CU Women’s Basketball
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Cal press shakes the Buffs, costs the victory
Jan 12th
By: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor Send Mail Print RSS
BOULDER – California never stopped grinding, Colorado couldn’t step up with a stop. It was the recipe for a gut-wrenching, frustrating Friday night at the Coors Events Center.
Outscoring CU 14-2 in the final 4:08, No. 19 Cal rallied from a 10-point deficit to edge No. 17 CU, 57-55. Since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 Conference in 2011, the Bears are 6-0 against them, and their other Pac-12 nemesis – No. 4 Stanford, owning a 5-0 regular season/conference tournament record against CU – visits the CEC on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m.).
“We have to bounce back, we don’t have a choice,” CU coach Linda Lappe said. “We have to bring it for two games . . . we brought it for 37 minutes (against Cal) and Stanford is even tougher. If you feel sorry for yourself and are not ready to go, Stanford will take advantage of that.”
If the Buffs left their home court Friday night feeling they had been taken advantage of, it was justified. It was also mostly self-inflicted. CU (11-3, 1-2) held a 10-point halftime lead, led by 10 with just over 4 minutes to play and still couldn’t finish what was shaping up to be a milestone Pac-12 win. Cal (11-3, 3-0) wouldn’t allow it.
“We just didn’t play to win necessarily . . . they were the aggressors and we didn’t buck up to that challenge,” said Buffs forward Arielle Roberson, who rebounded from a subpar West Coast trip last weekend with a game-high 21 points on Friday night – including 11 during a 15-6 run that opened a 50-40 CU advantage with 5:55 to play.
But after Jen Reese hit a jumper to put the Buffs up by 10 for a second time, they failed to hit a field goal in the final 4:08. Roberson’s two free throws were CU’s only points in that span.
The Bears, led by Reshanda Gray (15) and Brittany Boyd (13), never considered going away. After CU called a timeout with 25 seconds remaining – 22 on the shot clock – Roberson was fouled and went to the free throw line with 16.2 seconds showing. She hit both, putting the Buffs up 55-54, prompting a Cal timeout with 12.1 seconds to play.
Afure Jemerigbe drove the right baseline and scored to give Cal a 56-55 lead with 6 seconds left. Lappe called timeout to set up a play for Roberson, but Jamee Swan’s side-court inbounds pass was stolen by Courtney Range, who was fouled by Roberson and hit one of two free throws at the 2.9 second mark.
Lexy Kresl’s half-court fling at the buzzer bounded off the back iron and the Buffs’ night of late frustration was complete.
“Give Cal a lot of credit,” a disappointed Lappe said. “They kept playing and didn’t give up. They were tough and aggressive down the stretch . . . they’re well- coached, they executed their offense and they turned us over.”
Employing full-court pressure to begin the second half, the Bears forced the Buffs into nine turnovers in the final 20 minutes and converted CU’s 16 errors into 16 points. Cal also outscored CU 36-34 in the paint, outrebounded the Buffs 40-39 and limited them to 37.5 percent from the field. The Bears shot only 39.7 percent, but they were at 45.5 percent (15-of-33) in the second half when the Buffs needed to clamp down.
“Towards the end when we needed stops, we didn’t step up to that challenge,” said Kresl. “I’d say they beat us in the last three minutes.”
In the final 4:08, Lappe said the Buffs lacked “leadership on the floor . . . you need somebody to step and somebody to recognize that you need a stop and say, ‘Here’s how we’re going to do it.’ We didn’t have that on the floor.”
CU’s biggest lead of the first half – 28-18 – came courtesy of a 10-4 run and a nearly 8-minute lockdown of the Cal offense. With 7:44 left before intermission, Mikayla Lyles hit a 3-pointer to bring the Bears to within 18-17, but that would be Cal’s last field goal of the half. Cal’s 18 first-half points were its lowest of the season.
Roberson led all first-half scorers with eight points – one less than she scored in two West Coast games last weekend.
In the first 2 minutes of the second half, it was Cal’s turn to turn up the ‘D.’ Opening with full-court pressure, the Bears disrupted the Buffs offensive rhythm just enough to force three turnovers and outscored them 10-2 to pull to within 30-28 on a conventional three-point play by Gray with 17:08 to play.
Over the next 51/2 minutes, Cal cut CU’s lead to one on two occasions, but after the Bears had closed to 35-34 the Buffs answered with an 8-0 surge on three baskets by Roberson and one by Rachel Hargis to go up 43-34 with 9:40 to play.
