Tuesday, November 6
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
1-0
77
vs
69
Northern Colorado
0-1
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Colo.
14
20
13
22
69
Colorado
16
18
18
25
77
Photo by: Cliff Grassmick
Buffs Battle in Opening Night Win
November 06, 2018 | Women's Basketball
CU opens with 77-69 win over Northern Colorado
BOULDER –The University of Colorado women's basketball team triumphed over Northern Colorado, 77-69, to open the season at the CU Events Center on Tuesday.
STAT LEADERS: Senior Kennedy Leonard led the Buffaloes with 30 points, one shy of her career-high. Junior Quinessa Caylao-Do did not miss from the floor until deep into the fourth quarter. She went 7-for-9 from the field, finishing with a career-high 23 points. Northern Colorado's Savannah Smith led all scorers with 32 points, hitting an opponent record eight 3-pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led the entire opening quarter, starting 3-of-6 from the field. Leonard's first three of the night gave Colorado a 14-6 lead, its largest of the first half. Leonard provided most of the Buffs' offense, finishing the quarter with seven of CU's 16 points.
Colorado opened the second quarter on a 9-5 spurt, extending its lead to 25-19. That is when the Bears turned to the Big Sky Conference's reigning MVP, Savannah Smith. Smith hit four 3's in the second quarter, helping Northern Colorado jump out in front of CU. The Buffs hit 8-of-11 from the free-throw line to keep even with the Bears, 34-34, at the half.
Caylao-Do and Leonard combined for a 5-0 run to open the second half, going up 39-34. Smith and the Bears quickly answered, tying the game back up at 39-39. Freshman Peanut Tuitele broke the tie, kickstarting a 9-2 run for the Buffs to regain a 48-41 lead.
UNC would not go away. The Bears answered with a 6-0 run, slimming the Buffs lead to 48-47 with 1:12 left in the third. Leonard closed the quarter with a desperation 3-pointer, beating the shot clock and giving CU the 52-47 advantage.
The Bears outscored CU 12-7 in the first 4:37 of the fourth quarter, taking a brief 59-58 lead. Leonard, Caylao-Do and Aubrey Knight teamed for a 9-0 run, putting CU ahead for good, 67-59. Colorado hit 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado went to the line 41 times on the night. The Buffs converted 31 free-throw attempts, outscoring the Bears 31-6 from the stripe.
NOTES: Leonard hit three 3's moving her into 11th all-time with 134 career 3's…her 30 points giver her 1413, moving her into 12th on CU's all-time scoring list…Leonard tied her career high with 15 free throws…Caylao-Do set career-highs in points (23) and field goals made (7)…Tuitele recorded eight points and nine rebounds her collegiate debut…Colorado has won its last three home games dating back to last season.
UP NEXT: Colorado continues the homestand next Wednesday, hosting in-state rival Colorado State.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Head Coach JR Payne
On overall thoughts
"Welcome to college basketball. That was a great game against a great team that has one of the best scorers maybe in the country—certainly in the western United States. We knew that they were going to be good. We knew they were going to be aggressive. We knew that they were experienced and that it would be a battle. We knew that and prepared for that. I am just really proud of our team and the way we competed down the stretch. For these guys to be able to manage the game without timeouts when we might have needed them. We did a great job and I am very proud of them. It is a great way to start the season against such a good basketball team."
On leaning on the veterans
"We have thirteen great players on our basketball team. We believe in every single one of them. We do not like to shorten the bench the way we had to this game. It just happened to be a tight game where we needed more experience on the floor. I hope we will not have to play like that all the time. I trust our players. We have some veterans on this team that have played tons and tons of minutes, have played in a lot of games and know how to control things when we need to. Down the stretch, we needed that experience. They gave us exactly what we needed."
On playing aggressively in the second half
"In the first half, we were aggressive in spurts. In the second half, when we watch the film we will see we were pretty aggressive for twenty minutes. That was the key. We felt like every time we were aggressive in the first half, good things happened. We went to the free throw line or collapsed the defense. We were more consistent with that and that turned out to be really good for us."
On shooting 41 free throws
"I felt like that was the most amount of free throws I have ever coached. The great thing is that we knocked down a high percentage of them. We were 31-of-41 for 76 percent. I am glad we got to the line and I am glad we knocked down free throws. Q [Quinessa Caylao-Do] and Ken [Kennedy Leonard] both hit free throws late in the game that were crucial. When it [the lead] was three, four, or five points we were able to make it six, seven, or eight-point games with our free throws."
Senior Kennedy Leonard
On playing against Savannah Smith
"I think it was really good for us, and especially our young kids to see that. It is not going to be all fun and games and super easy. I am just proud of the effort the older kids gave and the younger kids gave. I think we all came together to get a win."
On handling free throws down the stretch
"We shoot free throws every day in practice. I just stepped up to the line and shot them. We shoot pressure free throws a lot and I take a lot of them in practice. I am kind of used to shooting those free throws and it is not any different than it is in practice."
On the change in momentum in the fourth quarter
"I don't even remember that [9-0 run]. I just think that we did not want to lose. I know that Q and I looked at each other a couple of times and said, 'You go this time, I will go next time.' I think we were settled in and we kind of locked in. We got stops when we needed to get stops and we scored when we needed to score. We did what we needed to do to win."
Junior Quinessa Caylao-Do
On guarding Savanna Smith
"She is a great player. She moves off the ball and she is always open. She is just a tough player to guard. When she steps back you just have to have your hand up and move your feet at all times.
"I would say she has a quick release, but I would say that she is just really balanced. It was hard to tell when she was going to shoot or not."
