Sunday, January 8
Boulder, Colo.
4:00 PM
Colorado
11-4, 1-3Pac-12
52
vs
71
Arizona State
12-3, 3-1Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Arizona State
16
20
21
14
71
Colorado
14
14
9
15
52
Kennedy Leonard led CU with 25 points Sunday against No. 19 ASU
Photo by: Jivan West
No. 19 Sun Devils Prove Too Much For Erratic Buffs
January 08, 2017 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
ASU outscores CU 21-9 in third quarter, cruises to 71-52 Pac-12 win
BOULDER – No. 19 Arizona State pulled away after halftime Sunday and defeated the Colorado women's basketball team, 71-52, in a Pac-12 Conference game at the Coors Events Center.
The Buffaloes (11-4 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) were doomed by a 13-3 Sun Devils run to open the third quarter. Outscoring CU 21-9, ASU (12-3, 3-1) led by as many as 20 points on two occasions later in the quarter.
"The first four minutes of the third quarter put us in a hole we couldn't get out of," CU coach JR Payne said. "But a lot of that's on us."
The Buffs never led, managing just two first-quarter ties after rallying from an early 8-point deficit.
CU's shooting was tepid throughout the afternoon, with the Buffs hitting just 32 percent (19-of-60) from the field, while ASU shot 44 percent (26-of-59). Payne pointed to ASU's stringent defense as being a factor but added that scoring 52 points against the Sun Devils was credible.
Kennedy Leonard (25 points, 13 in the fourth quarter) and Haley Smith (10) were the only two Buffs in double figures.
Three Sun Devils reached double figures, topped by Sophie Brunner's 16.
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU trailed 16-14 after one quarter, but the way the quarter started the Buffs could be happy with a two-point deficit. They didn't score until 2:30 in and didn't get their second basket until nearly 4 minutes later.
With ASU up 10-2 and her team having hit just one of its first seven shots and committing three turnovers that the Sun Devils converted into five points, Payne called a timeout.
And from the 4:34 mark until the end of the quarter, the Buffs were a different team -- at least temporarily
.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Smith and Leonard produced a 12-12 tie, then Monica Burich tied the score once more at 14-14 with a pair of free throws. Reili Richardson's two foul shots with 19.4 seconds left in the period provided ASU with its two-point advantage.
But the Buffs had as much trouble with their early second-quarter shooting as they did in the first. Hitting only two of its first 10 shots of the period, CU fell behind by eight (27-19), and when Richardson drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:10 before halftime the Sun Devils had their largest lead of the afternoon at 34-22.
The Buffs scored the final four points of the half – a Leonard layup, two free throws by Alexis Robinson – and trailed 36-28. They shot 31 percent (10-of-32) from the field in the first two periods while the Sun Devils hit 44.4 percent (12-of-27).
ASU's second quarter advantage was created by Brunner getting 6 of her 10 first half points in that period and CU missing half of its eight free throw attempts in the quarter.
No Buffs player reached double figures in the first two quarters, with Leonard scoring eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field.
The third quarter opened with the Sun Devils pulling away, hitting six of their first seven shots while the Buffs were managing just one of six. That produced a 13-3 run for the visitors, giving ASU an 18-point lead – 49-31 – with 5:21 left in the quarter. The Sun Devils outscored the Buffs 21-9 in the period and led 57-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Leonard started it with a pair of baskets, bringing the Buffs to 57-41 and prompting a quick Sun Devils timeout. A Leonard trey – giving her 11 points in the quarter -- cut CU's deficit to 63-50 with 4:29 remaining but that was as close as the Buffs could come.
TURNING POINT: CU threatened to make a game of it late in the first quarter, tying the score twice, and trailing by only 8 points at halftime. But ASU opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run and blew it open.