And Roberson wasn’t finished. After scoring in the paint, she backed up for a trey that opened a 10-point CU lead (50-40) with just under 6 minutes to play. Roberson said she was “better mentally” this weekend than last. “That was the biggest difference. I just forgot about what happens in the past and I said, ‘This is a new game, this is a new day, so just leave it there.’”
But the Bears wouldn’t roll. They cut the deficit to five (53-48) on a three-point play by Gennifer Brandon with 3:33 left, got a fast break layup by Gray to pull to 53-50, then crept to 53-52 on a jumper by Boyd at the 2:07 mark.
A turnover caused by Cal’s full-court pressure followed a CU timeout, and Courtney Range sank two free throws to give Cal a 54-53 lead – its first since 12-11 – with 1:59 left. Roberson’s pair of free throws gave the Buffs a 55-54 lead and their fans hope, but a stop at the other end was needed – and it didn’t happen.
“We didn’t show up, we didn’t have a sense of urgency when we needed to and really, that was the difference in the game,” said Lappe, knowing the Buffs need to find it before Sunday.
CU WBB get’s out of California 1-1
Jan 6th
LOS ANGELES – No. 12/14 Colorado erased a late nine-point second half deficit to edge UCLA, 61-59, Sunday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Jen Reese scored 15 points and Jamee Swanhad nine points and nine rebounds giving the Buffaloes (11-1, 1-1 Pac-12) a conference opening-weekend road split of the Southern California schools.
Trailing 52-43 with 6 minutes, 20 seconds left, the Buffaloes clamped down on defense and held the Bruins scoreless for the next 4:06 as CU embarked on a 10-0 run.
Reese started the run off with a made free throw. She missed the second but Swan corralled the layup and scored to cut the Bruins lead to six.
UCLA (7-8, 1-2) missed three straight shots and had a couple of turnovers as the Buffaloes whittled the lead down to 52-48 with 4:09 left on a pair of Ashley Wilson free throws.
After two more defensive stops, Arielle Roberson drilled a long two-pointer at the top of the key at the 2:53 mark.
On the next possession, Brittany Wilson tied up Thea Lemberger with the arrow in the Buffs favor.
Brittany Wilson was fouled and hit one of two free throws to cut the UCLA lead to one at 52-51. She missed the second one, but the scramble for the ball fell out of bounds in CU’s favor. Wilson then drove the lane and scored on a layup in traffic as CU regained the lead at 53-52 with 2:32 left.
UCLA’s Luliana Livulo hit a couple of free throws at 2:14 as the Bruins briefly retook the lead. But Reese hit a jumper at the top of the key, in the exact same spot as Roberson’s earlier jumper, to give Colorado a 55-54 lead with 1:55 left. After a defensive stop for CU, and both teams swapping turnovers, Swan scored on a layup for a 57-54 lead.
The Buffaloes kept the Bruins out of reach at the free throw line. Lexy Kresl hit a pair to extend the lead to five. UCLA’s Nirra Fields, who led all players with 23 points, countered with a layup. She was fouled and hit the subsequent free-throw to cut the CU lead to 59-57 with 16 seconds left.
Brittany Wilson was fouled immediately and hit one of two from the line to up the CU lead to three. Lemberger attacked the rim and scored with eight ticks left to knock the lead back to one at 60-59.
Wilson again was sent to the line and again hit one of two. With no timeouts left, Lemberger hustled down the floor took a contested runner in the lane. Livulo grabbed the offensive rebound but her put back fell short at the buzzer.
Jasmine Sborov had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Buffaloes. Atonye Nyingifa had a double-double for the Bruins with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Colorado returns home to host the Bay Area schools next weekend. The Buffaloes will have their Pac-12 home opener on Friday, Jan. 10, by playing California at 8 p.m. Colorado will then face Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m. Both games are scheduled for the Pac-12 Network.
#20 CU Buffs send the #10 Duck Nation packing
Jan 6th
BOULDER – Duck Dynasty might play well elsewhere, but not in Askia Booker’s and Spencer Dinwiddie’s house.
Colorado’s pair of junior guards took control Sunday afternoon, alternately pushing and pulling the No. 20 Buffs to a 100-91 Pac-12 Conference win over No. 10 Oregon at the raucous Coors Events Center. CU’s 13-2 record (2-0 Pac-12) matches the program’s best start since 1968-69 season.
Booker (career-high 27) and Dinwiddie (23) combined for 50 points as the Buffs overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and disposed of the previously unbeaten Ducks (13-1, 1-1). CU’s prized back-court duo was golden in nearly everything they touched: Booker hit 10-of-12 free throws, Dinwiddie sank 10-of-11 and they combined for 11 of CU’s 14 assists. Between them, they were four-of-seven from beyond the arc, with Dinwiddie going three-for-four.