On scoring a career-high
"My goal is just to stay healthy. It was a great feeling. In the offseason, I worked out a lot. Just working on my shot and being able to hit those shots in the game is just really good for me mentally."
STAT LEADERS: Senior Kennedy Leonard led the Buffaloes with 30 points, one shy of her career-high. Junior Quinessa Caylao-Do did not miss from the floor until deep into the fourth quarter. She went 7-for-9 from the field, finishing with a career-high 23 points. Northern Colorado's Savannah Smith led all scorers with 32 points, hitting an opponent record eight 3-pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led the entire opening quarter, starting 3-of-6 from the field. Leonard's first three of the night gave Colorado a 14-6 lead, its largest of the first half. Leonard provided most of the Buffs' offense, finishing the quarter with seven of CU's 16 points.
Colorado opened the second quarter on a 9-5 spurt, extending its lead to 25-19. That is when the Bears turned to the Big Sky Conference's reigning MVP, Savannah Smith. Smith hit four 3's in the second quarter, helping Northern Colorado jump out in front of CU. The Buffs hit 8-of-11 from the free-throw line to keep even with the Bears, 34-34, at the half.
Caylao-Do and Leonard combined for a 5-0 run to open the second half, going up 39-34. Smith and the Bears quickly answered, tying the game back up at 39-39. Freshman Peanut Tuitele broke the tie, kickstarting a 9-2 run for the Buffs to regain a 48-41 lead.
UNC would not go away. The Bears answered with a 6-0 run, slimming the Buffs lead to 48-47 with 1:12 left in the third. Leonard closed the quarter with a desperation 3-pointer, beating the shot clock and giving CU the 52-47 advantage.
The Bears outscored CU 12-7 in the first 4:37 of the fourth quarter, taking a brief 59-58 lead. Leonard, Caylao-Do and Aubrey Knight teamed for a 9-0 run, putting CU ahead for good, 67-59. Colorado hit 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado went to the line 41 times on the night. The Buffs converted 31 free-throw attempts, outscoring the Bears 31-6 from the stripe.
NOTES: Leonard hit three 3's moving her into 11th all-time with 134 career 3's…her 30 points giver her 1413, moving her into 12th on CU's all-time scoring list…Leonard tied her career high with 15 free throws…Caylao-Do set career-highs in points (23) and field goals made (7)…Tuitele recorded eight points and nine rebounds her collegiate debut…Colorado has won its last three home games dating back to last season.
UP NEXT: Colorado continues the homestand next Wednesday, hosting in-state rival Colorado State.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Head Coach JR Payne
On overall thoughts
"Welcome to college basketball. That was a great game against a great team that has one of the best scorers maybe in the country—certainly in the western United States. We knew that they were going to be good. We knew they were going to be aggressive. We knew that they were experienced and that it would be a battle. We knew that and prepared for that. I am just really proud of our team and the way we competed down the stretch. For these guys to be able to manage the game without timeouts when we might have needed them. We did a great job and I am very proud of them. It is a great way to start the season against such a good basketball team."
On leaning on the veterans
"We have thirteen great players on our basketball team. We believe in every single one of them. We do not like to shorten the bench the way we had to this game. It just happened to be a tight game where we needed more experience on the floor. I hope we will not have to play like that all the time. I trust our players. We have some veterans on this team that have played tons and tons of minutes, have played in a lot of games and know how to control things when we need to. Down the stretch, we needed that experience. They gave us exactly what we needed."
On playing aggressively in the second half
"In the first half, we were aggressive in spurts. In the second half, when we watch the film we will see we were pretty aggressive for twenty minutes. That was the key. We felt like every time we were aggressive in the first half, good things happened. We went to the free throw line or collapsed the defense. We were more consistent with that and that turned out to be really good for us."
On shooting 41 free throws
"I felt like that was the most amount of free throws I have ever coached. The great thing is that we knocked down a high percentage of them. We were 31-of-41 for 76 percent. I am glad we got to the line and I am glad we knocked down free throws. Q [Quinessa Caylao-Do] and Ken [Kennedy Leonard] both hit free throws late in the game that were crucial. When it [the lead] was three, four, or five points we were able to make it six, seven, or eight-point games with our free throws."
Senior Kennedy Leonard
On playing against Savannah Smith
"I think it was really good for us, and especially our young kids to see that. It is not going to be all fun and games and super easy. I am just proud of the effort the older kids gave and the younger kids gave. I think we all came together to get a win."
On handling free throws down the stretch
"We shoot free throws every day in practice. I just stepped up to the line and shot them. We shoot pressure free throws a lot and I take a lot of them in practice. I am kind of used to shooting those free throws and it is not any different than it is in practice."
On the change in momentum in the fourth quarter
"I don't even remember that [9-0 run]. I just think that we did not want to lose. I know that Q and I looked at each other a couple of times and said, 'You go this time, I will go next time.' I think we were settled in and we kind of locked in. We got stops when we needed to get stops and we scored when we needed to score. We did what we needed to do to win."
Junior Quinessa Caylao-Do
On guarding Savanna Smith
"She is a great player. She moves off the ball and she is always open. She is just a tough player to guard. When she steps back you just have to have your hand up and move your feet at all times.
"I would say she has a quick release, but I would say that she is just really balanced. It was hard to tell when she was going to shoot or not."
On scoring a career-high
"My goal is just to stay healthy. It was a great feeling. In the offseason, I worked out a lot. Just working on my shot and being able to hit those shots in the game is just really good for me mentally."
Team Stats
UNCO
COLO
FG%
.474
.400
3FG%
.429
.316
FT%
.600
.756
RB
30
36
TO
20
16
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
15
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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