Posts tagged Lexy Kresl
No. 20 CU Women Persevere, Beat Persistent WSU
Feb 23rd
BOULDER – Early style points were scarce for a Top 25 team, but the No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes stayed patient, regained their poise late and finally disposed of Washington State 59-45 on Friday night at the Coors Events Center.
Winning its sixth consecutive game, CU matched last season’s win total and set up a crucial home finale on Sunday. The Buffs (21-5) face Washington, one of two teams just ahead of them in the Pac-12 Conference standings, at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.
The Buffs are 10-5 in the Pac-12, with their 10 wins marking their first double-digit season in league play since 2004. The Huskies dropped to 11-4 after losing at Utah on Friday night.
Sunday’s game marks the final regular-season home appearance for CU seniors Chucky Jeffery, Meagan Malcolm-Peck and Brenna Malcolm-Peck, whose career has been interrupted by various injuries.
Three CU players – Arielle Roberson (17) and Jeffery and Jen Reese (10 each) – finished in double figures. Roberson also collected 13 rebounds, accounting for her first career double-double.
Starting sophomore guard Lexy Kresl watched from the CU bench, still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in last weekend’s win at Arizona State.
WSU (10-16, 6-9) was led by Lia Galdeira with 12 and Mariah Cooks with 10.
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Going ahead 21-8 on a conventional three-point play by Roberson, the Buffs appeared to have a comfortable first-half lead. Then they went frigid and forgetful, lapsing on the offensive and defensive ends and allowing the Cougars back into the game.
Over the next four minutes, WSU went on a 10-1 run and cut CU’s 13-point lead to four (22-18). The Buffs had opened by hitting six of their first 12 shots, but they closed the half hitting just three of their last 20 attempts – and their final field goal of the half was by Roberson just seven seconds before the buzzer.
Still, despite shooting 28.1 percent from the field, committing 11 turnovers (19 for the game) and getting just two points from Jeffery, CU led 26-19 at intermission. That was mainly because WSU had 14 turnovers (25 total) and was limited to 21.9 percent first-half shooting.
But Lappe can be forgiven if she was leaning toward destroying the first-half tape.
The Buffs matched their largest lead of the game – 13 points at 40-27 – on a Jeffery basket with 13:30 remaining. But the Cougars crept back to within six (48-42) in the final six minutes.
A Jeffery jumper with 4:48 to play pushed CU ahead 50-42, and a Roberson trey from the top of the key restored the Buffs’ double-digit lead (53-42) with 3:30 remaining. When Roberson followed with a basket in the paint, CU’s lead went to 15, and with two minutes to play WSU was finished.
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CU Women’s Balance Keys Lopsided Win Against Oregon Ducks
Feb 10th
Story by Caryn Maconi, CUBuffs.com
BOULDER – Four players scored in double figures Sunday afternoon to lead the No. 21/25 Colorado women’s basketball team to an 84-59 Pac-12 Conference romp past Oregon at the Coors Events Center.
The 84-point total ties the highest point total of the season for the Buffs, as they scored 84 against New Mexico in non-conference play. It is the fourth time the Buffs have scored more than 80 this season and the first so far in Pac-12 play.
With the win, Colorado improves to 18-5 overall and 7-5 in the Pac-12. CU’s seven conference wins to date are more than the team recorded in total last season (6-12). The Buffs had not won seven or more conference matchups in a season since finishing the 2004 Big 12 schedule at 11-5.
Junior guard Brittany Wilson led CU with 16 points, while senior guard Chucky Jeffery added 15 points and 15 rebounds. Jeffery’s totals marked her 27th career double-double and just the fourth time she has recorded 15 of each.
“To be able to score just as much as you rebound, that’s pretty amazing,” sophomore guard Lexy Kresl said of Jeffery’s performance. Kresl and junior center Rachel Hargis added 12 points and 10, respectively, while four other players scored at least six.
Hargis said her team prepared specifically to face Oregon’s zone defense, something the Buffs haven’t seen much of from opponents this season.
“Coach talked to us about moving the ball well, just keeping it moving and not holding the ball as much,” Hargis said. “Playing a zone you don’t really expect to score that much inside, but coach kept talking to us about attacking and cutting to open areas, and that’s what I focused on.”
Colorado started the first half slow, allowing Oregon to go on a 10-3 run in the first 3:15 and record three blocks in the first five minutes.
“B-Will” played her best game against a PAC- 12 team
“I didn’t think we were being very aggressive, we were letting them score however they wanted to score with not very many passes,” said CU head coach Linda Lappe. “We didn’t look like we were ready for what they were bringing, so we just needed to take a deep breath and get back out there.”
Once the Buffs had regrouped and gotten a chance to assess Oregon’s top scorers, they made the necessary adjustments on defense to stop the Ducks’ streak.
“We recognized who was going to be scoring and who was going to be shooting,” Kresl said. “We definitely tried to pick up the pressure on them more and play them a little bit closer.”
And with a more efficient defense came a ramped-up offense, as Jeffery and Wilson hit three consecutive three-pointers to regain a four-point lead with 13:40 left in the half.
Oregon didn’t give in easily and even briefly took the lead again with 7:45 on the clock. CU’s offense responded with force, though, outscoring Oregon 20-6 in the final 7:20 to enter intermission with a 43-31 advantage.
That momentum more than carried through halftime, as the Buffs went on an immediate 10-0 run to go up 20 (53-33). The Ducks were unable to recover, and with three minutes remaining a Hargis basket put the Buffs up 27 (80-53).
