MINNEAPOLIS - Kelly Jo Mullaney was focused on returning home, and Kathy McConnell-Miller saw it on the floor.
In front of numerous family members and friends, Mullaney scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half to help propel Colorado to a 63-49 win over Illinois-Chicago in the opening game of the 2009 Subway Classic at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Mullaney, a Minneapolis native who won a state championship with The Breck School on this floor in 2004, hit 4-of-7 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and corralled seven rebounds to give the Buffaloes their second straight 2-0 season start.
"Kelly Jo's preparation this week was unlike anything I had seen from her in her past three years at Colorado," McConnell-Miller said. "She was focused, determined and had a confidence about her we hadn't seen before. She wanted to come back home and perform at her best. She played a great floor game tonight and we're just proud she was able to do that in Minnesota."
Junior Brittany Spears, who battled foul trouble and played an unusually low 25 minutes, still led Colorado in scoring with 19 points. She nabbed seven rebounds and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.
The Buffaloes (2-0) will face Minnesota on Sunday at 5 p.m. MST. UIC falls to 0-3 and will play the Gophers on Saturday.
Colorado led the entire way, but could not distance themselves from the Flames until late. Both teams were stone cold in the first half. CU held Illinois-Chicago to just 21 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, but didn't fare much better on its end making only 25 percent (7-of-28).
The Buffaloes looked to be on the brink of pulling away as they built a 14-6 lead with 8:38 remaining in the first half, but the Flames scored eight straight to tie the game at 14. Mullaney then scored her first points on a put back of a Chucky Jeffery miss to give CU the lead for good. Bianca Smith followed with a 3-pointer to widen the gap back to five before the Buffaloes settled for a 21-17 halftime lead.
UIC cut the lead to 28-25 early in the second half on a Jasmine Bailey 3-point play, but the Buffaloes had an answer for each Flames' run, and Mullaney was in the middle them all. After Bailey's free throw, Mullaney missed a field goal at the other end but got her own rebound and kicked it out to Smith for her second 3-pointer of the game that sparked a 16-8 run that included a Mullaney 3-pointer.
The Flames crept back to within 44-40 when Taylor Foulks hit her second 3-pointer of the game with 6:34 left. Mullaney responded on the other end with a 3-pointer of her own, and after a stop, Spears hit one from deep to give CU its first double-digit lead. Mullaney followed that with a long two of her own to put CU in front 52-40 with 5:01 remaining.
"It was really exciting, I love being back home and having all my family and friends here," Mullaney said. "
Colorado was much improved shooting in the second half, making 46 percent (12-of-26). The Buffaloes cemented the game at the line. CU was 14-of-18 from the free throw line in the second half, 18-of-23 overall.
Smith ended with 10 points. Senior Courtney Dunn, making her first career start, responded with seven points and career highs with eight rebounds and three blocks. Melissa MacFarlane and Brenna Malcolm-Peck each made their collegiate debuts.
"We had some different combinations out there", McConnell-Miller said. "It was a good feeling to be able to go to our bench and get the minutes we did."
Colorado dominated the boards for a second straight game, outrebounding UIC 52-35. The Buffaloes had 17 second-chance points.
Jasmine Bailey had 11 points and eight rebounds to lead UIC.
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