“It’s pretty simple,” Dinwiddie said. “When ‘Ski ‘plays really well, we play really well. We kind of go as he goes . . . when he’s up, we are one good team.”
Booker called his and Dinwiddie’s combined productivity “wonderful” and said of his backcourt mate: “I think he’s probably the best point guard I’ve played with . . . it’s nice to have somebody like that on my side and know I can trust him.”
Their coach, Tad Boyle, said when his starting guards are dialed in on the same afternoon, the Buffs are not only hard to handle but fun to observe – especially when an opponent enters the CEC with up-and-down intentions: “I wish every team that came into Coors wanted to run . . . that’s the way we want to play. It’s fun to watch, it’s fun to play, it’s fun to coach. Yeah, it was fun today . . .
“That was a high-level basketball game, a treat for anybody in the building . . . it’s a special win because of the respect we have for (coach) Dana Altman and the Oregon program.”
The Buffs have now won five of six meetings and four straight against the Ducks since joining the Pac-12 and are unbeaten (5-0 all time, 3-0 Pac-12) against Oregon at the CEC, where Boyle is now an imposing 55-7.
Boyle said his team is marked “toughness, resiliency . . . and they obviously believe in each other” – and that was never more apparent than in the second half when the Buffs rallied from a 10-point deficit.
CU also got double-figure scoring from Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson, who contributed 15 points each. Scott also collected 12 of the Buffs’ 39 rebounds (Oregon had 33) for his fifth consecutive double-double and seventh this season.
The Buffs shot 56.4 percent from the field, a dramatic upgrade from their 38.2 percent on Thursday night against Oregon State. The Ducks came in as the nation’s highest scoring team (89.2 ppg) and shooting 50 percent from the field. They got their scoring average, but the Buffs held them to 42.3 percent shooting.
CU was perfect from the foul line (13-for-13) in the first half and finished 33-of-39.
Ironically, the first missed free throw was by Booker, who hit one of three after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with just under 6 minutes left. The Buffs committed 16 turnovers – costing them 20 points – to the Ducks’ nine, but outscored the visitors’ 40-34 in the paint and got 17 second-chance points to Oregon’s nine.
“Obviously, they shoot 56 percent and out-rebounded us,” Altman said. “We just didn’t ourselves a chance.”
That wasn’t entirely true. With 14:22 to play, the Ducks were up 10 points (58-48), forcing a timeout by Boyle. Following that, the Buffs ratcheted up their defensive intensity and went on a 16-4 run that produced a 64-62 CU advantage. Oregon never led again.
“Luckily, we had same situation when it was 21-12,” Dinwiddie said. “We fought back and took the lead. You never want to start (a second half) in a hole . . . but we knew we could come back.”
Added Altman: “It turned there and we just didn’t get any stops. They are a good defensive team. They play with tremendous confidence here.”
The Buffs led 44-42 at the break, but only 3:15 earlier they had enjoyed their largest advantage of the half – 39-31 – courtesy of a 9-0 run. It appeared that CU would carry at least a five-point lead to the locker room, but Oregon’s Jason Calliste, left open for a 3-pointer, drained it with a second showing on the clock.
After an 11-2 spurt that wiped out CU’s first lead (10-8), Oregon took its largest first-half margin – nine points at 21-12 – before the Buffs calmed themselves and rallied. They would have to do it again.
Only 7 seconds into the second half, Oregon pressured CU into a timeout, then got possession on a jump ball and tied the score at 44-44 on a layup by Richard Amardi. A minute later, Mike Moser (24 points) hit a baseline jumper and the Ducks retook the lead, 46-44.
A Scott put-back produced a 46-46 tie – and a back-and-forth second half appeared to be unfolding. Wrong. Getting eight points from Moser, Oregon outscored CU 10-0 and took its first double-digit – 58-48 – lead with 14:22 remaining.
But the Buffs weren’t rattled. Over the next 5 minutes, they outscored the Ducks 16-4 to go up 64-62 on a 3-pointer by freshman Jaron Hopkins.
Then, it was Dinwiddie do-it time, with Booker’s magic to follow.
After hitting back-to-back treys, the junior guard sank two free throws to push CU up 72-66 with 7:58 to play. Oregon pulled within two points twice (72-70) on a pair of Dominic Artis free throws and a layup by Elgin Cook, but CU opened an eight-point (80-72) advantage with 5:03 left.
Booker then scored seven of the Buffs’ next 11 points as they went ahead 91-80 with 2:23 left. Oregon capitalized on two CU turnovers to creep to within 92-86, then got to within five (94-89) on a Joseph Young 3-pointer from the right wing at the 1:22 mark.
