Washngton center Quay Miller reacts after drawing a foul during the second quarter or play at Michelob Ultra Arena. March 3, 2021 (Nigel Amstock / CU Independent)
The six-seeded University of Colorado Women’s basketball team fell to the 11-seeded Washington Huskies, 68 -54, in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
“I thought Washington outplayed us today,” head coach JR Payne said. “I think Washington came in with really nothing to lose, and they played very loose, and I thought we played very tight.”
The Achilles’ heel for the Buffs was their inability to hang on to the ball. CU finished the game with 20 turnovers, 17 of those turnovers coming in the last three quarters. These turnovers proved costly for the Buffs, as the Huskies converted 29 points off these turnovers, with 25 of those points coming in the last three quarters.
Senior forward Mya Hollingshed elevates the ball over a Washington defender during the waning minutes of play at Michelob Ultra Arena. March 3, 2021 (Nigel Amstock / CU Independent)
In possibly her final game at CU, senior guard Mya Hollingshed tied Formann with a team-leading 16 points to go with eight rebounds and two assists. For the Huskies, sophomore center Miller finished the game with 11 points while teammates’ junior forward Haley Van Dyke and freshman guard Tameiya Sadler each finished the game with 18.
Despite the outcome, the Buffs looked dominant in the first quarter of the game. Freshman guard Frida Formann went 2-for-2 behind the arc and Colorado led after the first quarter, 19-12.
As the second quarter progressed, the momentum began to shift away from the Buffs as Washington outshot CU 53.8% to 36.4% to take a 34-28 lead. Washington’s Miller had eight points in the quarter.
Much like the second quarter, the second half was largely dominated by the Huskies. Early in the third quarter, the Buffs crawled back to gain a one-point lead, but this small surge was immediately followed by a 14-0 Huskies’ run that gave Washington a commanding double-digit lead late in the third quarter.
This deficit proved too much to overcome for Colorado, as Washington waltzed to a 68-54 victory. Washington shot 6-of-11 from deep in the second half to bury the Buffaloes.
“The way that they were shooting the three and the way that we were not guarding the three particularly well made it very difficult to get back,” Payne said. “That’s pretty tough to trade two’s for three’s when you’re down.”
The loss for Colorado will not help its stature as a bubble team for the NCAA tournament.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Matthew Gillen at matthew.gillen@colorado.edu.
