Posts tagged Utah Sunday
Roberson’s late scoring frenzy puts close game away
Dec 29th
BOULDER – If Sunday afternoon was a tune-up for Pac-12 Conference play, the No. 12 Colorado women’s team likely left the Coors Events Center knowing the fine-tuning isn’t finished.
But putting into practice what they had emphasized recently in practice, the Buffaloes showed if they continue to grind they can succeed. Applying the brakes to stubborn Southern Utah Sunday in the last 8 minutes, the Buffs finally put away the Thunderbirds 75-59 and now can turn their full attention to the Pac-12.
CU opens conference play on Friday at Southern California, then plays at UCLA next Sunday. The Buffs’ Pac-12 home opener is Friday, Jan. 10 against No. 23 Cal, with No. 4 Stanford visiting on Sunday, Jan. 12. The Pac-12 features four ranked (AP) teams, with Arizona State at No. 25.
Roberson scored 18 points, including seven back-to-back points with just minutes to play, to stop a Southern Utah comeback
Although CU did enough against Southern Utah to claim its 10th non-conference win (10-1), the Buffs often had difficulty getting in synch offensively and let a 14-point second half lead dwindle to two with 8:09 to play.
But that was as close as the Thunderbirds (7-3) would get. After Carli Moreland hit a pair of free throws to bring Southern Utah to 54-52, the Buffs launched a 19-2 run to take a 19-point lead (73-54) with 1:24 remaining.
Outscored 21-7 over the final 8:09, the T-Birds were toast.
“Overall, I liked how we responded to the last three days of practice,” CU coach Linda Lappe said, noting the Buffs had focused on rebounding, tighter defense and setting screens. “I saw all three things improve.”
Most apparent, according to guard Jasmine Sborov, was the defensive factor: “To be honest, it didn’t really feel like the score was that close leading up to the two-point deficit . . . we looked at scoreboard and we were like, ‘All right, we need to get down, get some stops and just extend our lead.’ I think that’s one negative thing with this game – we were up and then we were down and we were up and we let them get closer. We didn’t step on their throats and just keep going.”
Not until they needed to, anyway. During the decisive 8-minute surge, Arielle Roberson scored seven of her team-best 18 points while Ashley Wilson, who finished with career highs in points (14) and assists (5), contributed four points. Roberson added 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games and seventh of her career.
Wilson’s performance came in 21 minutes off the bench. “That’s kind of my role – to provide energy off of the bench,” she said. “It just happened; it’s a credit to my teammates, they gave me energy.”
Down by 12 points at halftime, the Thunderbirds crept to within four before the Buffs answered with a 12-2 run to take what appeared to be a comfortable 50-36 lead. Not so. The visitors kept competing, climbing back to within 54-52 before CU delivered its final answer.
“We relaxed instead of keeping our foot on the gas,” Wilson said. “They play hard (but) we responded every single time; it shows what kind of team we have.”
Lappe agreed: “They’re a feisty group, well-coached and have lot of energy . . . at times we didn’t look very good, didn’t get stops and our offensive sputtered. Southern Utah made us play a half-court game, made us become stagnant (offensively) at times.”
But, noted Lappe, compensating with solid defense down the stretch was good for the Buffs with the Pac-12 schedule looming: “In terms of playing defense and unleashing our aggressiveness, we needed to do that against an opponent.”
CU also got double-figure scoring from Jen Reese (11) and Jasmine Sborov (12), who also recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds.
Desiree Jackson led Southern Utah with 21 points and was her team’s only player in double figures.
“Slow start” doesn’t come close to describing what the Buffs overcame to eventually pull away and take a 36-24 halftime lead. Just under 9 minutes into the first half, CU had one more turnover (five) than baskets (four) but still led 10-7.
But after Moreland, a 6-1 senior forward from Broomfield, tied the score at 13-13 on a 3-pointer, CU made its move. Over the next 6 minutes, the Buffs outscored the Thunderbirds 17-6 to take their first double-digit advantage (30-19) on a basket by Ashley Wilson.
Southern Utah rallied briefly, closing to within six points (30-24) before CU used a 6-0 run – four free throws by Roberson, a layup by Jamee Swan, who made her second career start – to establish its 12-point halftime advantage. But the T-Birds quickly cut into that, forced the Buffs to make a run, then the whole process was repeated.
Neither team shot impressively from the field – CU checked in at 37.9 percent, Southern Utah at 34.0 – and between them the Buffs and Thunderbirds committed 45 turnovers (CU 21, Southern Utah 24). And long-range accuracy was lacking: the teams were a combined 2-of-26 from beyond the arc, with each getting one trey in 13 attempts. The Buffs also clanked 12 free throws, giving them 25 misses in their last two games – which Lappe conceded concerns her.
Still, noted Wilson, “We’re happy with this win. There were a lot of different things we worked on the last three practices that definitely showed up in the game. We wanted to ramp up our defense a whole lot more going into Pac-12 because we know there are a lot of good teams that are going to come after us . . . so, it was a great win.”
CU redshirt freshman Lauren Huggins did not dress; she is recuperating from a lower leg injury and is hopeful of returning for the Pac-12 opener. In Huggins’ absence, freshman Desiree Harris saw her first playing time of the season, getting 5 minutes.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Colorado Buffaloes
Balanced, Physical Men’s Basketball Team Pounds Cardinal By 21
Jan 25th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – After being manhandled twice by Stanford in their first Pac-12 Conference season, the Colorado Buffaloes struck back Thursday night – hard, early and often.