CU STANDOUTS: Leonard didn't shoot particularly well (9-of-23) but ended up with a game-best 25 points . . . . Smith added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were out-rebounded 49-30 and had just seven assists on their 19 made baskets . . . . They shot only 32 percent from the field while allowing the Sun Devils to check out at 44 percent . . . . CU made 10-of-17 free throws, ASU 15-of-20 . . . . The Buffs hit 4 of their 17 3-point attempts, the Sun Devils 4 of their 11.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU found the going difficult against the first of three straight ranked Pac-12 opponents. The good news: the Buffs, down by 20 points in the third quarter, didn't roll over. But they must understand now what it takes to defeat Top 25 teams in their conference.
NOTEWORTHY: Sunday was Leonard's 11th career game with 20+ points and seventh this season .... Bri Watts tied a career high with five rebounds ... .Colorado has now lost six consecutive games to ASU .... CU's .317 field goal percentage was the second-lowest this season (.304 vs. UCLA) .... CU's 12 turnovers – only three in the second half were the fewest since eight against Colorado State on Dec. 8.
QUOTEWORTHY: "I will start by saying I'm not happy with the game, but I'm proud of our team for continuing to fight, scrap and execute the game plan." – CU coach JR Payne
"They were making extra hustle plays, we weren't getting loose balls and we were kind of hesitant." – CU wing Haley Smith on ASU's third-quarter surge
"I expected pressure but not that much physicality . . . that's on me; I've got to get stronger. Props to them." – CU guard Kennedy Leonard on ASU's strong defense
NEXT UP: The Buffs are home for their next two games, playing host to No. 20 California on Friday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Plus) and No. 10 Stanford on Sunday (2 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Colorado Coach JR Payne
General
"Although we're not happy with the result of the game, I'd like to say that I'm really proud of the way that our team continued to scrap and fight. They tried to remain aggressive and execute the game plan we had and not every team does that. We're a team that showing that we're capable of fighting and that we're always going to be in the game today we just didn't have the gas in the tank to finish off the game."
On Playing Arizona State
"It's tough to play Arizona State for four quarters. It requires depth and experience with players that have been in those situations. ASU head coach Charli Thorne just does a great with that program. They have a established culture of who they are and what their brand is. From top to bottom their roster is ready to compete for 40 minutes every night. It was tough to go against all night."
On CU's Poor Shooting
"ASU is literally one of the best defensive teams in the country. The 52 points we scored I don't think is that bad against such a great team and we only had three turnovers in the second half which is incredible. There were some good things that we did offensively. The shooting percentages were low, but I thought that a lot of our shots were contested which is something that they do well."
On Learning from the Loss
"I just told the team in the locker room that there's a lot that we can improve on. When we watch the film, we will see possessions that had nothing to do with their size and experience. It's things that we can fix. A lot of the hole we put ourselves in during the first four minutes of the third quarter were things that we did, things like loose balls and rebounding. We can't get taller across the board but if we are willing to take it daily and improve on those things, it's a great thing. I'm the type of person that sees things as a glass half full, so there's things that we can fix we just have to make a decision as a group to fix those things."
On Monica Burich's Effort
"Monica is young, long and thin and playing inside in this conference is a tall task for her. The last few games people have been physical with her and we've talked to her about how she needs to be more physical. I thought that she did a great job of being more physical tonight. She's going up against players who out-weigh her by 30 to 40 pounds, but she was in there battling and competing. And that's the type of effort that we need across the board so I was proud of her for that."
Colorado Players
Hayley Smith
On third quarter
"They were making all those extra hustle plays. They got all the loose balls. They were really asserting themselves offensively and we were kind of hesitant with that, which dug us a hole that we weren't able to get out of. But besides those ten minutes, we were right in there, both offensively and defensively and if we can just put both of those together for a full forty I think we are in a great spot."
On the frustration of letting third period get away
"It's a bit frustrating because we do know that we were right there, but it also gives us a little confidence as well knowing that if we just fix those things which really are fixable. They aren't really anything basketball related but more our effort and playing hard which are easy things to fix and we'll be in a great spot."
Kennedy Leonard
On physicality of Sunday's game
"In the past couple of games teams have been double teaming the in-bound pass. So I expected pressure, but I didn't expect that level of physicality. But that's on me, I just need to get stronger."
