Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
9-0,0-0Pac-12
Denver
5-5,0-0Summit League
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 23 | 6 | 24 | 17 | 70 |
| Colorado | 32 | 23 | 25 | 16 | 96 |
Buffs Cruise Past Denver, 96-70
December 12, 2019 | Women's Basketball
CU's streak hits nine games to start the season
BOULDER — Colorado sophomore Emma Clarke continued to have the hot hand for the Buffaloes women's basketball team on Thursday. She recorded her third consecutive career-high night with 21 points in CU's 96-70 win over Denver.
Six Buffs finished in double figures and CU shot 53.8 percent (42-78) as a team. Senior Quinessa Caylao-Do broke out of her recent scoring slump with 15 points. Redshirt sophomore Aubrey Knight totaled a career-high 12 points off the bench. Sophomore Peanut Tuitele scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Junior Mya Hollingshed and freshman Charlotte Whittaker rounded out the night with 11 and 10, respectively.
The win for Colorado is the ninth straight to open the season, continuing CU's best start to a season since 2016-17. Denver falls to 5-5 on the season.
Clarke did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 17 points before the break. She went 4-for-4 from 3-point distance in the first quarter, tying CU's record for most 3's in a quarter. She finished the half with five 3's, also matching a CU record.
The Buffs reversed their recent turnover trend against Denver. Colorado gave the ball up 14 times, the fewest since the team's opener against NJIT (10). In reverse fashion, it was Denver that coughed the ball up 23 times, leading to a season-high 32 points off turnovers for the Buffs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game got out to a scorching start with both teams trading baskets. Denver got out to an early 7-6 lead, starting 3-of-4 from the field. Clarke's first 3 put the Buffs up 9-7, but Denver answered back. The lead switched hands four times in the first quarter, all in the first four minutes of play.
A Tuitele layup put CU back in front, 11-10, sparking an 8-0 run. Freshman Jaylyn Sherrod hit a layup and Clarke turned in back-to-back 3's to get CU up 19-10. Clarke's fourth 3 of the quarter came during another 7-0 run, boosting CU's lead to 32-16. Denver finished on a 7-0 run to cut the Buffaloes' lead to nine, 32-23.
Denver opened the second with the first basket of the quarter to get within six points, but that was as close as the Pioneers would get the rest of the night. Colorado got contributions from seven different players in its 21-3 run to close the quarter. CU held DU to just 2-of-15 shooting and forced seven turnovers in the period. The Buffs scored eight points off the DU turnovers, helping build the 55-29 halftime lead.
The Silver and Gold shot 51.4 percent in the second half and led by 20-plus points the entirety of the half. Colorado's lead hovered around 30 for most of the third quarter. A Hollingshed layup put the Buffs up by 31, 68-37, and Clarke added to it on CU's next possession to give the Buffs its largest lead of the season, 70-37.
Denver outscored CU 17-16 in the final period, with much of CU's key contributors on the bench. Freshman Zuzanna Kulinksa made the most of her opportunity and scored a season-high five points in her five minutes.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado had nine different players win an assist on Thursday. The Buffs totaled 25 team assists, the most since 25 against UCLA on Jan. 11, 2015.
NOTES: 96 points are the most since a 106-47 win over Westminster (Mo.) on 12/21/17 ... 32 points in the first quarter are the most in a quarter since 34 in the first quarter vs. Westminster ... 55 first-half points were the most since 64 vs. Westminster ... CU's 26-point halftime lead (55-29) was the largest halftime lead since Prairie View A&M last season (led by 28 vs. PVAM, 12/12/18) ... Whittaker career-high nine rebounds (7) ... Lesila Finau career-high seven assists (6)... Hollingshed career-high six assists (3) ... 33-point lead in the third quarter was the largest of the season (previous was 28 vs. Texas Southern in the 3rd quarter).
NEXT UP: Colorado hits the road for its next five games, starting next week at the Tulane Classic in New Orleans. The Buffs will play two in the Big Easy, opening with UAB on Dec. 20 and then Tulane on Dec. 21.
QUOTES
Head Coach JR Payne
Opening Statement
"I just told our team that I am proud of our effort and the way we played. I think we are a really good basketball team. I love being able to say we are a great team. We always have things we need to improve. Even in tonight's game where we played really well, there are areas to improve. I thought we played great basketball tonight. We shared the ball and were very unselfish. Our post players were getting double and triple-teamed and they are happy to throw it back out to shooters. We were aggressive on the perimeter and took care of the ball. I really love how we played tonight."
On Executing
"It wasn't the best week of practice we have ever had, but it was a pretty focused practice. As coaches, we knew what we wanted to work on. We were able to get a lot of work at those things. I thought our team did a great job of taking a game plan and executing it. You love that. As coaches you have these ideas that you think can work but for your team to take it and execute it, take care of the ball and make good decisions amid chaos was fun for us to see."
On Limiting Turnovers
"It was really important. We talked about it throughout the week. We are capable of playing clean basketball. We talk about having good, clean possessions. We are capable of that. We are still really learning as a young ball club. To see us run several different offenses tonight and be able to be aggressive but still take care of the ball was a huge stepping stone for us. We can play like that."
On Controlling Tempo
"This team [Denver] transitions as well as any team in the country. That is what they do. We also want to transition. I think we really took control of that. I didn't know that we would. I wanted to but I didn't think we would do it as effectively as we did. Controlling tempo is huge. Usually, that team is more comfortable throughout the game."
Senior Quinessa Caylao-Do
On How it Felt to Play Well from Start to Finish
"I think overall it's great as everyone's saying everyone's having career highs and I think it was just a good team effort all-around. I think it's really an energy and confidence booster for the whole team."
On How it Felt to Get Her Shots to Fall
"It was good to see the ball go in the hoop. I feel like it's been a while. I have some points here and there, but I think it was just overall, like, good energy for me."
Sophomore Emma Clarke
On the First Quarter
"We just had a lot of energy, I thought off the bench and our warm-ups were really energetic and then we were just feeling it. It was the last home game of the year [2019], so we were just really excited about the game."
On Her Offseason Work Paying Off
"I was here all summer like you said. The first couple of games probably weren't going as well as I thought, based on the work that I put in, but I definitely think it's paying off."
