Colorado University Athletics
Friday, November 10
Birmingham, Ala.
5:00 PM
Colorado
71
at
60
Samford
Photo by: Marvin Gentry
Caylao-Do Sparks Fourth-Quarter Comeback As Buffs Open With Road Win
November 10, 2017 | Women's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Colorado overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to rally for a 71-60 win at Samford to open the season on Friday night.
Quinessa Caylao-Do scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, leading the comeback with three fourth-quarter 3-pointers.
CU outscored the Bulldogs 34-13 in the fourth quarter.
STAT LEADERS: Caylao-Do led the Buffs with 18 points, shooting 5-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the outside. She shot 4-of-5 in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Annika Jank poured in 16 points and had eight rebounds, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. Alexis Robinson matched Jank with 16 points and added six rebounds and five steals.
Freshman Aubrey Knight had six points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Olivia Crozier led Samford and matched Caylao-Do with 18 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor. Hannah Nichols had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 6-of-31 (.194) and committing 14 turnovers. CU trailed by nine midway through the second quarter, but Samford closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 31-14.
The Buffs battled back to within seven late in the third quarter before Nichols buried a 3-pointer from the wing with one minute left to stretch the margin back to double digits.
Caylao-Do then caught fire in the fourth quarter. Her 3-pointer with 4:52 remaining, her third of the period, gave CU its first lead of the night at 55-53. She then hit two free throws with 3:05 remaining for a 59-56 lead.
Her 3-point play with a layup and free throw gave the Buffs a 64-60 lead with 1:58 remaining.
Robinson hit an 18-foot jumper just inside the top of the arc with the shot clock winding down at the one-minute mark for a 66-60 lead. She and Kennedy Leonard then combined to go 5-of-6 at the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win.
KEY STATISTICS: CU shot 11-of-17 (.647) in the fourth quarter and 21-of-34 (.618) in the second half to key its comeback after shooting just 6-of-31 (.194) in the first half. The Buffs forced 23 turnovers and committed 19, but just five in the second half.
NOTES: Caylao-Do's 18 points were a career high with her previous best being six last season ... Robinson tied a career high for steals ... CU stretched its winning streak to 18 games and improved to 39-5 in season openers ... Jank's 16 points were the most for a freshman in a season opener since Leonard had 18 vs. Loyola Marymount in 2015 ... Knight's 11 rebounds were the most for a freshman in a season opener since Meagan Malcolm-Peck had 11 vs. UC Irvine in 2009.
UP NEXT: CU will play at North Carolina (0-1) at noon MT on Sunday.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
On the slow start to the game
"The truth is, with this many young kids, it's not totally unexpected. The great thing is that we are capable of playing really aggressive and rebounding and doing the things that we want to do and we showed that in the second half today."
On Caylao-Do's performance
"I love the stories about players that really make a change and it's all work ethic [with her]. From the minute the season ended last year to tonight at tip-off, she has worked as hard as any player I've had. She's always in the gym. She's really committed to her strength and conditioning and it showed today. She was incredible."
On Brecca Thomas's performance spelling Leonard (who was in foul trouble)
"I thought Brecca came in and just did what Brecca does. She was solid, she played good defense and got her hands on some balls. She gave us a sense of calm amidst of the storm and I thought she was a big part of the run we made to catch up."
On the play of the Knight in her first college game
"Aubrey is a gal that we loved as a freshman in high school. We were at a different school at the time and we said that is a must-get for us. We love her energy, her tenacity, her effort, her enthusiasm. We were thrilled when we signed her and knew she would be a great energy player for us."
On the play of Robinson coming off the ACL injury and playing 35 minutes
"It is hard to take her out. We get on her about her rebounding and I thought she really stepped up on the defensive end of the floor when we needed it and just obviously hit some really clutch, important shots that we needed. She's as seasoned a veteran as we have on our team and I think she showed it tonight. Coming off a knee injury, 35 minutes is not what we expected. Like we've been saying all along, she rehabbed incredibly well and she's as good now as she ever was."
On the slow first halfs against Colorado Christian in the exhibition and again tonight
"I would like to see a little bit more of an aggressive first half. We talked about being the aggressor in the very beginning of this game and we just got punched in the mouth. And we were not prepared for it. At halftime, we talked about that there is a team on the floor tonight that doesn't like physical play and they're dressed in black. And we want to be a physical team, but we were not tonight. In the second half, I thought we showed that we are capable of that."
On playing North Carolina, which lost to Hampton on Friday
"They're a great team. They return their top five scorers and starters from last season. Hampton is also a very good team, a tournament team. I'm sure it was a great game and we look forward to Sunday."