On turnovers
"We just settled down. Coach J just told us, 'Settle down take each play and possession by itself and don't over calculate it.' We ran and got up the court in transition, just our type of thing. Playing Buffs basketball and controlling our tempo and our pace helped a lot."
The Buffaloes (11-4 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) were doomed by a 13-3 Sun Devils run to open the third quarter. Outscoring CU 21-9, ASU (12-3, 3-1) led by as many as 20 points on two occasions later in the quarter.
"The first four minutes of the third quarter put us in a hole we couldn't get out of," CU coach JR Payne said. "But a lot of that's on us."
The Buffs never led, managing just two first-quarter ties after rallying from an early 8-point deficit.
CU's shooting was tepid throughout the afternoon, with the Buffs hitting just 32 percent (19-of-60) from the field, while ASU shot 44 percent (26-of-59). Payne pointed to ASU's stringent defense as being a factor but added that scoring 52 points against the Sun Devils was credible.
Kennedy Leonard (25 points, 13 in the fourth quarter) and Haley Smith (10) were the only two Buffs in double figures.
Three Sun Devils reached double figures, topped by Sophie Brunner's 16.
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU trailed 16-14 after one quarter, but the way the quarter started the Buffs could be happy with a two-point deficit. They didn't score until 2:30 in and didn't get their second basket until nearly 4 minutes later.
With ASU up 10-2 and her team having hit just one of its first seven shots and committing three turnovers that the Sun Devils converted into five points, Payne called a timeout.
And from the 4:34 mark until the end of the quarter, the Buffs were a different team -- at least temporarily
.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Smith and Leonard produced a 12-12 tie, then Monica Burich tied the score once more at 14-14 with a pair of free throws. Reili Richardson's two foul shots with 19.4 seconds left in the period provided ASU with its two-point advantage.
But the Buffs had as much trouble with their early second-quarter shooting as they did in the first. Hitting only two of its first 10 shots of the period, CU fell behind by eight (27-19), and when Richardson drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:10 before halftime the Sun Devils had their largest lead of the afternoon at 34-22.
The Buffs scored the final four points of the half – a Leonard layup, two free throws by Alexis Robinson – and trailed 36-28. They shot 31 percent (10-of-32) from the field in the first two periods while the Sun Devils hit 44.4 percent (12-of-27).
ASU's second quarter advantage was created by Brunner getting 6 of her 10 first half points in that period and CU missing half of its eight free throw attempts in the quarter.
No Buffs player reached double figures in the first two quarters, with Leonard scoring eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field.
The third quarter opened with the Sun Devils pulling away, hitting six of their first seven shots while the Buffs were managing just one of six. That produced a 13-3 run for the visitors, giving ASU an 18-point lead – 49-31 – with 5:21 left in the quarter. The Sun Devils outscored the Buffs 21-9 in the period and led 57-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Leonard started it with a pair of baskets, bringing the Buffs to 57-41 and prompting a quick Sun Devils timeout. A Leonard trey – giving her 11 points in the quarter -- cut CU's deficit to 63-50 with 4:29 remaining but that was as close as the Buffs could come.
TURNING POINT: CU threatened to make a game of it late in the first quarter, tying the score twice, and trailing by only 8 points at halftime. But ASU opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run and blew it open.
CU STANDOUTS: Leonard didn't shoot particularly well (9-of-23) but ended up with a game-best 25 points . . . . Smith added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were out-rebounded 49-30 and had just seven assists on their 19 made baskets . . . . They shot only 32 percent from the field while allowing the Sun Devils to check out at 44 percent . . . . CU made 10-of-17 free throws, ASU 15-of-20 . . . . The Buffs hit 4 of their 17 3-point attempts, the Sun Devils 4 of their 11.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU found the going difficult against the first of three straight ranked Pac-12 opponents. The good news: the Buffs, down by 20 points in the third quarter, didn't roll over. But they must understand now what it takes to defeat Top 25 teams in their conference.
