Sunday, January 7
Seattle, Wash.
3:00 PM
Colorado
11-4, 2-2Pac-12
66
at
61
Washington
6-9, 0-4Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
9
17
22
18
66
Washington
20
14
9
18
61
Photo by: Jeremy Cannon
CU Rallies In Second Half To Earn 66-61 Win At Washington
January 07, 2018 | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE – Colorado rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to earn a 66-61 win at Washington on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Buffs improved to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12, while the Huskies dropped to 6-9 and 0-4.
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak against Washington.
STAT LEADERS: Alexis Robinson tied a career high with 22 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the floor and hitting three 3-point field goals, while grabbing seven rebounds to lead CU. Janea Bunn scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Kennedy Leonard had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. She made 6-of-7 free throws to help seal the win late.
Seattle native Quinessa Caylao-Do dished out a team-high five assists and had seven points. Freshman Annika Jank was limited to four points, but pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Washington's Amber Melgoza led all scorers with 28 points, sinking 10-of-18 field goals, including 4-of-6 from the outside. Hannah Johnson had 10 points for the Huskies and tied Robinson for a game-high nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs came out sloppy offensively early, committing eight turnovers in the first quarter--including six in the first five minutes--to trail 20-9 after the first quarter.
CU went on a 13-5 run late in the second quarter to get within five points of the Huskies, capped by a 3-pointer by Robinson and a steal and a layup by her in a span of 20 seconds. However, a late 3-pointer by UW sent the Huskies into the locker room with a 34-26 halftime lead.
The Buffs came out hot to start the third quarter, opening on an 8-0 run over the first three minutes to tie the game. Bunn and Leonard each had a layup and drew a foul, converting the free throw to key the run.
Colorado took its first lead of the game at the 4:05 mark as Bunn converted another three-point play. The Buffs extended their lead to five at 47-42 with just over a minute left in the third and CU took a 48-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Buffs opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to a game-high 11 points at 54-43 after Jank hit a fadeaway in the paint with 7:47 remaining.
The Huskies quickly trimmed CU's lead to five. After a Robinson floater pushed Colorado's lead back to seven, Melgoza buried a deep 3-pointer to bring Washington within 61-57 with 2:34 left. She then hit a jumper with 1:25 remaining to cut the lead to two.
Free throws and a strong defensive effort by the team at the other end sealed the win. Caylao-Do sunk a pair of free throws with 1:01 to play. Jank then blocked a shot and Robinson grabbed the rebound, drawing a foul, and sinking 1-of-2 free throws with 23.6 seconds left.
After the Huskies buried a deep jumper with a foot on the 3-point line to get within three points, Leonard made two free throws with 8.9 seconds remaining to put the final points on the board and stretch it back to a two-possession game.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot 42.7 percent (25-for-59) in the game, while holding UW to 39.7 percent (23-for-58). The Buffs also outrebounded UW 38-31 to aid in the victory, despite committing 20 turnovers.
NOTES: The win for CU snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Huskies as it was the first win over Washington since March 8, 2013, and the first win at Alaska Airlines Arena since 2004 ... CU improves to 2-2 this season when trailing at halftime ... Robinson's 22 points tied a career high (vs. Air Force, 11/13/16) ... CU's run from halftime to the 7:47 mark of the fourth quarter stretched to 28-9 as the Buffs led by 11 points at that point ... it was the second time this season CU has won after trailing by double-digit points (season opener vs. Samford trailed by 17).
UP NEXT: CU will return home to host Southern California at 6 p.m. on Friday.
POSTGAME QUOTES
JR Payne, head coach
On the game
"Every win you feel like you need and want so desperately, but I think this was a really big win for our team, to come on the road and get it is fantastic."
On the defensive effort
"The biggest thing is defensively, we got a lot more aggressive, our hands were high, we were getting tips on balls, the same way they were early in the game. At halftime, we said we wanted them to feel the difference in our offensive aggressiveness, not just say "oh yeah, they were looking to penetrate more," I wanted them to feel the difference, and that was big. Then we took a couple of threes, had a couple of empty possessions, we called timeout and said "No, that's not what we're looking for. We're looking to assault the rim and be aggressive." And that was where our success was."
