 27-of-61 (.443) from the floor, while holding Arizona to just 33.9 percent shooting and 4-of-16 (.250) from the outside. CU also enjoyed a 41-34 rebounding advantage and made 14-of-18 (.778) at the free throw line.
NOTES: It was CU's largest margin of victory over a Pac-12 opponent since a 78-57 (+21) win over California on Feb. 21, 2016 ... Leonard's double-double was her sixth career and second this season ... Leonard was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in the first half for 10 points ... the 16-point halftime lead was the largest since leading Oregon 42-25 (+17) at the intermission last season ... Robinson's 18 points were a season high, as were her four 3-point field goals.
UP NEXT: Colorado will travel to the state of Washington next weekend to take on Washington State on Friday at 9 p.m. MT in Pullman.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
General
"I'm really proud of the way we bounced back. This is such a young team. With a defeat two days ago, we could have easily hung our heads and cried about it and said this is going to be a long season. In our approach to this game, we were able to take a lot of criticism and a lot of film work in between Friday and today, and were we were able to put those changes into action and come out confident and aggressive. We did our job from top to bottom; I thought we did our job really well today."
On Arizona's run to start the third quarter
"It (the lead) went from 16-10 pretty quickly; I think it was a minute and 24 seconds. They closed that gap and 10 points is anyone's game. Out of the timeout, we talked about everything that had gotten us the lead; rebounding, playing hard and finishing plays, and everyone responded from one through five."
On the inside play in the post
"I don't know how much trash talking was going on; I think Janea got hit in the mouth and said, 'Don't hit me in the mouth,' and it went from there. Those are two really good kids. I know Destiny Graham very well and she is a good kid and Janea is a good kid. I love the competitive fire between two teams that really care and want to win. Like Lex said, Janea's toughness and willingness to stand up for herself and her teammates is really important for this team. We feed off of that mentality of you've got my back and I have your back. I thought that was really important.
On winning a conference game in the first weekend of Pac-12 play
"Huge. We want to win every game, but the reality is that we have to take it one game at a time. So when you let one slip Friday, you have to turn around with a short memory and get it back on Sunday, and we did that.
Kennedy Leonard, junior
On the message the team took away from the loss against Arizona State
"Rebound was the biggest thing we took from it. And do our jobs better and perform better. We are all better than we showed on Friday. So, to get back to the drawing board and back to practice helps. And for us to come out today the way we did I think is a huge thing."
On having a quiet game on Friday
"Everybody has those nights and I just happened to have one. Today I just came out with an aggressive mentality. Coach JR says to push it and Coach T (Towns) told us before the game to get to the basket and once you see your shots go in it will help you with your outside shots. I think we just pushed in transition and attached. We also rebounded from the guard position which helped us a lot too. It was not in my head a ton, but it was in my head to attack today."
Alexis Robinson, junior
On bouncing, back from Arizona State
"Every game we have to go in with that mentality; that we have to win this game. It was definitely a huge confidence booster and I think this win is really going to help us a lot."
On what worked today
"Rebounding. If we are beating a team in rebounding that is a huge plus for us."
On not allowing Arizona to come back
"I think that was pretty big. I need to give some credit to Janea [Bunn], she is the one that gave us that spark to play hard. If it was not for her, I'm not sure we would have made the changes we did. A lot of credit to her for that."
Adia Barnes, Arizona head coach
Opening Statement
"We have got to do a better job on the boards. Boxing out and timing is key. Ball pressure in our zone defense is a must and even though we do not have a long bench, we have to do a better job at energy conservation. It is normal that our players want to pace themselves to last the entirety of the game, but we have to work with what we have."
On the main focus heading into this season
"The main focus for me is not wins and losses. We are going to have a completely different team going into the next season. My focus is the process and the culture of our organization. It is about getter better and getting my freshmen a tremendous amount of experience to build this program for the future. We just have to be patient"
On how to improve on this level of play
"We are clearly undersized, so aggressive play is key. We have to go after every loose ball opportunity and also take advantage of our transition play, find the open shooters. Overall, I know it is tough for them to go all out when they only have a six-player bench rotation. But once again, we have to work with what we have."
Team Stats
ARIZ
COLO
FG%
.339
.443
3FG%
.250
.407
FT%
.800
.778
RB
34
41
TO
12
10
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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