NOTEWORTHY: Sunday was Leonard's 11th career game with 20+ points and seventh this season .... Bri Watts tied a career high with five rebounds ... .Colorado has now lost six consecutive games to ASU .... CU's .317 field goal percentage was the second-lowest this season (.304 vs. UCLA) .... CU's 12 turnovers – only three in the second half were the fewest since eight against Colorado State on Dec. 8.
QUOTEWORTHY: "I will start by saying I'm not happy with the game, but I'm proud of our team for continuing to fight, scrap and execute the game plan." – CU coach JR Payne
"They were making extra hustle plays, we weren't getting loose balls and we were kind of hesitant." – CU wing Haley Smith on ASU's third-quarter surge
"I expected pressure but not that much physicality . . . that's on me; I've got to get stronger. Props to them." – CU guard Kennedy Leonard on ASU's strong defense
NEXT UP: The Buffs are home for their next two games, playing host to No. 20 California on Friday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Plus) and No. 10 Stanford on Sunday (2 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Colorado Coach JR Payne
General
"Although we're not happy with the result of the game, I'd like to say that I'm really proud of the way that our team continued to scrap and fight. They tried to remain aggressive and execute the game plan we had and not every team does that. We're a team that showing that we're capable of fighting and that we're always going to be in the game today we just didn't have the gas in the tank to finish off the game."
On Playing Arizona State
"It's tough to play Arizona State for four quarters. It requires depth and experience with players that have been in those situations. ASU head coach Charli Thorne just does a great with that program. They have a established culture of who they are and what their brand is. From top to bottom their roster is ready to compete for 40 minutes every night. It was tough to go against all night."
On CU's Poor Shooting
"ASU is literally one of the best defensive teams in the country. The 52 points we scored I don't think is that bad against such a great team and we only had three turnovers in the second half which is incredible. There were some good things that we did offensively. The shooting percentages were low, but I thought that a lot of our shots were contested which is something that they do well."
On Learning from the Loss
"I just told the team in the locker room that there's a lot that we can improve on. When we watch the film, we will see possessions that had nothing to do with their size and experience. It's things that we can fix. A lot of the hole we put ourselves in during the first four minutes of the third quarter were things that we did, things like loose balls and rebounding. We can't get taller across the board but if we are willing to take it daily and improve on those things, it's a great thing. I'm the type of person that sees things as a glass half full, so there's things that we can fix we just have to make a decision as a group to fix those things."
On Monica Burich's Effort
"Monica is young, long and thin and playing inside in this conference is a tall task for her. The last few games people have been physical with her and we've talked to her about how she needs to be more physical. I thought that she did a great job of being more physical tonight. She's going up against players who out-weigh her by 30 to 40 pounds, but she was in there battling and competing. And that's the type of effort that we need across the board so I was proud of her for that."
Colorado Players
Hayley Smith
On third quarter
"They were making all those extra hustle plays. They got all the loose balls. They were really asserting themselves offensively and we were kind of hesitant with that, which dug us a hole that we weren't able to get out of. But besides those ten minutes, we were right in there, both offensively and defensively and if we can just put both of those together for a full forty I think we are in a great spot."
On the frustration of letting third period get away
"It's a bit frustrating because we do know that we were right there, but it also gives us a little confidence as well knowing that if we just fix those things which really are fixable. They aren't really anything basketball related but more our effort and playing hard which are easy things to fix and we'll be in a great spot."
Kennedy Leonard
On physicality of Sunday's game
"In the past couple of games teams have been double teaming the in-bound pass. So I expected pressure, but I didn't expect that level of physicality. But that's on me, I just need to get stronger."
On turnovers
"We just settled down. Coach J just told us, 'Settle down take each play and possession by itself and don't over calculate it.' We ran and got up the court in transition, just our type of thing. Playing Buffs basketball and controlling our tempo and our pace helped a lot."
Team Stats
ASU
COLO
FG%
.441
.317
3FG%
.364
.235
FT%
.750
.588
RB
49
30
TO
19
12
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
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