Posts tagged contest
WBB: Buffs stumble but did not fall, move to the WNIT 2nd round
Mar 20th
Swan’s play was key to the victory
BOULDER—It took the Buffs nearly six minutes to knock off the rust of a 12-day layoff. They then spent the game’s final 34 minutes rediscovering a level of efficiency that had been lost for the better part of the season, as they defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 78-71 in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament at the Coors Events Center on Wednesday.
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Trailing 19-11 with 14:01 left in the first half, the Buffs suddenly switched into a different gear as they finished the half on a 32-11 run that also saw them shoot a resounding 55 percent from the field over that span. They then fought off a furious Horned Frogs rally in the game’s final few minutes and now will advance to the second round of the WNIT where they will play the winner of Thursday night’s Colorado State-Southern Utah game. The date and location of the second-round matchup will be announced by the WNIT shortly following that contest up in Fort Collins.
“We’re extremely excited to have our season continue,” said head coach Linda Lappe. “It was also good to get back into the flow of things and get that rust off. We really came out and started attacking their zone, which was a huge key and we got some easy baskets off of that.”
One of the team’s best offensive performances of the season was sparked by a bench that outscored its opponents’ 36-3. Jamee Swan provided the biggest boost off the bench as her 16 points paced an offense a unit that struggled to find its way in the game’s opening minutes. Trailing by eight at that tedious point early in the game, the Buffs bench proceeded to score 15 of the team’s next 20 points and help turn a deficit into 31-24 lead in just over eight minutes. By the end of the half that surge of momentum had translated into a 43-30 halftime lead.
“I thought everyone that came in was solid,” said Lappe. “(Desiree Harris) gave us some good minutes.Lauren Huggins gave us some good minutes, and Zoe (Beard-Fails) did as well. That allowed us to keep everybody fresh and we also wanted to try and get our young kids some post-season experience. You could see a lot of the hard work that they put in over this past week carry over into today and it really helped us.”
With 16:59 remaining, the Buffs’ lead had ballooned to as much as 17 (47-30). But, before the Buffs even began to breathe a sigh of relief, the Horned Frogs went on a 24-7 run of their own, ignited by an effective full-court press defense, that ultimately culminated in a 59-59 tie with just over five minutes to play.
“TCU’s a good team,” said Lappe. “They’re quick, they’re athletic and they can cause a lot of problems with their pressure. We wanted to make stronger and better cuts through the center of their defense. I think we handled it pretty well but we didn’t do a good job in letting them back in the game, but I did like our composure when that happened.”
After an offensive lull allowed the Horned Frogs back into the game, CU went more than six minutes without a field goal. It was a renewed level of defensive tenacity that eventually helped them win it.
TCU guard Zahna Medley’s short jump shot tied the game at the 5:10 mark. Two Haley Smith free throws helped CU regain a 61-59 lead on the ensuing possession. Facing the most critical juncture in the game,Lexy Kresl swiped a TCU pass leading to a fast break layup by Arielle Roberson giving the Buffs a four point lead officially swinging the game’s momentum for the final time.
After a timeout and two TCU free throws, it was only fitting that Swan would take center stage once again as she had done all night. Swan converted three times in the paint on the next four CU possessions and the Buffs once again had a double digit lead.
“Everybody comes to play and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the passes or the looks that I got from my teammates,” said Swan. “You can’t do it by yourself. As a team as a whole, I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”
Swan wasn’t the only Buff who had a big night offensively. Roberson, who pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds 12 days ago against Stanford, scored a team-high 18 points on Wednesday.
“I think we did a really good job moving the ball,” said Roberson. “We could basically get anything we wanted. I think we had it in the post all night, and I think our guards also could shoot as much as they wanted. So, I think it was just a matter of your mentality and if you’re going to attack them or fall back on your heels and more often than not we were able to attack them.”
The biggest surprise on the roster continues to be senior guard Ashley Wilson, who scored 13 points. Her incredible performance over the last nine games, averaging 10.8 points per game over that span, has given CU an added dimension on the offensive end of the court. Her recent offensive explosion comes as even more of a shock considering that she had scored in double figures only twice in the first 97 games of her career.
An added motive for the team as they finish out the season has been to send this year’s celebrated senior of class of Wilson sisters Brittany and Ashley and center Rachel Hargis out on a high note.
