Colorado
12-2,1-2Pac-12
Oregon State
14-0,2-0Pac-12
Buffs' Upset Bid Falls Short
January 05, 2020 | Women's Basketball
No. 3 Oregon State holds on to 72-60 win
CORVALLIS, Ore. — 48 hours made a world of difference for the Colorado women's basketball team on Sunday. The young Buffaloes bounced back from its loss at No.2 Oregon and stood their ground against No.3 Oregon State, falling 72-60.
Three Buffs finished in double figures. Sophomore Peanut Tuitele helped lead the charge with 15 points and six rebounds. Junior Mya Hollingshed put in 14 and led the team with nine rebounds. Freshman Jaylyn Sherrod totaled 13 points and handed out six assists.
Colorado still had its struggles offensively, shooting 31.9 percent (23-72) on the day. The Buffaloes also had missed opportunities from the free-throw line, recording a season-low 43.8 percent (7-16).
Oregon State finished with four players in double figures, led by Destiny Slocum's 18 points. Taylor Jones added a double-double for the Beavers, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs got out to the early lead, just like they did against Oregon. Sherrod put in CU's first shot, for a 2-0 start. CU forced four turnovers in the first two minutes but couldn't capitalize. Just like the previous game against the Ducks, Colorado couldn't find the bottom of the net. CU struggled through an 0-for-10 slump after the Sherrod basket, while Oregon State wasn't much better, going 1-of-5 to start.
Aubrey Knight put an end to the Buffs' slump and Colorado evened out the rest of the quarter, finishing 8-of-21. The Buffs got help from outside, getting 3's from Hollingshed and Tuitele in an 8-0 run, building a 16-10 lead. Sherrod hit CU's third 3 of the quarter, giving CU a six-point lead, 21-15. OSU's Destiny Slocum beat the buzzer to end the quarter, cutting the Buffs' advantage to 21-17.
The Beavers carried over the momentum to the second quarter, extending its run to 9-0. The Ducks seemingly couldn't miss in the quarter, going 8-for-15 in the period. Half of OSU's field goals came from behind the arc, helping OSU outscore the Buffs 23-9 in the frame.
Colorado was fired up in the third quarter, cutting the Beavers' lead down to four by the end of the frame. The Buffs defense was relentless, holding OSU to just 2-for-17 from the field, including 0-for-11 in the final 5:45 of the quarter. Tuitele scored the first seven points in the quarter for the Buffs, cutting the Oregon State lead to 43-37. A Knight layup got CU within four, 43-39, with just over three minutes gone in the quarter.
Oregon State scored the first basket of the second quarter, pushing the Beavers' lead back up to six. Jones helped closeout the afternoon for the Beavers, scoring 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the quarter. A Sherrod free throw cut the deficit back to 10 with just over five minutes to play, but that was as close as CU would get.
KEY STATISTICS: CU's free-throw shooting, specifically in the second half was disheartening. The Buffs got to the line 14 times in the half, but could only convert on four free throws (35.7 percent).
NOTES: Charlotte Whittaker played just north of three minutes before leaving due to injury…CU turned the ball over just five times, marking the fewest since four at Texas A&M on Feb. 14, 2009…Colorado outrebounded OSU on the offensive glass, 18-16.
NEXT UP: The Buffs return home after almost a month's absence. Colorado will host Southern California on Friday (Jan. 10) and close the week with No. 10 UCLA on Sunday (Jan. 12).
QUOTES
Head Coach JR Payne
On the team's ability to bounce back
"I'm extremely encouraged. I was really disappointed Friday night, not that I had expectations of going into Oregon and blowing them out. That's not it but I expected us to play the way we played tonight with mindset wise –playing fearlessly, playing aggressively and being tenacious. All of those are things that we take pride in. So this is the basketball that I expect to play. I wish we'd shot better from the free-throw line and things like that. But the mindset that we had in this game is who we want to be."
On team's free-throw shooting
"I just think it's all-encompassing. It's not just the points we needed. It's the confidence that you get from doing something aggressive, being rewarded with a foul and stepping up and knocking it down. it's not just the points – then the next player went up and they were a little bit hesitant. That's something we just need to get better at. We took care of the ball much more efficiently today than we have been. The next thing is we got to be able to lock in free throws because those are points we need."