After a Duck timeout, Oregon got the ball back when Dinwiddie was whistled for a pushing foul on the inbounds play. But the Ducks couldn’t score on that possession, and Xavier Talton hit one of two free throws when fouled at the other end (95-89).
The conclusion was fitting: When Dinwiddie and Booker sank five of six free throws in the last 40.4 seconds to get the Buffs to 100 for the first time in Pac-12 play, the CEC crowd began chanting “over-rated, over-rated.”
Asked what kind of statement Sunday’s win made to the Pac-12 and the nation, Dinwiddie said, “We thought we kind of made a statement against Kansas (a 75-72 win over the then-No. 6 Jayhawks). We go on the board. It shows we ain’t going to lose at home (but) like coach says, now it’s time to take our show on the road.”
The Buffs play Washington State on Wednesday in Spokane, then play at Washington on Sunday, Jan. 12.
GAME NOTES
TEAM
• CU improves to 8-3 all-time and 5-0 at home against Oregon.
• The Buffaloes have won four straight against Oregon, and five of the last six in the series since 2011-12 season.
• CU is now 13-2 to start the season matching the 1968-69 team after 15 games (that team with All-American Cliff Meely started 14-2 & won the Big Eight Championship).
• An 11-0 home record matches Coach Boyle’s first season (2010-11) for consecutive wins after the first 11 home games.
• CU is now an impressive 55-7 (.887) at home under the Boyle coaching staff.
• Today was the first time since Jan. 26, 1997 that CU was ranked at home against another ranked opponent (17 years). CU was No. 18 in the AP Poll vs. No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (77-68).
• Second time in four years, the Buffs have defeated a pair of nationally ranked Top-10 opponents in same season (defeated No. 6 Kansas, Dec. 7). Back in 2010-11, Buffs defeated No. 9/8 Missouri, 89-76 (Jan. 8) and No. 5/5 Texas in the second greatest comeback in school history (trailed by 22 pts.), 91-89 (Feb. 26), both games played at the Coors Events Center.
• CU improves to 2-2 this season against nationally ranked opponents and under Boyle is now 11-11 against the nation’s Top-25 teams (5-6 vs. Top 10).
• Marks the 2nd time this season CU has been perfect from the line at the half, hitting 13-of-13 (12-of-12 vs Georgia Dec. 28 2013).
• First time this season both teams have been perfect from the line at the half (18-of-18 combined).
• 3rd highest FG percentage in the first half this season (55%).
• CU’s four blocks in the first half are the most this season.
• Oregon becomes the first opponent to score 80+ points this season (last time was at Arizona Jan. 13, 2013 92-83).
• The last time CU had two players score 20 points in a game (Askia Booker: 27, Spencer Dinwiddie: 23) was against Cal on March 18, 2011 (Alec Burks: 25, Cory Higgins: 22).
• Four Buffs scored 15+ points (Josh Scott: 15, Xavier Johnson: 15, Spencer Dinwiddie: 23, Askia Booker: 27).
• Fourth time this season the Buffs have scored 90+ points.
• 1st time the Buffs have reached the century mark this season (last time was Dec. 19, 2010 against Longwood: 104).
• Most free throws made in a game with 33 since Oklahoma State Jan. 15, 2011 (34).
• CU’s 100 point total is the most in a PAC-12 game (scored 87 in a win against Washington Jan. 5, 2012).
Askia Booker
• Marks the 3rd time this season he has reached double figures in the first half this season.
• Moves up three spots on CU’s all-time scoring list to 34th with 931 points.
• Marks the 1st time this season he has scored 20+ points, 3rd in his career.
• Sets his career high in points with 27.
• Passes his season-high in rebounds with seven.
• 5th time he has led the team in scoring, 20th in his career.
Spencer Dinwiddie
• Moves to 24th on CU’s all-time scoring list with 1,102 points.
• Moves to 20th all-time on CU’s assist list with 224.
• 3rd time scoring 20+ points in a game this season, 11th in his career.
• Ties his career high in assists with 7, his 2nd time doing so this season.
• Led CU in assists for the 10th time this season, 37th in his career.
Josh Scott
• Ties his career-high in blocked shots with three in the first half alone.
• Ties his first half high of seven rebounds.
• Now has five consecutive double-double games, his 8th of the season and 10th in his career.
• Surpasses his career-high in blocks with 4.
• 11th time leading the team in rebounds this season, 16th in his career.
• 6th time this season he has led the team in blocks, 14th in his career.
Xavier Johnson
• 8th game this season scoring double-figures, 20th in his career.
• Tops his season high in points scored with 15.
• 1st time reaching 15 points this season, 7th in his career.