Hargis played in her 132nd career game on Wednesday which ties the program record originally set by Erin Scholz, who starred on the team from 1993-97. Brittany Wilson played in her 131st career game as she continues to also climb the school’s all-time list.
“We’re very, very happy (to continue our season),” said Roberson. “Not every team gets this opportunity to continue postseason play, so it’s great for us to continue to play with our seniors, and I know it’s great to get this home win. I don’t know if words can describe it, but we’re just really happy.”
Florida reporters win Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting
Mar 4th
Two Florida reporters have won the 2014 Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Journalism and Mass Communication program and the Denver Press Club.
The $2,000 Nakkula prize goes to reporters Megan O’Matz and database editor John Maines of the South Florida Sun Sentinel for their series, “Cops, Cash, Cocaine.” The piece uncovered a police department’s secret scheme to lure drug dealers to a small town, entangle them in a sting and pocket money from the operation.
The award is named in honor of the late Al Nakkula, a 46-year veteran of the Rocky Mountain News whose tenacity made him a legendary police reporter, according to award organizers. The contest has existed since 1991 and this year drew more than two dozen entries from major publications around the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times, the Boston Globe and Newsday.
Five veteran reporters, who worked at the Rocky Mountain News before its closure in 2009, judged the contest. Most of the reporters worked with Nakkula.
“The Sun Sentinel’s report stood out for the sheer doggedness of the reporting and the sheer audacity of the operation the newspaper exposed,” said Nakkula award judge Kevin Vaughan, an investigative reporter for Fox Sports.
Reporters O’Matz and Maines found that the Sunrise, Fla., police department enticed drug buyers to come to town, arrested them, confiscated their cash and cars and kept millions in proceeds. The officers who participated also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay.
“ ‘Cops, Cash, Cocaine,’ was one of those stories that allowed Megan O’Matz and John Maines to deploy the skills they have become known for around here: piecing together bits of information, reviewing documents endlessly, talking to sources and checking things out in person. In other words: old-fashioned tenacity,” said Howard Saltz, Sun Sentinel editor.
“The result of their investigation not only revealed something that still boggles the mind when you read it, but served the community by forcing a highly unusual — and arguably dangerous — police operation to shut down,” he said.
O’Matz has received numerous state and national honors for previous work and was a 2006 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting.
Series co-reporter Maines has been a database editor for the Sun Sentinel for 16 years. He and a Sun Sentinel colleague won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Second place in this year’s competition was awarded to reporters John Diedrich and Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for their series, “Backfire.”
The judges also sent a special commendation to the staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the depth and breadth of their work in 2013. The staff entered two major reporting projects in the contest.
For more information about the Al Nakkula award visit http://journalism.colorado.edu/al-nakkula-award/. For more information about CU-Boulder’s Journalism and Mass Communication program visit http://journalism.colorado.edu/.
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CU men surge to first Pac-12 victory
Jan 3rd
By B.G Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – The launch of Pac-12 Conference Thursday night at the Coors Events Center sprang very few surprises on Colorado coach Tad Boyle. The biggest might have been 6-10 Eric Moreland and his 11th hour reinstatement, but Boyle’s Buffs eventually adjusted to Moreland’s presence, as well as Oregon State’s 2-3 zone, and earned a difficult 64-58 win.
“Good win . . . welcome to Pac-12 Conference play,” a relieved Boyle said. “Nothing’s going to be easy. Anybody who saw the game saw the talent and skill Oregon State has (and) with Moreland back, they’re a different animal . . . they just keep coming at you with athletes off bench.”
That’s where Moreland, a junior, spent 12 non-conference games, suspended by coach Craig Robinson for a summer violation of team rules. Robinson initially levied a 14-game suspension, but late Wednesday night – on the eve of conference play – announced that Moreland had satisfied whatever was required to return to the court.
The Buffs (12-2, 1-0) had prepped for Moreland’s backup – 6-10 senior Angus Brandt – but CU post Josh Scott claimed Moreland’s unexpected return didn’t surprise him: “To be honest I was kind of expecting him to play . . . I don’t know why I figured it but I just did.”
In three games against CU last season, including a 64-58 win at the CEC that stands as the Buffs’ last home loss (Boyle is 54-7 at home), Moreland averaged 10.2 points and 10 rebounds. But his length and athleticism is typical for the Beavers. Said Boyle: “We’re not going to win a jumping contest with Oregon State.”
