Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
11-10, 2-8Pac12
Oregon State
16-5, 7-3Pac-12
Buffs Can't Hold Halftime Lead, Fall 86-71 To No. 17 Oregon State
January 28, 2018 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER -- To say that 2018 hasn't been the Colorado Buffaloes' year thus far in women's basketball may be one of the largest understatements in collegiate sports.
Capped off by Sunday's 86-71 loss to the Oregon State Beavers (16-5, 7-3), the Buffs (11-10, 2-8) officially end the month of January with a 1-7 record--all of which being conference games.
Sophomore guard Kat Tudor led the way for the Beavers with 23 points on 50 percent shooting (8-for-16) from the floor, and was assisted by three other Beavers recording 10+ points in Sunday's contest.
Freshman Mya Hollingshed (22 points, 6-for-10 from deep) and junior Kennedy Leonard (19 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) produced solid performances for the Buffs, but were ultimately no match for the Beaver 3-point threats that came early and often against a Colorado team that showed no quit until the final whistle.
HOW IT HAPPENED:Â The Beavers entered Sunday's contest with a lot of confidence in their game from beyond the arc, shooting 4-for-10 from deep in just the first quarter. Fortunately for the Buffs, Hollingshed single-handedly matched the entire Oregon State team by notching 12 first-quarter points off the bench on 4-for-5 shooting from deep to give the Buffs a slim 21-18 lead at the end of one.
With junior Janea Bunn sidelined, Hollingshed took advantage of her career-high 27 minutes and played a pivotal role in making the home-crowd support a factor early.Â
After a brief Oregon State rally behind Tudor's 11 first-half points and the court vision displayed by point guard Mikayla Pivec gave the Beavers a 37-30 lead, the Buffs closed out the first half on a ferocious minute-and-a-half 8-0 run following two consecutive Alexis Robinson "and-one" finishes.
Complemented by freshman Aubrey Knight's strong second quarter (5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist), the Buffs regained the lead with a 38-37 advantage at the break.
Unfortunately for the Buffs, halftime interrupted the gained momentum, as Oregon State came out of the locker room on a 19-9 run--orchestrated by Tudor-- over the first six minutes of the third quarter to regain a 56-47 advantage at the 4:00 mark in the quarter--stretching to 66-57 by quarter's end.
The deep-ball threat that was displayed by Oregon State in the first quarter was one of the more consistent trends in Sunday's game, as the Beavers recorded 28 attempts to Colorado's 19 from downtown--connecting on 13.
A lay-in by Oregon State's Marie Gulich at the 8:24 mark in the third ended up being the game-winning points, as the closest the Buffs got to catching the Beavers after their early second-half run was nine.
After a slow start from the field that featured just four first-half points, Leonard showed off her immense versatility in conducting the team's comeback bid by finishing with 19 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds--the only Buff to record at least 4 tallies in each category.
STAT LEADERS: Hollingshed's 22 points and six made three-point field goals both eclipsed previous career highs in the freshman's young career.
Of the six Buffs who recorded at least one assist on Sunday, Leonard was the only one to register more than two with her seven by the end of the game. She is averaging 7.5 assists over the team's last five games.
KEY STATISTICS: The Colorado starters outscored the Colorado bench by just one point on Sunday, as the second unit combined for 35 of the team's 71 points.
Oregon State recorded 24 assists--10 from Pivec--to just Colorado's 13.
Colorado had just three players record at least 3-point field goals (Hollingshed, Leonard, Robinson) on Sunday compared to six players for the Beavers.
Colorado had been averaging just 60 points per game in its recent losing streak, as a 71-point showing on Sunday certainly implies steps in the right direction moving forward.
NOTES: Hollingshed tied Robinson's CU record for most 3-point field goals in a quarter with four in the first ... CU's first turnover of the game came 11:25 into the game ... Hollingshed's previous career high was 18 points vs. Westminster on Dec. 21 ... her six 3-pointers were a season high for a CU player and the most since Leonard hit seven vs. Colorado State last season ... OSU has now hit 10 or more 3-pointers in eight games this season ... after having more than 15 turnovers in each of the first eight games and 14 of the first 17, CU has now had fewer than 15 in four consecutive games ... current CU SWA and former head coach Ceal Barry earned the Jane Wahl Legacy Award during the first quarter break.
UP NEXT:Â The Buffs will have to wait until Thursday for another chance to end this six-game skid when they visit Salt Lake City to take on Utah (14-6, 5-4) with a 7:00 tip. (PAC-12 Network).
Quoteworthy
JR Payne
General
"Defensively it was a tale of two halves. This one right here [Mya Hollingshed] kept us in the game, she was incredible in the first half and did a lot of things we know that she's capable of. The confidence emanating from Mya [Hollingshed] and our entire team in the first half was incredible. Then when adversity hits in the second half we have to find a way to dig our heels in and finish the game the way we started. I'm proud of the way we came out, our energy was great, our bench was great, everything was great. We're moving in the right direction and I'm really proud of our group."
