Powers leads Buffs to victory over Northern Colorado
The CU women’s basketball team won its second straight game Wednesday night, as the team knocked off Northern Colorado, 69-60.
Freshman stand-out Brittany Spears managed only five points, but senior forward Jackie McFarland finished with 26.
The Bears controlled the beginning of the first half in Boulder. As nine minutes had ticked from the clock, the score read 19-11 in favor of the Bears.
“We had a slow start,” McFarland said. “We wait to see what the other team does, and we do not do what we want to.”
The Bears’ 19-11 lead quickly vanished after the Buffs went on a 10-0 run thanks to the play of senior guard Susie Powers and McFarland.
As the first half came to a close, the Buffs ran into the locker-room with a 37-31 advantage and a school record for three-point attempts in a single half.
Unfortunately for the Buffs, the record loomed on attempts behind the arc, not how many fell through. Out of 21 shots from downtown, eight of them actually counted.
“You know, I told the team over the summer to practice their outside shooting,” coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “We are not going to rely on it (the three-point shot). We want a balanced attack, inside and out.”
The Buffaloes came into the second half right where they ended the first, as they tranquilized the Bears on a 7-0 run, all produced by the flick of McFarland’s wrist.
With 15:20 remaining in the second half, the Bears, with only one bucket in the second half, faced a 14 point deficit to CU.
Powers tied her career-high in points with 12 and her career high in rebounds with seven. She also had a career high eight assists.
Powers was moved from the two-position to point guard early this season by McConnell-Miller.
“I put Susie in that position because the more she has the ball in her hands, the more confidence she gets,” McConnell-Miller said.
The individual performances of Powers and McFarland seemed to be the difference through the game, as both played key parts in the 10-0 run in the first half and the 7-0 run to begin the second.
The Bears couldn’t catch up to the Buff. They return to Greeley at 3-3, while the Buffs cruise to 3-2.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brent New at brent.new@thecampuspress.com.
