“Big Dance” jitters end CU women’s tourney bid
Mar 24th
After opening the game with a 14-4 run, the Buff’s hands turned as cold as the weather outside.
Chucky Jeffery is one of the best players in CU history and a first round loss won’t diminish the fact.
But scoring the fifth fewest points of the season while allowing the second most was not a formula for success for the Colorado women’s basketball team, as five Kansas players scored in double figures to lead the Jayhawks to a 67-52 upset over the host Buffaloes in an NCAA Women’s Tournament first round game here Saturday.
Chucky Jeffery
Seniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich led the scored 14 points apiece for Kansas (19-13, the 12th seed in the Norfolk Region), which basically limped into the tournament after losing six of its last eight games (and 11 of 18). But the Jayhawks, after falling behind by 10 early, played the like the team that opened the year with seven straight wins on their way to an 11-2 start.
Colorado (25-7, seeded No. 5), was playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, but had to make a go of it without starting center Rachel Hargis, who suffered a knee injury in practice a week ago Friday. It’s safe to say CU missed the junior’s 6-foot-4 presence inside, not only her rebounding but her ability to alter shots.
Colorado started out 6-of-7 from the field in building an early 14-4 edge, but then went cold the rest of the way in the first half (5-of-27) and missed its first seven shots of the second half before a Brittany Wilson layup at 14:02 ended the drought. Meanwhile, KU shot 50 percent in the first half (15-of-30), closing with 11 makes in 18 tries; the Jayhawks made 5-of-6 to open the second for a 16-of-24 performance while turning a 15-9 deficit into a 49-29 lead, the first of two 20-point advantages it had in the game (the other coming at 56-36).
It all added up to a whopping 45-15 comeback after Colorado recorded that early lead.
Rachel Hargis knee injury opened up the low post for the Jayhawks two centers
If the Buffaloes were going to get back in it, they needed a quick start in the second half. But the Jayhawks were not to be denied, scoring the first six points to extend their 10-point intermission lead to 43-27. The margin hovered between 14 points, the closest the Buffs would get on three different occasions, and 18 the remainder of the game.
Kansas opened the scoring on a Davis layup but then Colorado went on a 14-2 run in just over a two minute span, fueled by eight points, including a pair of 3-point baskets, by junior Brittany Wilson. The Jayhawks slowly worked their way back into the game, pulling to within 15-13 on consecutive scores by Monica Engelman at the 11:19 mark. A three-pointer by Lexy Kresl and a layup from Chuck Jeffery put the Buffs back up by seven, 20-13 with 9:12 left in the half.
KU then matched and actually exceeded CU’s early run with one of its own, using a 17-3 spree over the next five-plus minutes to take a 30-23 lead, with Davis and Chelsea Gardner each contributing six points. Davis had 10 points in the half, which ended with a Charlicia Harper three-point shot to give the Jayhawks a 37-27 lead.
“We came out and it was rainin’ in here, and then after a while we couldn’t hit anything,” Wilson said. “I mean, we had open shots, I just think … I don’t really know what happened. Then there were open shots, and we kept saying, ‘just step into it and take another shot.’ I don’t know if it was nervousness, I don’t know what it was, but after a while we just couldn’t hit anything.”
Colorado finished just 16-of-63 from the field, the 25.4 shooting percentage easily its worst of the season. The Buffs came into the game hitting at 39.9 percent, while Kansas was allowing its opponents to click at just 41.1 percent. The Jayhawks converted 46 percent of its tries; otherwise, the only other decided statistical advantages belong to Kansas in assists (16-8) and to Colorado in steals (13-5) and free throw attempts (25-6).
It was just the ninth time in 32 games that the Buffaloes trailed at halftime, and only Stanford had a larger lead at intermission over CU than the Jayhawks; the Cardinal, ranked fourth at the time, led 31-14 en route to a 57-40 win in Boulder back on January 4. In addition, Kansas tied CU on the boards with 42, just the seventh time this year the Buffs did not hold the edge in rebounding; Colorado was 0-5 when getting outrebounded and 1-1 when matched.
Arielle Roberson recorded a double-double for Colorado, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds; Wilson tied her for the team scoring lead, also netting 11. Jeffery struggled in her final appearance in a CU uniform, scoring just eight points on 2-of-16 field goal shooting, but did have five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
“It’s very disappointing,” Jeffery said of ending the season this way. “We didn’t want it to end this early. It’s kind of sad being my last game, but I wouldn’t have gone through the season with any other team.”