On Alexis Robinson
"It was a huge game for Lexi, she needed it, we needed it. Her points were obviously what we needed, but her rebounding effort made a huge difference in this ball game. A couple of big offensive rebounds, a put back, she got her feet under her, she went up and got the bucket and that was really important."
On the play by Quinessa Caylao-Do that put CU up by five with just over a minute left
"The drive that got Q to the free throw line was unbelievably needed. The ball was around the perimeter, we were trying to spread them out, but then she was the one who put her head down, penetrated and got to the line."
On game control at the end with a lead
"I don't like to milk the clock. We did it several weeks ago, I forget against who, and I said then we wouldn't do that again. But, we also don't want to take quick, bad shots, or quick out of control shots. I thought it was a good pass inside to Janae, she bobbled it and lost it, it's kind of risk and reward. We want a combination of both, we want to spread them out, work the clock, then be extremely aggressive, which Q did on that play you were talking about."
On Annika Jank
"Annika gave us good, aggressive minutes from a rebounding perspective and had a huge block at the end. It's a big jump to the Pac-12."
On the feeling of getting a win on the road
"It doesn't matter if it's a pretty win, if everybody plays well and feels good. It matters that the team came in, at least for the second half, executed a game plan and came out with a road split. That's big for this young team."
Alexis Robinson, sophomore
On getting a win on the road
"It's a big deal to win here and it will give us a lot of confidence moving forward."
On the keys to her big game
"I was just looking to rebound and play defense. Have my defense make my offense and get on my rebounding. I would say my defense makes my offense, it helps me get a good feeling for the game."
On the keys to holding off Washington at the end
"When they were getting back in the game, we just needed to stay calm, cool and even keeled and win the game. Just stay as even as possible."
On the season
"Right now we're trying to put all the pieces together and we're getting closer and closer every game."
On next weekend
"We're just going to go in with a lot of aggression, we'll go play our game, and USC and UCLA are both near the top of the conference standings, so we'll go in and see what happens."
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak against Washington.
STAT LEADERS: Alexis Robinson tied a career high with 22 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the floor and hitting three 3-point field goals, while grabbing seven rebounds to lead CU. Janea Bunn scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Kennedy Leonard had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. She made 6-of-7 free throws to help seal the win late.
Seattle native Quinessa Caylao-Do dished out a team-high five assists and had seven points. Freshman Annika Jank was limited to four points, but pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Washington's Amber Melgoza led all scorers with 28 points, sinking 10-of-18 field goals, including 4-of-6 from the outside. Hannah Johnson had 10 points for the Huskies and tied Robinson for a game-high nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs came out sloppy offensively early, committing eight turnovers in the first quarter--including six in the first five minutes--to trail 20-9 after the first quarter.
CU went on a 13-5 run late in the second quarter to get within five points of the Huskies, capped by a 3-pointer by Robinson and a steal and a layup by her in a span of 20 seconds. However, a late 3-pointer by UW sent the Huskies into the locker room with a 34-26 halftime lead.
The Buffs came out hot to start the third quarter, opening on an 8-0 run over the first three minutes to tie the game. Bunn and Leonard each had a layup and drew a foul, converting the free throw to key the run.
Colorado took its first lead of the game at the 4:05 mark as Bunn converted another three-point play. The Buffs extended their lead to five at 47-42 with just over a minute left in the third and CU took a 48-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Buffs opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to a game-high 11 points at 54-43 after Jank hit a fadeaway in the paint with 7:47 remaining.
The Huskies quickly trimmed CU's lead to five. After a Robinson floater pushed Colorado's lead back to seven, Melgoza buried a deep 3-pointer to bring Washington within 61-57 with 2:34 left. She then hit a jumper with 1:25 remaining to cut the lead to two.
