Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
15-11,4-11Pac-12
Arizona State
19-8,9-6Pac-12
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Buffs Falter Late Against Sun Devils
February 21, 2020 | Women's Basketball
CU falls 65-59
BOULDER – Another fourth-quarter comeback hurt the Colorado women's basketball team on Friday. The Buffaloes led by six in the final quarter but could not close out the Sun Devils, falling 65-59.
No. 21/24 Arizona State (19-8, 9-6 Pac-12) outscored the Buffs 20-12 in the fourth quarter. Ja'Tavia Tapley and Reili Richardson each scored seven points in the fourth and the Sun Devils went 12-for-16 from the free-throw line to complete the comeback.
Colorado (15-11, 4-11 Pac-12) had three players score in double figures. Sophomore Emma Clarke led the Buffs with 12 points. Sophomore Peanut Tuitele and senior Quinessa Caylao-Do each had 11 points. Freshman Jaylyn Sherrod handed out a game-high six assists to go with her nine points.
Tapley and Richardson led ASU with 16 points each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado outscored Arizona State, 20-12, in the third quarter to overcome a six-point halftime deficit. The Buffs shot 50.0 percent (7-14) in the quarter, holding ASU to just three field goals in the frame. The Sun Devils lead hovered around six points for the first five minutes of the quarter. Charlotte Whittaker and Sherrod helped get CU within two, 42-40, but ASU pushed its lead back to three with 3:02 on the clock.
Tuitele again cut the ASU lead to two, 44-43, and Lesila Finau came up with a steal to give the ball back to the Buffs. Caylao-do corralled a rebound under the basket and went back up to give CU the 44-43 lead with 2:15 to play in the quarter. ASU took back the lead, 45-44, but the Buffs got a last-second heave from Finau to beat the buzzer to take a 47-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Silver and Gold scored the first two baskets of the fourth, making it a 7-0 run to get out to a 51-45 lead. Colorado went cold over the next 4:21, allowing ASU to go on a 10-0 run. A Robbi Ryan 3-pointer capped the run, giving ASU a 55-51 lead with 1:24 to play.
Caylao-Do got the Buffs back within two, 55-53, with just over a minute to play. Richardson answered back for ASU with another 3 to push the Sun Devils' lead back to five, 58-53. Sherrod had a chance to complete a 3-point play, but missed on the free throw, cutting the ASU lead back to three. The Sun Devils went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to close out the finish.
Colorado enjoyed a 60 percent shooting start to the night, helping the Buffs get out to a six-point lead. CU got started with a Caylao-Do layup off the opening tip and a Clarke 3 gave the Buffs a four-point lead, 9-5.
The Sun Devils shot 75.0 percent in the second quarter (9-12), and outscored CU 21-9 in the period to take a 33-27 lead at the half. The Buffs went just 4-for-10 in the frame. Clarke scored five of CU's nine points, going 2-for-3 from the floor. Richardson provided key 3's for the Sun Devils, hitting two of ASU's three 3's in the quarter.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs went through a 0-for-8 shooting slump in the fourth quarter after getting out to the six-point lead. CU finished 5-for-17 (29.4 percent) from the floor and 0-for-6 from deep in the fourth.
NOTES: Caylao-Do surpassed 700 career points (702)…Colorado outrebounded ASU, 29-23, but was outrebounded 11-9 in the fourth quarter…CU turned the ball over 19 times but led 13-11 in points off turnovers…Colorado scored 34 points in the paint…CU's bench was held to under 10 points for the second straight game (7)…Colorado led for 20:17…The game featured 13 lead changes and four ties…The Buffs have now lost their last 12 meetings against the Sun Devils and fall to 11-14 all-time.
NEXT UP: CU hosts Arizona for Senior Day on Sunday. The team will honor Caylao-Do, its lone senior, before the game's noon start time.
Quotes
Head Coach JR Payne
Overall thoughts
"I thought we played really hard tonight. I thought we battled. I thought in a lot of ways we really executed the game plan from a rebounding standpoint. To outrebound this team, who is one of the best rebounding teams in the country and holding them to four offensive rebounds, is pretty spectacular. We just didn't get the shots we wanted when we needed them. The ones we did get that we wanted, we weren't able to finish at the basket. Too many turnovers. Against a great basketball team [like ASU] it is going to be hard to win if you turn the ball over 19 times. Our effort, tenacity and toughness are undeniable. I am always so proud of that with this group. In the end, we need to be able to focus on the details, we talked about that in the locker room, to be able to beat these teams. That is where we are."
On being tired of losing close games
"Totally. The first thing I said before I even went to shake hands, was, 'I am tired of this.' I am tired of being in these games and losing close games to teams that, on paper, are supposed to be better than you. We feel like we can compete with anybody. Then you go, 'If we had just done this or that, it would have been a different outcome.' Everybody is pretty ticked off honestly because we work so hard. These ladies pour their hearts and souls into each other, the game plan and extra reps. They are giving everything they've got. It is crushing to not come out with a victory that we felt like we worked for."
Sophomore Peanut Tuitele
On CU's strong rebounding but not maintaining it late
"I just think we needed to take a deep breath. We're a young team so our emotions can get a little out of control. I think we need to focus on our game plan. We needed to focus on boxing out because they are number one in rebounding in the Pac-12. We needed to focus on that and like what Coach J said, focus on details."
Sophomore Emma Clarke
On the strong start
"It felt good. We were down by six at halftime and I think a lot of us didn't think we were still playing at our capacity. It was good to be up, but we need to play four quarters of basketball, not just three."