Jeffery finished her career ranked high on several of CU’s all-time charts, including scoring (1,644 points, sixth), rebounds (921, fifth), assists (481, fourth) and steals (283, fourth). She finished with the fifth most double-doubles (30) and had at least one assist in her last 74 games (and in 123 of 125 for her career).
“No one expected us to be here right now,” Wilson added. “But you know I think that’s a great thing. Chucky has her legacy here, and Megan has her legacy here, and I think we sent them out in a great way. I’m disappointed to lose, and of course no one thought we’d end this early. But we had a great year, and no one expected us to do the things that we’ve done. But when we look back, and once the sting of this is over we’ll be ready to come back.”
Kansas will meet South Carolina Monday night for the right to advance to the Norfolk Regional next weekend; tipoff at the Coors Events Center is 7:30 p.m.
South Carolina Advances With 74-52 Win Over South Dakota State
BOULDER — Seniors Ashley Bruner and Ieasia Walker each scored 15 points to pace four Gamecock players in double figures to lead South Carolina over South Dakota State, 74-52, in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament here Saturday afternoon.
South Carolina, ranked No. 14 in the nation by the coaches and No. 17 by the Associated Press, pulled away from the Jackrabbits midway through the first half. The score was tied six times and there were eight lead changes, with South Dakota State taking its last lead at 14-13 with 12:02 to play; it remained within two, 21-19, at the 9:34 mark but that’s when the Gamecocks found their stride.
Six different South Carolina players contributed in a 21-4 run over the six minutes that broke the game open, with Tiffany Mitchell scoring five and Walker four to give USC a 40-23 lead; the Gamecocks, seeded No. 4 in the Norfolk Regional, led 44-26 at halftime. South Carolina shot 61 percent in the first half, including 7-of-9 shots in the decisive run.
South Dakota State (25-8, the No. 13 seed) made a couple of mini-runs in the second half, but would get no closer than 15. Senior Ashley Eide led the Jackrabbits with 15 points, the only SDSU player in double figures, with sophomore Gabby Boever adding nine.
Bruner had a double-double, as she collected 11 rebounds for the Gamecocks (25-7), who owned a 40-28 advantage on the boards; she also had a game-high four steals. Elem Ibian scored 13 points off the bench and Mitchell had 11, as no South Carolina starter played over 29 minutes.
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CU men fade in the first round of NCAA tournament
Mar 22nd
Buffs Furious Rally Can’t Overcome Illini
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
AUSTIN, Texas – Colorado caught Illinois with a furious second-half comeback here Friday, but the Buffaloes couldn’t make their inspired run – or their stay in the NCAA Tournament – last.
The seventh-seeded Illini withstood the Buffs’ rally then staged one of their own, eliminating No. 10 seed CU 57-49. Illinois (23-12) advances to play second-seed Miami, a runaway 78-49 winner over No. 15 seed Pacific earlier Friday afternoon, in Sunday’s third round.
“I told our team I’m proud of what they’ve done this year, with a young group,” said CU coach Tad Boyle. 
“We’ve put Colorado basketball on the map, but we’ve got a lot of work we need to do . . . I’m proud of what Colorado basketball is in the process of becoming.”
The Buffs posted their third consecutive 20-win season (21-12) and earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips for the first time in 50 years. But they left the Erwin Center believing this season ended prematurely.
CU trailed by 16 points (37-21) at halftime, but opened the second half with a 23-2 run and went up 44-39 with just under 10 minutes to play. The Buffs held the Illini without a second-half field goal until 8:33 remained in the game, but a 13-2 run gave Illinois a 52-46 lead with under a minute to play and CU couldn’t catch up again.
After finally overtaking the Illini, the Buffs got only two field goals in the last 5:40. And as CU came up with its string of empty possessions, senior guard Brandon Paul was hitting six of six free throws in the final minute to give Illinois the bare amount of offense it needed.
Boyle said his players showed “extreme heart” in coming back, but “we just didn’t have enough of what it took in key possessions of the game, some offensive and some defensive, to finish this thing off. Illinois made more plays down the stretch than we did.”
Junior Andre Roberson, one of the top rebounders in the NCAA, will decide in going pro in the next few weeks
Paul led the Illini with 17 points, while D.J. Richardson had 14. Askia Booker topped CU with 14 points and was the only CU player in double figures. Josh Scott contributed a game-high 14 rebounds. Andre Roberson, the nation’s No. 2 rebounder entering the tournament, was limited to nine points and eight boards.
