BOULDER - Texas is on a roll, Colorado has become accustomed to getting rolled. Bad combination - and it produced a night of regrettable basketball for the CU women's team Wednesday at the Coors Events Center.
The Longhorns hammered the Buffaloes 74-50, winning their fourth consecutive game while dealing the home team its fifth straight loss and its first four-game losing streak at the Events Center since the 2005-06 season.
CU, which has lost its past three Big 12 Conference games by 16, 34 and 24 points and has now dropped 18 straight games to ranked opponents, trailed No. 14/19 Texas 14-0 before senior guard Bianca Smith finally hit a three-pointer with 14:56 to play in the first half.
"We got off to a disappointing start, and that's not the way we anticipated coming out . . . Texas out-hustled us. They were extremely physical and we didn't respond well to that," said Buffs coach Kathy McConnell-Miller, who declined to make any of her players available for postgame interviews.
"I don't think they could have added anything I didn't," she said.
Had McConnell-Miller permitted anyone to speak, she said it would have been sophomore guard Alyssa Fressle, one of only two CU players able to reach double figures.
Freshman guard Chucky Jeffery scored a team-best 12 points and Fressle added 11. Leading scorer Brittany Spears managed only five, Courtney Dunn just four and Bianca Smith three.
For most of her 32 minutes, Fressle was among the Buffs' few sources of energy. Spears played just 19 minutes and had one more turnover (six) than she did points.
"She's too far into her career to be turning the ball over six times," McConnell-Miller said. "We have to get her refocused and get her some easier looks. She's struggling right now."
While McConnell-Miller was lamenting the Buffs' overall "lack of energy and sense of urgency," Longhorns coach Gail Goestenkors called her team "really focused . . . it was an opportunity for us to show that we are better than what we showed against Texas Tech as far as our focus and energy."
Hmmm . . . Texas won that game 81-51 Sunday in Austin. The Longhorns (17-6, 6-3) now have won six of their past seven games, while the Buffs (12-10, 2-7) have lost seven of their past eight.
Goestenkors used 10 players and all of them scored, topped by Ashleigh Fontenette's 13 points and Cokie Reed's 12. Kathleen Nash and Brittainey Raven added 10 each.
But the Horns' defense, said Goestenkors, doomed the Buffs: "I think we did a good job of getting up in the passing lane. We switched up some screens and gave them some different looks than maybe they'd seen. I thought we were really ready to play (and) our quickness caused them problems."
Added McConnell-Miller: "They got some deflections and got some good steals that led to layups - and I think it rattled our guards."
Texas had 14 steals and scored 39 points off of 22 CU turnovers - six each by Spears and Jeffery. The Longhorns also dominated in inside points (44-24 edge in the paint) and in bench points (34-18).
McConnell-Miller gave 6-foot-7 freshman Melissa MacFarlane more playing time (22 minutes) than in any previous game, and she responded with three rebounds and four points - both career highs.
"We've been consistently pleased with her in practice," McConnell-Miller said. "I just thought Melissa gave a considerable effort, and in the second half I didn't have to coach effort. She's going to get better."
Texas entered the game having held 15 of its 22 opponents without a field goal for at least 4 minutes a game. Ah, better make that 16 of 23 - and the Longhorns didn't waste any time updating that stat.
The Buffs were held without a field for the opening 5:04, during which time the Horns rolled to their 14-0 advantage and showed no sign of easing back.
At the 15:45 mark, CU had zero points, only three field goal attempts and four turnovers. Smith finally got the Buffs into the score book, draining a three-pointer with 14:56 left before the break. Those were her only points.
CU finally showed a pulse over the next 8:22, cutting Texas' lead to 10 points (25-15) on a trey by Fressle. From there, though, the Buffs went comatose once again; the Longhorns outscored them 14-2 and fashioned a 39-17 lead - the largest of the first half - before going to the locker room up by 20 (41-21).
CU's best hope for the second half might been in Texas losing interest - but that didn't happen. After Spears opened the scoring with a three-pointer, pulling the Buffs to 41-24, the Longhorns quickly reestablished leads of 20-plus points and held them for the remainder of the game.
When Lauren Flores stripped Spears, then drove for a layup that sent Texas up 64-34 with 8:05 to play, an already sparse crowd (2,027) thinned out even further.
With seven games remaining and a postseason tournament berth - most likely the WNIT - still possible, McConnell-Miller nonetheless conceded her team is "at a point where they can tank it - but I don't think that's going to happen . . . . I think anything can happen. I think how they respond will show what kind of team they are."
CU travels to No. 12 Oklahoma on Saturday (1 p.m. MST, no TV).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
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