Colorado would maintain that energy until the final buzzer.
“It was a good game, we shared the ball a lot as a team, had 17 assists,” Wilson said. “We hit open shots, played great defense, so I think it was a team effort … I don’t think you could ask for anything more.”
Eleven Colorado players saw time on the court at some point Sunday, including freshman guard Kyleesha Weston and walk-on freshman guard Alexus Atchley. Atchley scored her first two career points in the last minute of the game.
“Anytime you can get players experience is important, especially young players,” Lappe said. “Especially when you play that tempo, you have to play ten players to stay fresh. We knew it was going to be a fast-paced game today, and everybody who came in just kept that pace going.”
CU shot 44.9 percent from the field, recording 17 assists and just 12 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Ducks were held to 38.6 percent from the field and recorded 21 turnovers.
Another highlight for the Colorado defense its steals, recording 16 compared to Oregon’s six. The Buffs have recorded 54 combined steals in the last four games, something Lappe credits to an increasing toughness on the defensive end.
“It is a lot of steals. It’s aggressiveness, it’s positioning, it’s understanding where you are supposed to be defensively and helping each other out,” Lappe said. “Defense is the bread and butter, and if we continue to do that we will be a really good team.”
The CU women hit the road once again next week, playing at Arizona on Friday (7 p.m., MST) and at Arizona State on Sunday (2 p.m., MST).
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Strong Second Half Pushes CU Women Past USC Trojans, 65-49
Feb 3rd
It’s been a tough road trip for the No. 22 Colorado women’s basketball team, with three straight road losses against nationally ranked opponents in the past two weekends.
On Sunday, though, the CU women had one last chance to pull out a road win over the Southern California Trojans — and this time, they made it happen.
With a solid second-half effort on both sides of the ball, Colorado pulled away from the Trojans for a 65-49 victory.
“I really liked our toughness in this game,” said Colorado head coach Linda Lappe. “We didn’t have any of that on Friday, and so it was nice to kind of get our identity back because that’s who were are when we’re playing our best.”
It was a success that came at a much-needed time, as the Buffs were in the midst of their longest losing streak of the season. After falling to top-10 teams Cal and Stanford last weekend, Colorado shot less than 30 percent from the field in a 62-46 loss to No. 18 UCLA on Friday.
“I think we knew we could definitely win this game and that we had to win this game,” said redshirt freshman forward Arielle Roberson, who led the Buffs in scoring with 16. “We just knew we had to do it in a fun way and not make it too stressful.”
The stress was certainly still there in the first half, as the Buffs and Trojans traded baskets and both teams struggled to gain a solid advantage. The lead changed eight times throughout the half, and neither team went up by more than five.
In the four minutes before intermission, however, USC found its momentum and went on a 13-3 run to reverse Colorado’s five-point lead to a five-point lead of its own by halftime (31-26).
The Buffs shot 36 percent from the field in the first half compared to USC’s 33, but the Trojans were efficient from the line with an free throw percentage of 89.
Colorado, though, took control at the start of the second half, going on an 8-0 run and forcing five turnovers in the process to build a three-point lead.
“I kind of had a feeling that (the Trojans) were going to get tired in the second half,” Lappe said. “And I think that’s what happened. I think we pushed the ball really well at them in the first half, we were physical with them in the first half, and I think that wore on them in the second half.”
With 12:17 remaining, Roberson knocked down an “and-1” play to put the Buffs up eight (41-33). Four minutes later, senior guard Chucky Jeffery scored on a steal and a fast break to give CU a 10-point lead.
In the final two minutes, Colorado went on an 8-1 run capped by a Roberson trey and a Jeffery free throw, erasing USC’s chance for a late-game comeback.
By the final buzzer, the Buffs had gone up 16 for a 65-49 victory.
Lappe said the improvement her team made from Friday night’s struggle to Sunday’s success was indicative of a high-level team.
“Everybody has a bad game, championship teams have bad games,” Lappe said. “But the real championship teams respond in a great fashion. They can let it go, they can take it for what it’s worth, and they can get a little mad and come back even stronger. I think that’s what’s going to happen to us after that Friday night game.”
Colorado demonstrated its depth in both scoring and rebounding on Sunday, with four players scoring in double figures and six players grabbing five or more boards.
In addition to Roberson’s game-high 16 points, Jeffery scored 15 and grabbed 10 rebounds in the process for her fifth double-double of the season. Junior guard Brittany Wilson added 12 points, while sophomore guard Lexy Kresl scored 11 and grabbed six rebounds.
Overall, the Buffs out-rebounded the Trojans 44-29, with 13 of those on the offensive end. Colorado ended the game shooting 40.4 percent from the field, holding USC to just 27.5 percent.
Junior forward Cassie Harberts led the Trojans in scoring with 14 total points, below her average of 18.7, while sophomore guard Ariya Crook added 10.
The win bumps Colorado’s record to 16-5 overall and 5-5 in the Pac-12 Conference, while USC falls to 8-13 and 5-5 in conference play. The Trojans remain unsuccessful against ranked teams (0-6) so far this season.
Though the Buffs may be only .500 in conference play, their start to the season has been far from smooth sailing. Half of Colorado’s matchups so far in conference play have been against nationally ranked opponents, and four of those have been against top-10 Cal and Stanford teams.
Only one of Colorado’s next eight opponents, Washington, currently has a better record than the Buffs in the Pac-12.
The CU women return to the Coors Events Center next week with matchups against Oregon State on Friday and Oregon on Sunday.
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