On Oregon State's second half explosion
"They're the best three point shooting team in the country. Flatout, they're number one and we saw that. I think we contested shots a little a bit better in the first half, but the bottom line is they can shoot it. Going through the scouting report, every single player can really shoot it and they showed that in the second half. They grabbed offensive boards and kicked out for threes in the second half which hurt us too."
On not folding under the pressure of OSU's third quarter run
"I don't think we folded but it definitely was a sucker punch. I think our team really tried to stay energetic in the huddle so our mindset was where it needed to be, we just have to be able to dig our heels in when it gets tough."
On energy and effort
"It translates to success. When we went to Arizona, we had great energy. We didn't get the reward for all of our effort, but we started with great energy there. I think we're playing hard. There are a lot of things where we can turn on the film and say, 'this is what we're about,' we're getting on the floor more, we're rebounding better, we're more aggressive, we're getting to the free throw line more, there's a lot of really great that our team is doing right now. Ultimately, we just need the result and we'll get there. We have to stay the course. You hear Mya [Hollingshed] say she's getting up extra shots, it's no wonder she came out and played so well tonight. But it takes that extra effort to get it done."
On matching up with OSU's frontcourt without starting forward Janea Bunn
"They're a big team and a great rebounding team. Marie Gulich is one of the best post players in the country, so it was kind of all hands on deck. I thought [Zoe] Correal did a great job, Mya [Hollingshed] was down there holding her ground against a girl that had 40 pounds on her. It took everybody's toughness and grit to defend them."
On inconsistencies between two halves
"We need to really sit down and evaluate. We start the second half with the same players who start the first half so it's not personnel. Our players off the bench are giving great effort. We just need to really evaluate the film in the first five minutes of the third quarter and see where we're making mistakes and where we can make adjustments."
Mya Hollingshed
On keeping it close for two and a half quarter then watching OSU put the game out of reach
"We have to fight through it. You're going to face adversity every game, it's part of the game of basketball. We just have to be able to go get it, and I'm not saying we didn't do that in the second half, but we have to do a little more. They came out ready, they weren't going to lay down, they came out ready to win this game and we have to do the same."
On personal performance scoring a career-high 22 points
"The coaches always tell me if I'm open, shoot it without hesitation. That's what I've been doing. I've been putting up extra shots and that translated to the game. I'm grateful that I helped us get in the game, but it wasn't enough."
On getting hot from long range
"We just have to move the ball and get good open looks. When our shooters feel confident, they're going to let it fly."
On OSU's defense
"In the first half the sagged off. Then in the second half they started playing me as a shooter and that opened up driving lanes but I traveled on one or two of them so that hurt us. I tried to read the defense and take what they gave me."
On confidence boost
"It's definitely a confidence boost. This makes me want to go to practice ready to work."
Scott Rueck, Oregon State head coach
On Katie McWilliams shooting
"She has been lights out lately, it has been inspiring in practice. I mean if she is open it is going down, tonight we saw the same thing. I challenged her a little bit at halftime. This team is a little bit under the weather and so she told me for the first time, she never admits weakness she will never let you know, so in the third quarter she told me that she wasn't feeling great. So she asked for a second to come out but I thought the way that she started the second half was really the key to this game. We let them get comfortable, very similar to our game the other night in Utah. We let them come out and shoot lights-out and then everything changed at halftime. I thought that Katie really sparked she played great defense on (Kennedy) Leonard all game long, her length really impacted Kennedy I thought and for her (Kennedy Leonard) not to get her shots down was huge for us."
On Joanna Grymek's key moments after coming off the bench
"Jo is special, she just keeps getting better and better, and understands our system more and more, and the team understands how to find her better and better. I thought the team did a good job and Jo as well, there was an unfortunate call at the end of the third quarter which was very strange when you are 6'8" and you have people hacking at you, what are you going to do? I mean her elbows are at head level, what do you expect? I was disappointed that they let it go that long so that something like that could happen. I mean that is just a natural thing, she is 6'8" where do you think her elbows are? It wasn't intentional. I'm really pleased by her development and how much she is sticking with it. She is really inspiring."
On being two for two on the road in conference play
"I think that we are understanding what it takes. I think that we handled adversity exceptionally well this weekend, that is something that we struggled with a week ago certainly in LA. That is a sign of the maturation of this team, they just want it, they have the capabilities, and they are rising to the challenges. It just felt like a matter of time till we figured these things out, we just have to experience them first. The word of the week was execution, don't worry about them just execute. Just do our thing, our thing is good and hard to guard, its hard to score on, it works. So lets just stay with out thing, don't go one-on-one and do the whole thing yourself just stay within our stuff. I thought our execution for the most part was really really good."
