Sunday, February 24
Boulder, Colo.
1:00 PM
Colorado
46
vs
60
Washington
1
2
3
4
F
Washington
21
13
13
13
60
Colorado
7
17
15
7
46
Team Stats
UW
CU
FG%
.397
.327
3FG%
.333
.217
FT%
1.000
.556
RB
37
37
TO
19
22
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Cliff Grassmick
Huskies Spoil Senior Day for the Buffs
February 24, 2019 | Women's Basketball
Emma Clarke totaled a season-high 15 points
BOULDER – Senior Day for the Colorado women's basketball team got off to a misty-eyed start and ended with the Buffaloes on the downside of a 60-46 defeat to the visiting Washington Huskies on Sunday at the CU Events Center.
Colorado honored its elder statesmen, Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson, in a pregame ceremony. Both seniors were back in the same starting lineup for the first time in 12 games, albeit for ceremonial reasons. Robinson, unable to play due to a leg injury, was handed the ball right off the tip off and rolled it down the court, allowing her to walk off the court one final time to a standing ovation.
"I'm just really disappointed for the outcome for our team today," head coach JR Payne explained. "Senior Day is tough because there is so much emotion that goes into the game and the lead up to it. It just didn't go our way. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, we got outrebounded and we didn't get to the free-throw line. Those are things that we typically do well and are things that usually lead to success. We just were not able to do as well as we typically do. I'm proud of our team's effort. I just told them I'm proud of them as not just basketball players but as women and teammates as well."
Not much went right for Colorado the rest of the afternoon. The Buffs turned the ball over 22 times and Washington hit nine 3's to silent the largest crowd of the season (3,698).
"We had 16 [turnovers] at the half," Payne added. "We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball in the second half. To only have the six in the second half is great. I think we picked up two charges early and it made us a little more hesitant. Our desire was to penetrate the paint and get to the basket. When we were penalized for that early I think it put us on our heels a little bit."
Freshman Emma Clarke led the Buffs' offense with a season-high 15 points. Clarke did all of her scoring after the 1st quarter, finishing 6-for-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Junior Quinessa Cayloa-Do capped her afternoon with nine points and four rebounds. Leonard put in eight points to go with her seven assists.
"Emma's a really good shooter," Leonard stated. "She would get open, shoot it and make it. Her timing was the best part about it because we were down by a lot of points. When she came in she hit her shots against everybody. I always tell her to shoot it whether someone's guarding her or not, and I think that gave her a lot of confidence."
Washington got a pair of 17-point efforts from Mai-Loni Henson and Amber Melgoza.
The Buffs fall to 12-15 on the season and 2-14 in the Pac-12. Washington's only two wins in conference play have come at Colorado's expense. The Huskies improve to 2-13 in Pac-12 play and 9-18 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado looked like it was going to open up the game early on. The Buffs got baskets from Peanut Tuitele and Leonard to jump out to a 5-0 start. That would be the majority of the offense for CU in the quarter. The Buffs finished with seven points in the period and struggled to maintain possession. Colorado turned the ball over 10 times in the quarter, allowing Washington to end the quarter on a 21-2 run.
Washington's lead grew to 17 in the second quarter before Clarke got going. She hit her first basket at the 8:10 mark, a 3-pointer, to cut UW's lead to 14. The Australian guard put in CU's first 11 points of the quarter to keep Colorado within 11, 29-18. A layup from Leonard brought CU within 10, 34-24, at the half. Clarke finished a perfect 4-for-4 in the quarter, including three 3-pointers.
The Huskies opened the second half 4-for-4 from the field and used an 8-0 run to escalate the lead to 44-26. The Buffs once again got a spark from Clarke, who hit a 3 to start a 6-0 run to close the gap to 13, 44-31. Colorado put together a late run to get within eight, 47-39, to end the period.
UW put the game out of reach in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Huskies went on an 11-2 run to start the quarter, increasing their advantage to 17 points (58-41). Colorado was held to 3-of-12 shooting in the quarter, finishing with seven points.
TURNING POINT: CU started the fourth quarter within eight points of the lead. Washington held the Buffs to an empty opening possession. The Huskies got a key 3-pointer from Melgoza to put its lead back at 11 inside the opening minute.
WHAT IT MEANS: Washington jumps back in front of Colorado for the 11th seed in the Pac-12 standings. The Huskies own the head-to-head tiebreaker going into the final week of the regular season.
KEY STATISTICS: Washington shot 57.1 percent (8-14) in the first quarter and scored 14 points off CU's 10 turnovers. The Huskies finished with 28 points off of turnovers.
NOTEWORTHY: CU's 10 turnovers in the first tied the school record for most in a quarter (at Samford, Nov. 10, 2017)…Leonard passed Bridget Turner for 8th on CU's scoring list (1,605)…Leonard increased her career assist record to 649…Leonard moved past Sandy Bean for 13th in FGM (531)…Clarke closed the game a season-high three 3s...Colorado finishes the season 10-7 at home.
QUOTEWORTHY: "One thing that's special about our seniors is the emotions that my daughters are experiencing. My two kids are on the court crying after the game because they know how much they're going to miss our seniors. These two have meant a lot, not just the basketball part but to our family and to everyone in this community. I think seeing my own family's emotions after this game is a testament to the incredible young ladies we have, and they will definitely be sorely missed." – CU's JR Payne
"I would say I've learned hard work. Kennedy comes in early every day to get up extra shots before practice. Alexis is always in the weight room trying to get stronger. Also, how a team needs to get along because our chemistry has definitely improved this year and that's because of them. They've just been great for us this year." – CU's Emma Clarke
"I was thinking about how I've missed 10 games this season, and how it sucks to miss 10 games of my season. I think things would be a lot different had I played in those games. I feel bad for my team that I had to get hurt. I think that I can always play better, it is upsetting that we didn't win. I feel like I didn't play very well, but it is what it is." – CU's Kennedy Leonard
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up the 2018-19 regular season with a trip to the City of Angeles. Colorado will battle with Southern California on Friday and conclude the trip at UCLA on Sunday.