In catching the Illini and taking the lead in the second half, Booker said the Buffs “were getting stop after stop and pushing it down their throats. And coach made some great calls for certain plays to be run and we executed very well . . . we felt like had the momentum in our hands.
“But give credit to Illinois for finding the open man and knocking down the shots; that’s something they do very well.”
Sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie, CU’s leading scorer (15.6 ppg), saw his court time diminished by four fouls and was held to six points, with four assists and four of his team’s 15 turnovers. They cost CU 21 points, 15 of them in the first half coming from eight turnovers.
Boyle said the Illini “did a good job on Spencer. They showed hard on those ball screens and tried to get the ball out of his hands . . . Four assists, four turnovers is not a normal line for Spencer. He wasn’t at his best (Friday), but foul trouble had something to do with that.”
The Buffs became the first of five Pac-12 Conference teams in the NCAAs to lose. The league went 3-0 on Thursday, with Oregon, California and Arizona advancing. UCLA was to play Minnesota here later Friday night.
The Buffs entered the game knowing their opponent lived by the long ball, and for just over eight minutes they kept the Illini from doing their normal damage from beyond the arc.
But when the treys began to rain, CU seemed helpless to stop the deluge. Paul started it with a triple at the 11:50 mark, giving Illinois its first lead (16-15) since 2-1. Then, back-to-back three-pointers by Tyler Griffey and Richardson, followed by two free throws by Tracy Abrams capped an 11-2 run and pushed the Illini up 24-17.
The Buffs rallied briefly, getting baskets from Scott and Roberson to pull to within 24-21. But another barrage of threes was headed in the Buffs’ direction.
After Abrams and Richardson each hit two pointers, both stepped back beyond the arc – and no one in a CU uniform went with them. Richardson knocked down consecutive treys and Abrams followed with one just before the halftime buzzer, completing a 13-0 Illinois run and putting CU in a 37-21 halftime hole. It was only the Buffs’ third double-figure deficit of the season, but the second in a row (Kansas in non-conference play, Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament).
Six of Illinois’ last eight field goals were three-pointers, and that first-half total of made treys was the most since Hartford hit seven in 40 minutes on Dec. 29 in Boulder. Illinois averaged 7.8 successful threes per game this season – the most in the Big Ten Conference.
CU was out-of-synch offensively, with its 21 points the lowest first-half total since managing only 20 at Washington nearly two months ago in a 64-54 loss. And trailing at the half wasn’t a good sign for the Buffs: they were 5-7 in such games before Friday.
Boyle said his halftime message to his players was to climb back into the game “one possession at a time . . . we cannot be happy trading baskets with them. And we have to get stops; we don’t have a 16-point play in our playbook.”
If CU was going to recover, a quick second-half start was mandatory – and they got it with a 9-2 run keyed by back-to-back treys by Booker. His second three pulled the Buffs to within 39-30 with 17:52 to play and prompted a timeout from first-year Illini coach John Groce.
The short break didn’t help. After a short jumper by Scott, Booker struck again in transition from the right wing. His third trey in 2:25 brought the Buffs to within four points (39-35), and they completed their comeback on a basket by Scott that gave CU a 40-39 lead – its first since 17-16.
The Buffs went up 44-39 before the Illini got a layup by Abrams – their first second-half field goal – with 8:33 to play, cutting CU’s lead to 44-41.
One of two free throws by Griffey trimmed the margin to 44-42 at the 8:11 mark, then back-to-back treys by Richardson and Paul – the two biggest of the Illini’s eight treys – capped a 9-0 run and pushed Illinois back in front 48-44 with 6:00 remaining.
CU’s last field goal – a jumper by Dinwiddie – came with 5:40 remaining. After that, the Buffs came up empty on too many possessions to threaten again. After Dinwiddie’s basket, CU’s next field goal was a three-pointer by Xavier Johnson with 17 seconds left and that got them only to within seven points.
Time had run out on CU, and Boyle was left with time to reflect then look forward. He said Roberson, who has until April 28 to make a decision about declaring his eligibility for the NBA Draft, plans to spend some time with his family in San Antonio over spring. Boyle will then talk with the 6-7 forward about his future.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of improvement and gaining some national respect,” Boyle said. “And it’s incumbent on every person in our basketball program, whether it’s the head coach, assistant coaches, or players, to give everything they’ve got in this off-season.
“We’ll take some time, get our batteries recharged. But just because we’re going to be a year older next year doesn’t mean we’re going to be a year better. Our players need to understand that . . . we have still got plenty of room for improvement and this isn’t our last time here, I promise you that.”
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