Free throws and a strong defensive effort by the team at the other end sealed the win. Caylao-Do sunk a pair of free throws with 1:01 to play. Jank then blocked a shot and Robinson grabbed the rebound, drawing a foul, and sinking 1-of-2 free throws with 23.6 seconds left.
After the Huskies buried a deep jumper with a foot on the 3-point line to get within three points, Leonard made two free throws with 8.9 seconds remaining to put the final points on the board and stretch it back to a two-possession game.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot 42.7 percent (25-for-59) in the game, while holding UW to 39.7 percent (23-for-58). The Buffs also outrebounded UW 38-31 to aid in the victory, despite committing 20 turnovers.
NOTES: The win for CU snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Huskies as it was the first win over Washington since March 8, 2013, and the first win at Alaska Airlines Arena since 2004 ... CU improves to 2-2 this season when trailing at halftime ... Robinson's 22 points tied a career high (vs. Air Force, 11/13/16) ... CU's run from halftime to the 7:47 mark of the fourth quarter stretched to 28-9 as the Buffs led by 11 points at that point ... it was the second time this season CU has won after trailing by double-digit points (season opener vs. Samford trailed by 17).
UP NEXT: CU will return home to host Southern California at 6 p.m. on Friday.
POSTGAME QUOTES
JR Payne, head coach
On the game
"Every win you feel like you need and want so desperately, but I think this was a really big win for our team, to come on the road and get it is fantastic."
On the defensive effort
"The biggest thing is defensively, we got a lot more aggressive, our hands were high, we were getting tips on balls, the same way they were early in the game. At halftime, we said we wanted them to feel the difference in our offensive aggressiveness, not just say "oh yeah, they were looking to penetrate more," I wanted them to feel the difference, and that was big. Then we took a couple of threes, had a couple of empty possessions, we called timeout and said "No, that's not what we're looking for. We're looking to assault the rim and be aggressive." And that was where our success was."
On Alexis Robinson
"It was a huge game for Lexi, she needed it, we needed it. Her points were obviously what we needed, but her rebounding effort made a huge difference in this ball game. A couple of big offensive rebounds, a put back, she got her feet under her, she went up and got the bucket and that was really important."
On the play by Quinessa Caylao-Do that put CU up by five with just over a minute left
"The drive that got Q to the free throw line was unbelievably needed. The ball was around the perimeter, we were trying to spread them out, but then she was the one who put her head down, penetrated and got to the line."
On game control at the end with a lead
"I don't like to milk the clock. We did it several weeks ago, I forget against who, and I said then we wouldn't do that again. But, we also don't want to take quick, bad shots, or quick out of control shots. I thought it was a good pass inside to Janae, she bobbled it and lost it, it's kind of risk and reward. We want a combination of both, we want to spread them out, work the clock, then be extremely aggressive, which Q did on that play you were talking about."
On Annika Jank
"Annika gave us good, aggressive minutes from a rebounding perspective and had a huge block at the end. It's a big jump to the Pac-12."
On the feeling of getting a win on the road
"It doesn't matter if it's a pretty win, if everybody plays well and feels good. It matters that the team came in, at least for the second half, executed a game plan and came out with a road split. That's big for this young team."
Alexis Robinson, sophomore
On getting a win on the road
"It's a big deal to win here and it will give us a lot of confidence moving forward."
On the keys to her big game
"I was just looking to rebound and play defense. Have my defense make my offense and get on my rebounding. I would say my defense makes my offense, it helps me get a good feeling for the game."
On the keys to holding off Washington at the end
"When they were getting back in the game, we just needed to stay calm, cool and even keeled and win the game. Just stay as even as possible."
On the season
"Right now we're trying to put all the pieces together and we're getting closer and closer every game."
On next weekend
"We're just going to go in with a lot of aggression, we'll go play our game, and USC and UCLA are both near the top of the conference standings, so we'll go in and see what happens."
Team Stats
COLO
WASH
FG%
.424
.397
3FG%
.214
.292
FT%
.867
.800
RB
38
31
TO
20
18
STL
13
15
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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