Colorado
10-0,0-0Pac-12
UAB
-64,00 CUSA
Buffs Fight Back, Keep Streak Alive
December 20, 2019 | Women's Basketball
Buffs win 77-69
NEW ORLEANS — Colorado needed overtime and a little magic voodoo to keep its winning streak alive on Friday. The Buffaloes women's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat UAB, 77-69.
The win keeps Colorado unbeaten, pushing the Buffs to its first 10-0 start since the 2016-17 season. UAB falls to 6-4.
Redshirt sophomore Aubrey Knight had her best game in a Colorado uniform. She led the Buffs with career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (13), picking up her first career double-double. Junior Mya Hollingshed also hit the 20-point mark, finishing with 22 points and nine boards.
All of Colorado's scoring came from the starting lineup. Freshman Jaylyn Sherrod had a season-high 16 points to go with her team-high six assists. Charlotte Whittaker and Emma Clarke had big moments in the fourth quarter and overtime, finishing with nine and six, respectively.
The Buffs trailed UAB, 18-12, after the first quarter and 35-30 at the half. The Buffs didn't regain a lead until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, playing from behind for a total of 26:36. The lead switched hands nine times in the fourth quarter and overtime.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs opened the afternoon strong, scoring the game's first six points. The Colorado defense was solid at the start as well, holding UAB to a 0-for-4 start. Hollingshed hit a wide-open 3-pointer to give CU its largest lead of the quarter, 11-4, just a little more than three minutes into the contest. That would be the last field goal for the Buffs in the quarter, closing with a 0-for-7 slump. The Blazers took advantage, going on a 14-1 run to close the quarter, handing Colorado its first first-quarter deficit of the season, 18-12.
UAB's lead grew to double-digits in the second quarter. The Blazers gained an 11-point advantage in the first three minutes. The Buffs chipped away at the lead, using a 5-for-5 shooting start. Knight and Sherrod combined for a quick nine points, slimming the UAB lead to 30-25. CU's shooting struggles returned in the closing stretch of the quarter, closing 0-for-5. The Buffs were able to keep UAB within striking distance thanks to their free-throw shooting. Colorado went 4-of-5 in the period, maintaining the five-point deficit at the half.
The Blazers hit back-to-back 3's to start the third quarter, regaining its 11-point lead, 41-30. The Buffs answered with an 8-0 run, getting back to within three, 41-38, off a Knight triple. The Buffs cut the UAB lead to one possession again, 49-46, off Clarke's first basket of the game, a three with 2:15 to go in the period.
The Buffs continued to trail into the fourth quarter until Hollingshed drilled a 3 to give the Buffs a 53-51 advantage with 8:24 on the clock. Clarke hit a second 3 to give CU a 56-51 lead but the Buffs went cold shortly after. UAB jumped back in front, 59-58, just inside the two-minute mark. Both sides took turns with the lead inside the final minute. A Whittaker jumper evened the score at 64-64 with 14 seconds to play. UAB played for the final shot but couldn't get an attempt off to end regulation.
Hollingshed opened the overtime with an inside basket, giving CU the short-lived 66-64 lead. UAB answered back with a three-point play and a quick 5-0 run to take a 69-66 lead. From there it was all Buffs. Free throws from Hollingshed and Knight helped tie the score at 69-69 and the Buffs took back the lead, 71-69, on a Sherrod layup. CU finished with an 11-0 run in all, outscoring UAB 13-5 in the overtime period.
KEY STATISTICS: Knight and Hollinghsed combined for 60 percent of CU's scoring. The duo totaled 46 points on a combined 12-for-20 showing. Hollingshed totaled 12 of her 22 from the free-throw line.
NOTES: Colorado's 11-point deficit is the largest of the season…it was CU's first overtime game since its win at South Dakota State on March 19, 2017…the win was CU's first after trailing by 10 points or more since Nov. 23, 2018, at Nevada (-10)…Knight and Hollingshed became CU's first two with 20 points since Peanut Tuitele and Quinessa Caylao-Do did it against Washington State on Feb. 22, 2019…Knight's 24 points were the most by a CU player this season…her 13 rebounds were also a team-high for the season.
NEXT UP: The Buffs conclude the Tulane Classic against the host school, Tulane, on Saturday. It will be another afternoon affair with tip set for 3 p.m. MT.
QUOTES
Head Coach JR Payne
Opening Statement
"Well, I think every single player contributed. It's not just the starters but I think the bench came in and gave us good minutes. It wasn't just pointed tonight. Our contribution was huge from different people that aren't typically expected to come up huge. Aubrey Knight stands out. I thought Emma's block at the end of the game was big. we were going to Mya [Hollingshed] right, left and center. She was strong and finished and knocked down free throws. We had good balance sort of inside and out."
On the overtime
"I think the camaraderie, energy and togetherness of this group is what won the ballgame. You should have seen it in the timeouts we have freshmen like Jalen [Sherrod] saying 'Come on, we fought too hard for this.' She's rallying and they're all excited and I think once we got to overtime, I think our team was very confident. Based on their energy and togetherness and that kind of thing."
On the 10-0 start
"It [the game] wasn't feeling good for a little while. It feels great to know that this group competed and never gave up and never stopped battling. Not that I would ever expect this team to do that but I'm proud of them for fighting through."
Redshirt Sophomore Aubrey Knight
On her career day
"I think I was just I was feeling and I was feeding off of my teammates. I think we needed someone to step up and be able to get those points and get those rebounds, especially with Quinessa [Caylao-Do] not playing. I think I was finally just confident in myself and I worked all in the offseason to come back from my injuries. I think I finally was feeling myself and feeling really confident."
On the team's ability to fight back
"This is the first time that we've really had to come out from adversity. I think that this is the first time that we've really had adversity as a team. I think that we did a really good job of coming back and staying together. Basketball is a game of run so they got a run and then we came back and just chipped away, chipped away and chipped away. We knew that we could beat this team and so we kind of just settled down and did what we needed to do."
On the overtime
"We were like, 'Okay, it's a clean slate.' It's a new quarter. We got five fresh new minutes and so we didn't we didn't want to revert back to the previous quarters. We just took a deep breath, relaxed and decided to play basketball. Basketball is a fun game, so we just wanted to go out there and have fun and not think about it too much. That's what we did."