Leading from opening tip to final buzzer, the Buffs bashed the Cardinal 75-54 at the Coors Events Center before 11,212 – the fourth largest crowd in school history. It was CU’s first win against Stanford in six tries, with the Buffs’ last victory coming on Dec. 23, 1990 in Boulder.
Despite the five straight losses to Stanford – and particularly the pair last season – CU coach Tad Boyle downplayed any revenge factor that might have motivated his team. “It was sweet,” said Boyle, “because I respect Stanford and (coach) Johnny Dawkins . . . but relative to what happened last year – no.”
What happened last year actually occurred twice – once at Stanford, once in Boulder. The Cardinal won big in both places, 84-64 and 74-50, respectively. And the Buffs were brutalized both times, outrebounded by a combined 85-53 total and shredded defensively as the Cardinal shot a cumulative 50 percent from the field.
Thursday night’s story unfolded much differently, even if the physicality remained high. Said Boyle: “It was a bloodbath out there . . . it was one of those games where you had to put the ball in the basket. We told our guys at timeouts not to look for fouls.”
There were 36 called and what appeared to be an equal number uncalled. But the Buffs, improving to 8-1 this season in the Events Center and 40-5 at home in Boyle’s third season, followed their coach’s advice and didn’t depend on whistles.
Instead, they relied on balanced scoring – all five starters were in double figures – tenacious rebounding by junior Andre Roberson and steely defense. Roberson tied a career high with 20 of the Buffs’ 48 rebounds (the Cardinal collected 30) and added 11 points.
“We fed off Andre tonight . . . (he) was a beast and played like the Andre we know and love. He was after it from the get-go” Boyle said.
Roberson’s energy seemed unlimited and spilled over to the entire starting lineup. Sophomore Askia Booker scored a team-high 13, including eight consecutive points midway through the second half when Stanford closed to within eight. Freshman Josh Scott and sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie also scored 12 points each, while freshman Xavier – it’s OK to call him “Jam” – Johnson contributed 11.
Making his fifth start, “XJ” also was a power source for CU, getting eight of his points on dunks that left the big crowd delirious. “He gave us big-time energy,” said Boyle. “Those dunks got us going.”
If Boyle downplayed any revenge factor, Booker said one was present “without a doubt . . . the coaches were talking about how bad they beat us on the boards last year.”
Added Roberson: “I definitely feel like we had a lot to prove . . . we came out tonight and put it on them.”
Roberson controlled the glass but had help. Booker and Dinwiddie accounted for seven rebounds, and Sabatino Chen came off the bench to collect six to go with his seven points. CU’s bench outscored Stanford’s 15-13, and the Buffs prevailed in the paint 44-20.
The Cardinal guards – Aaron Bright and Chasson Randle – were held to a combined 7-for-29 from the field. Randle led Stanford with 15 points, but he hit only five of his 21 attempts. And as a team, Stanford shot 31.3 percent (20-for-64) from the field, giving Boyle the edge he craves nightly in defense and rebounding.
Dawkins said CU “played with terrific energy and they moved well. They just defended well. I thought a tone was set from the beginning.”
Wanting a good start, the Buffs couldn’t have had a better one. Scoring on their first nine possessions, they went up 16-5, with Johnson’s first jam of the night – a baseline drive from the left side – getting CU to 16.
After his first slam, “XJ” wasn’t through and his teammates weren’t either. Jam No. 2 came on a drive from the right baseline at the tail end of a 16-5 run that pushed CU ahead 42-25. Then he scored the final points of the half on a tip dunk after a Scott miss for a 44-29 halftime lead.
CU outrebounded Stanford 24-14 in the first half, with Roberson getting 11 of his board total in the first 20 minutes. The Buffs were careful with the ball, too, not committing the first of their four first-half turnovers until 3:26 remained before intermission. They went 27 possessions before turning it over, finishing with a dozen.
After never trailing in the first half, the Buffs’ pressing second-half question was whether they could maintain their intensity – knowing the Cardinal would ratchet up its own. The short answer for CU: Yes.
When Johnson threw down his fourth jam – this one on a breakaway at the 14-minute mark – the Buffs took their largest lead of the night, 54-36. But the Cardinal wasn’t done.
Stanford closed to within 11 points (54-43) on a three-point play by Rosco Allen, then cut CU’s advantage to single digits (54-46) on a three-pointer by Randle with 9:55 to play.
But the Cardinal never came closer than eight points. A pair of free throws by Dinwiddie with 8:53 to play restored the Buffs’ 10-point lead (56-46). And after Roberson swat and rebound, the irrepressible Booker scored eight consecutive points for a 64-48 CU advantage with just over 6 minutes remaining.
Booker had gone to the bench because of fouls (he finished with four), but was sent back in by Boyle. “I was in foul trouble, and coach told me when I got back in the game to make something happen,” Booker said. “Coach believes in me . . . I love those moments.”
When Chen buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 2:23 left, CU went up by 19 (70-51). The lead got larger when Boyle emptied his bench, with crowd favorite Ben Mills scoring his four points in the final minute.
The Buffs (13-6, 3-4) are back at the Events Center on Sunday (1:30 p.m., FSN) to face California. Stanford (11-8, 3-3) visits Utah Sunday.
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