Women’s basketball upsets No. 15 Kansas State at home
After losing nine of 10 games, the Buffs have turned it around. They won their second game in a row Saturday, and they will have a chance to tally three more wins before the regular season ends.
On Saturday night, the women’s basketball team knocked off No. 15 Kansas State 73-68.
The Kansas State Wildcats came into the game No. 2 in the Big 12, only trailing nationally ranked No. 9 Baylor in the standings. The Buffs, on the other hand, came into the game No. 11 of 12 teams in the Big 12, with a 3-9 Big 12 record.
Kansas State head coach Deb Patterson said the Wildcat defense was not strong enough to take on Colorado and led to a Buff victory.
“Defensively we weren’t good enough to win on the road,” Patterson said. “That’s what separated us from Colorado tonight.”
Patterson also said the fact that her two starting forwards were playing in foul trouble for a large part of the game played a role in her team’s loss. Starting forwards Ashley Sweat and Marlies Gipson both fouled out of the game, with Gipson playing only 17 minutes.
The Buffs stood out behind the arc. Colorado out-shot the Wildcats 12-8 in three-point shots, three of which came in the final three minutes for the Buffs.
Once it hit that three-minute mark, with a 64-63 Wildcats lead, CU’s Bianca Smith hit two three-pointers in a row. Her shots gave the Buffs a 69-66 edge.
“I love seeing players around me make big shots,” senior forward Jackie McFarland said.
One Wildcats’ bucket later, McFarland clinched the Buffaloes’ victory on the final two Colorado offensive possessions of the game.
In the first possession, McFarland got a basket and the foul. After she made her free throw, the Buffs held a two-possession lead, 72-68, with under a minute to play.
When the game ended, the Buffs stormed the court as they got their third victory in 12 games.
“It was a victory that took every bit of this team,” Colorado head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “This team showed a lot of maturity tonight.”
It was a homecoming for Kansas State guard senior Kimberly Dietz. She scored 16 points in the last collegiate game she will play in Boulder County, where she also played high school ball.
Dietz, who played her high school ball at Monarch High School, found herself on the losing end of the stick in her final homecoming game.
“It stinks to come back to Boulder with a loss,” Dietz said. “We didn’t come out and play defense tonight, and we lost.”
The Buffaloes will travel to Waco, Texas, with a new task at hand – to upset Baylor, the No. 1 Big 12 team that is No. 9 nationally, on the road. For senior McFarland, the game could possibly mark her last against a nationally ranked opponent as a Buff.
“I wish I could stay and play with these girls,” McFarland said. “I want another year here.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brent New at brent.new@colorado.edu.
