Buffs, Dinwiddie sleepwalk, barely win
Jan 9th
Scott, Booker show up the the end of overtime
By Anthony Lepine, CU Sports Information Student Assistant
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Colorado Buffaloes hit the Pac-12 road for the first time on Wednesday night and the road almost hit back.
No. 15 CU escaped with a 71-70 overtime win over Washington State at Spokane Arena to improve to 14-2 overall and remain unbeaten (3-0) in the Pac-12. The Buffs’ 14-2 record matches their best start since the 1968-69 season.
For 40 minutes, the task of earning its first conference road win of the season seemed bleak, but in the five extra minutes that mattered most the Buffaloes came away with the victory.
Scott scored a team-high 19 points, seven in overtime
“[Washington State] dictated the tempo, we let them dictate the tempo, we were soft defensively,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “We did what we had to do down the stretch to get the win, and for that I’m proud, but I am not proud of this performance.”
Sophomore Josh Scott scored six of his team high 19 points in overtime as CU finally pulled away from WSU (7-8, 0-3). The Buffs hit five of eight free throws – four by Askia Booker, one by Spencer Dinwiddie – in the final 37.2 seconds of the extra period but had to withstand a pair of treys by the Cougars that brought them to within one point with 1.5 seconds to play.
“We didn’t play very well, I think that’s pretty obvious, but I’m proud we pulled it out,” CU forward Josh Scott said. “I think our team had a little realization that we are the No. 15 team in the country and people are going to make tough shots, we were lucky to pull this one out.”
Hit tough shots, the Cougars did, led by junior guard Dexter Kernish-Drew who led all scorers with 24 points, including an unbelievable performance from beyond the arc hitting 6-of-8 three pointers. As a team, Washington State hit 13-of-23 shots from deep, matching Elon for the most threes hit by a CU opponent this season.
Colorado was able to overcome the Cougars hot shooting by getting to the free throw line. The Buffs shot 38 freebies, connecting on 26 of them, while WSU only shot three free throws.
CU fell behind 3-0 after the first of many Cougar threes to come, managed only three ties and trailed by their largest first-half margin — 34-28 — at intermission. The Buffs’ leading scorer, Dinwiddie, did not take a first-half shot and didn’t score his first basket until he hit a 3-pointer with 7:54 remaining in regulation to bring CU to within 49-47.
The Buffs didn’t take their first lead until 4:26 remained, getting a pair of free throws by Xavier Johnson to go up 53-51.
After Xavier Talton hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to give CU a 56-53 lead with 1:25 to play, WSU’s Drew Johnson forced overtime with a trey over Talton that tied the score at 56-56.
“We were not ready to play from the get-go, we came out flat and there is no excuse for it,” Boyle said. “We dodged a bullet tonight.”
The Buffs play Washington in Seattle on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. MST, Fox Sports1).
More assistance for flood victims
Jan 6th
Long-Term Flood Recovery Group of Boulder County is Now Accepting Requests for Assistance
Group is taking information about flood-affected residents with unmet needs
Boulder County, Colo. – The Long-Term Flood Recovery Group (LTFRG) has opened a phone line and website for anyone in Boulder or Broomfield counties seeking assistance related to unmet needs from September’s flood. Residents needing help are encouraged to fill out the very short contact form on the website or call the hotline number to leave a brief message. Volunteer members of the group will be returning residents’ messages to do an initial intake interview which will place residents in group’s system. Case managers will be assigned over the next several weeks to residents in need and act as a guide to available resources in the county and work with residents to develop a recovery plan. The LTFRG is volunteer-based and is in a start-up phase, so patience is requested of the community while the process is developed and streamlined.
Jamestown was hit hard in the flood
The LTFRG is charged with managing and distributing the Foothills Flood Relief Fund and also is working to secure additional donations. Donations can be made to the Fund which is housed at Foothills United Way, atwww.unitedwayfoothills.org.
The Long-Term Flood Recovery Group (LTFRG) has launched a website, at www.BoCoFloodRecovery.org, a phone number (303-895-3429) and email address (floodrecovery@unitedwayfoothills.org) for flood survivors to access and request assistance.
As the rebuilding and recovery phase proceeds, people in our community will need many resources, not all of which will be financial. The LTFRG will identify continuing needs for assistance and the process for allocating resources to ensure the long-term recovery of our whole community. Non-financial resources may include donations of critical products, volunteer construction crews, housing re-construction and repair assistance and supporting community visioning and planning processes. Ultimately, the goal is to support as many people who were affected by the September floods as possible.
The LTFRG is actively seeking volunteers for case managers and hotline responders. To sign up to volunteer, please visit http://volunteer.unitedwayfoothills.org/.
CU WBB get’s out of California 1-1
Jan 6th
http://www.cubuffs.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3152882
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.
Jenn Reese, who scored 15 points, has become a mainstay in CU’s offense
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.
Jamee Swan had nine points and nine rebounds. This photo was taken in high school
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.
