First win in almost two weeks
Despite a rickety start for the Buffaloes, Colorado ended their three-game skid Tuesday night with a 59-41 win over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Coming off their Saturday loss at Kansas State, the Buffs came out shooting poorly, going down in the first few minutes.
“I was a little surprised on how we came out,” head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “It looked like we were not ourselves.”
The Buffs only hit 2-12 from the field and missed six attempts from behind the arc, putting themselves in an early 15-6 deficit.
In a first half plagued by offensive woes, it was not until the final six minutes of the half, with the Buffs down 18-10, that they found an offensive rhythm.
Brittany Spears drove down the key, banked in a lay-up and got the foul. Her three points began a 19-4 run by the Buffs to close out the half.
During the run, McConnell-Miller said she pulled out starting center Jackie McFarland to open the floor up.
“We were really trying to force the ball to Jackie,” McConnell-Miller said. “Once we got her out and moved the ball a bit, it opened things up, and it really allowed our offense to flow.”
The Buffs picked up right where they left off at the beginning of the second half. While CU knocked down half of their first ten shots, it actually was their defense that kept the Jayhawks away from the lead for the remainder of the game.
Kansas only shot the ball four times and went to the line once in the first nine minutes of the second half. Their ineffective defense pushed the score out to a 42-26 Buff advantage, and an eventual 59-41 victory.
The Colorado bench outscored that of Kansas 27-8, allowing redshirt freshman center Courtney Dunn to score a career-high nine points and five rebounds.
“But I’m not going to let it get to my head,” Dunn said.
The Buffaloes advanced to 2-3 in the Big 12, while the Jayhawks fell to 1-4.
CU will play their next game at Texas Tech on Saturday.
Game Notes
Scoring leaders: CU’s Jackie McFarland with 15 points and Kansas guard Danielle McCray with 12.
100 total points is the lowest combined point total in the Colorado/Kansas women’s basketball series.
There were 47 combined turnovers in the game.
Injuries: CU’s starting forward Aija Putnina did not return after she headed to the locker room at halftime. McConnell-Miller said Putnina had breathing problems as well as a possible broken finger.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brent New at brent.new@thecampuspress.com.