Colorado honored its elder statesmen, Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson, in a pregame ceremony. Both seniors were back in the same starting lineup for the first time in 12 games, albeit for ceremonial reasons. Robinson, unable to play due to a leg injury, was handed the ball right off the tip off and rolled it down the court, allowing her to walk off the court one final time to a standing ovation.
"I'm just really disappointed for the outcome for our team today," head coach JR Payne explained. "Senior Day is tough because there is so much emotion that goes into the game and the lead up to it. It just didn't go our way. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, we got outrebounded and we didn't get to the free-throw line. Those are things that we typically do well and are things that usually lead to success. We just were not able to do as well as we typically do. I'm proud of our team's effort. I just told them I'm proud of them as not just basketball players but as women and teammates as well."
Not much went right for Colorado the rest of the afternoon. The Buffs turned the ball over 22 times and Washington hit nine 3's to silent the largest crowd of the season (3,698).
"We had 16 [turnovers] at the half," Payne added. "We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball in the second half. To only have the six in the second half is great. I think we picked up two charges early and it made us a little more hesitant. Our desire was to penetrate the paint and get to the basket. When we were penalized for that early I think it put us on our heels a little bit."
Freshman Emma Clarke led the Buffs' offense with a season-high 15 points. Clarke did all of her scoring after the 1st quarter, finishing 6-for-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Junior Quinessa Cayloa-Do capped her afternoon with nine points and four rebounds. Leonard put in eight points to go with her seven assists.
"Emma's a really good shooter," Leonard stated. "She would get open, shoot it and make it. Her timing was the best part about it because we were down by a lot of points. When she came in she hit her shots against everybody. I always tell her to shoot it whether someone's guarding her or not, and I think that gave her a lot of confidence."
Washington got a pair of 17-point efforts from Mai-Loni Henson and Amber Melgoza.
The Buffs fall to 12-15 on the season and 2-14 in the Pac-12. Washington's only two wins in conference play have come at Colorado's expense. The Huskies improve to 2-13 in Pac-12 play and 9-18 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado looked like it was going to open up the game early on. The Buffs got baskets from Peanut Tuitele and Leonard to jump out to a 5-0 start. That would be the majority of the offense for CU in the quarter. The Buffs finished with seven points in the period and struggled to maintain possession. Colorado turned the ball over 10 times in the quarter, allowing Washington to end the quarter on a 21-2 run.
Washington's lead grew to 17 in the second quarter before Clarke got going. She hit her first basket at the 8:10 mark, a 3-pointer, to cut UW's lead to 14. The Australian guard put in CU's first 11 points of the quarter to keep Colorado within 11, 29-18. A layup from Leonard brought CU within 10, 34-24, at the half. Clarke finished a perfect 4-for-4 in the quarter, including three 3-pointers.
The Huskies opened the second half 4-for-4 from the field and used an 8-0 run to escalate the lead to 44-26. The Buffs once again got a spark from Clarke, who hit a 3 to start a 6-0 run to close the gap to 13, 44-31. Colorado put together a late run to get within eight, 47-39, to end the period.
UW put the game out of reach in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Huskies went on an 11-2 run to start the quarter, increasing their advantage to 17 points (58-41). Colorado was held to 3-of-12 shooting in the quarter, finishing with seven points.
TURNING POINT: CU started the fourth quarter within eight points of the lead. Washington held the Buffs to an empty opening possession. The Huskies got a key 3-pointer from Melgoza to put its lead back at 11 inside the opening minute.
WHAT IT MEANS: Washington jumps back in front of Colorado for the 11th seed in the Pac-12 standings. The Huskies own the head-to-head tiebreaker going into the final week of the regular season.
KEY STATISTICS: Washington shot 57.1 percent (8-14) in the first quarter and scored 14 points off CU's 10 turnovers. The Huskies finished with 28 points off of turnovers.
NOTEWORTHY: CU's 10 turnovers in the first tied the school record for most in a quarter (at Samford, Nov. 10, 2017)…Leonard passed Bridget Turner for 8th on CU's scoring list (1,605)…Leonard increased her career assist record to 649…Leonard moved past Sandy Bean for 13th in FGM (531)…Clarke closed the game a season-high three 3s...Colorado finishes the season 10-7 at home.
QUOTEWORTHY: "One thing that's special about our seniors is the emotions that my daughters are experiencing. My two kids are on the court crying after the game because they know how much they're going to miss our seniors. These two have meant a lot, not just the basketball part but to our family and to everyone in this community. I think seeing my own family's emotions after this game is a testament to the incredible young ladies we have, and they will definitely be sorely missed." – CU's JR Payne
"I would say I've learned hard work. Kennedy comes in early every day to get up extra shots before practice. Alexis is always in the weight room trying to get stronger. Also, how a team needs to get along because our chemistry has definitely improved this year and that's because of them. They've just been great for us this year." – CU's Emma Clarke
"I was thinking about how I've missed 10 games this season, and how it sucks to miss 10 games of my season. I think things would be a lot different had I played in those games. I feel bad for my team that I had to get hurt. I think that I can always play better, it is upsetting that we didn't win. I feel like I didn't play very well, but it is what it is." – CU's Kennedy Leonard
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up the 2018-19 regular season with a trip to the City of Angeles. Colorado will battle with Southern California on Friday and conclude the trip at UCLA on Sunday.
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