And in Thursday night’s first half, the Buffs didn’t win the rebound battle either. Moreland got eight first-half boards (10 total, with two points) as Oregon State (8-5, 0-1) out-boarded the Buffs 21-13, marking the first time this season CU has not had a first-half rebounding edge. But after a “come to Tad” halftime address, the Buffs regained their intensity and out-rebounded the Beavs 21-13 in the second half. That might have made Oregon State’s 37-34 edge for the night a little more palatable for Boyle.
His team held the visitors to 37.5 percent from the field – Oregon State arrived shooting 50 percent – and converted 17 OSU turnovers into 25 points. Those numbers, bolstered by the Buffs’ nine steals, helped them overcome a mediocre shooting night; CU finished 38.2 percent from the field (21-of-55) and hit only five of its 20 3-point attempts.
“The best thing is we won when we didn’t shoot the ball well,” Boyle said.
CU overtook Oregon State with a 13-3 run in the final 8 minutes, but sealed the win by hitting five of eight free throws in the last 1:49 after the Beavers rallied from a 12-point deficit and closed to within four points.
Three Buffs were in double figures – Jaron Hopkins, Askia Booker and Josh Scott, each 13 points. Scott also had 10 of the Buffs’ 34 rebounds. The Beavers got 23 points from Roberto Nelson, the Pac-12’s leading scorer with a 21-point average. Nelson got 16 of his total Thursday night in the second half and was three-of-five from 3-point range.
The Buffs led 28-23 at halftime, but getting that five-point advantage was a major struggle. The Beavers’ 2-3 zone, which reminded Boyle of Syracuse’s traditional defense, made almost everything the Buffs attempted a challenge, most notably shooting and rebounding. Neither team led by more than five points in the first 20 minutes, with Oregon State’s largest advantage being 10-5 on a pair of Nelson free throws at the 13:26 mark.
Moreland entered the game with 16:33 left before halftime and right away collected the first of his eight first-half rebounds. In 13 minutes, he also had an assist and a blocked shot – but his rustiness showed in committing four of Oregon State’s 12 first-half turnovers. Those led to 15 CU points and were largely responsible for the Buffs’ halftime advantage.
The Buffs opened the second half with a steal by Booker that led to an inside basket by Scott to take a 30-23 lead. And the Beavers were about to see more of Scott, who delivered a soft jump hook for the Buffs’ next basket.
After a Spencer Dinwiddie trey put CU up by seven (35-28), Wes Gordon hit one of two free throws and Scott added a put-back to push the Buffs to their first double-digit lead – 38-28 with 16:28 to play. But it wouldn’t last; Oregon State outscored CU 12-2 over the next 51/2 minutes to tie the score at 40-40 with 10:35 left.
The Buffs had an immediate answer in forwards Xavier Johnson and Gordon. “XJ” contributed a pair of tip dunks – the second following a Gordon block – and Gordon hit a short jumper to ignite a 13-3 run that restored the Buffs’ 10-point (53-43) lead.
“I mean, coach preaches defensive rebounding,” Johnson, who finished with nine points and nine rebounds, said of his tip-dunks. “I pretty much just followed Spencer and Wesley up on the shots and was able to get the tip dunks. They were good momentum swings for the team.”
Two minutes later, the Buffs would stretch their lead to 12 (58-46) on a three-point play by Johnson. But the Beavers were far from done. They closed to 60-56 on a 3-pointer from the right wing by freshman Malcolm Duvivier with 2:11 left, prompting a timeout by Boyle.
Dinwiddie hit one of two free throws (61-56) at the 1:49 mark, added two more (63-56) with 41.2 seconds to play and when Buffs guard Xavier Talton chased down a long rebound in the final 15 seconds, the Beavs were done. Johnson hit one of two foul shots for CU’s final point.
Boyle pointed to Talton’s late rebound and “XJ” outdueling OSU’s Devon Collier for a “50-50” ball as the plays of the game. Said Boyle: “Those were hustle plays, the 50-50 balls, the long rebounds, the loose balls that we had to come up with – and we did tonight.”
He’s hoping the intensity remains at a high level on Sunday afternoon. No. 10 Oregon, which remained unbeaten (13-0, 1-0) with an overtime win Thursday night at Utah, visits the CEC. “We need a sellout, we need this place rocking,” Boyle said. “We need a Kansas-type crowd effort on Sunday.”