Contact CU Independent Sports Writer Jake Mauff at jacob.mauff@colorado.edu
The Colorado Buffaloes’ season is officially over, as the Buffs lost in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament to the Washington Huskies, 67-51.
It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season. Colorado had a tough night all around. An upset wasn’t in the making for the Buffs. There were times where the team did push back, only to let the Huskies go on another run.
The sole senior on the team, forward Jamee Swan, is the only player predicted to leave the team after this season. As strong as she played to end her career at the Coors Events Center, she went out with a whimper tonight.
Swan scored nine points and shot 36.4 percent (4-for-11) from the floor. While she did grab eight rebounds, she also had four turnovers and led the team with three fouls.
At the end of the game, Swan was clearly emotional. She was in tears on the bench during the closing seconds of the contest. Tonight certainly wasn’t the ending the team hoped for. It wasn’t the season anyone had hoped for, either.
But it wasn’t just Swan having a tough night offensively. The entire team limped through the night, making just 30.8 percent of their shots in the game. Freshman guard Kennedy Leonard was the lone bright spot in the game for the Buffs, as she scored 21 points. She took most of her shots from deep, with a respectable 6-for-14 conversion rate.
The team’s offensive woes were most exhibited by freshman guard Alexis Robinson. She did not make any of her shots, finishing 0-for-12 from the floor. Junior forward Lauren Huggins also had a rough night. Her baskets didn’t start falling until the start of the fourth quarter.
Colorado couldn’t get anything going against Washington’s zone defense. The Huskies executed their plan perfectly, continually confusing the Buffs’ offense. There was a lot of passing around the perimeter, which often led to poor results.
Colorado’s defense didn’t help its efforts. Washington sunk 47.4 percent of their baskets, an offensive attack that was spearheaded by junior guard Kelsey Plum. She had scored 36 points total in two games against the Buffs this year. On Thursday, she scored 27 and had 16 in the first half alone.
There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter when Plum got caught up on one of her teammates who was setting a screen for her. She fell to the floor and didn’t get up immediately.
After a moment she was able to walk off the court without any help and even checked back into the game a few minutes later.
The Huskies had two other players scoring in double-digits. However, junior forward Chantel Osahor may have had the most impressive stat line. She only scored five points, but grabbed 18 rebounds. Washington had 37 total rebounds, which the Buffs tied.
It’ll be a long offseason for Colorado, with more questions than answers at this point. After a poor showing in their final game, a lot’s going to have to change for the Buffs to be competitive next season.