Quinessa Caylao-Do, sophomore
On her career-high 18 points
"I've been working out a lot more. I wasn't satisfied with my first year and I knew that I had to pick it up and work on my shot."
On hitting key shots to spark the comeback
"It felt really good to help my team out."
On guarding Nichols after she got off to a hot start for Samford
"We went over the scout and they did what they told us. I figured out once I sat on the bench [and realized] I had to jump to the ball and be a lot more physical. Being physical helped a lot with her."
Quinessa Caylao-Do scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, leading the comeback with three fourth-quarter 3-pointers.
CU outscored the Bulldogs 34-13 in the fourth quarter.
STAT LEADERS: Caylao-Do led the Buffs with 18 points, shooting 5-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the outside. She shot 4-of-5 in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Annika Jank poured in 16 points and had eight rebounds, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. Alexis Robinson matched Jank with 16 points and added six rebounds and five steals.
Freshman Aubrey Knight had six points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Olivia Crozier led Samford and matched Caylao-Do with 18 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor. Hannah Nichols had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 6-of-31 (.194) and committing 14 turnovers. CU trailed by nine midway through the second quarter, but Samford closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 31-14.
The Buffs battled back to within seven late in the third quarter before Nichols buried a 3-pointer from the wing with one minute left to stretch the margin back to double digits.
Caylao-Do then caught fire in the fourth quarter. Her 3-pointer with 4:52 remaining, her third of the period, gave CU its first lead of the night at 55-53. She then hit two free throws with 3:05 remaining for a 59-56 lead.
Her 3-point play with a layup and free throw gave the Buffs a 64-60 lead with 1:58 remaining.
Robinson hit an 18-foot jumper just inside the top of the arc with the shot clock winding down at the one-minute mark for a 66-60 lead. She and Kennedy Leonard then combined to go 5-of-6 at the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win.
KEY STATISTICS: CU shot 11-of-17 (.647) in the fourth quarter and 21-of-34 (.618) in the second half to key its comeback after shooting just 6-of-31 (.194) in the first half. The Buffs forced 23 turnovers and committed 19, but just five in the second half.
NOTES: Caylao-Do's 18 points were a career high with her previous best being six last season ... Robinson tied a career high for steals ... CU stretched its winning streak to 18 games and improved to 39-5 in season openers ... Jank's 16 points were the most for a freshman in a season opener since Leonard had 18 vs. Loyola Marymount in 2015 ... Knight's 11 rebounds were the most for a freshman in a season opener since Meagan Malcolm-Peck had 11 vs. UC Irvine in 2009.
UP NEXT: CU will play at North Carolina (0-1) at noon MT on Sunday.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
On the slow start to the game
"The truth is, with this many young kids, it's not totally unexpected. The great thing is that we are capable of playing really aggressive and rebounding and doing the things that we want to do and we showed that in the second half today."
On Caylao-Do's performance
"I love the stories about players that really make a change and it's all work ethic [with her]. From the minute the season ended last year to tonight at tip-off, she has worked as hard as any player I've had. She's always in the gym. She's really committed to her strength and conditioning and it showed today. She was incredible."
On Brecca Thomas's performance spelling Leonard (who was in foul trouble)
"I thought Brecca came in and just did what Brecca does. She was solid, she played good defense and got her hands on some balls. She gave us a sense of calm amidst of the storm and I thought she was a big part of the run we made to catch up."
On the play of the Knight in her first college game
"Aubrey is a gal that we loved as a freshman in high school. We were at a different school at the time and we said that is a must-get for us. We love her energy, her tenacity, her effort, her enthusiasm. We were thrilled when we signed her and knew she would be a great energy player for us."
On the play of Robinson coming off the ACL injury and playing 35 minutes
"It is hard to take her out. We get on her about her rebounding and I thought she really stepped up on the defensive end of the floor when we needed it and just obviously hit some really clutch, important shots that we needed. She's as seasoned a veteran as we have on our team and I think she showed it tonight. Coming off a knee injury, 35 minutes is not what we expected. Like we've been saying all along, she rehabbed incredibly well and she's as good now as she ever was."
On the slow first halfs against Colorado Christian in the exhibition and again tonight
"I would like to see a little bit more of an aggressive first half. We talked about being the aggressor in the very beginning of this game and we just got punched in the mouth. And we were not prepared for it. At halftime, we talked about that there is a team on the floor tonight that doesn't like physical play and they're dressed in black. And we want to be a physical team, but we were not tonight. In the second half, I thought we showed that we are capable of that."
On playing North Carolina, which lost to Hampton on Friday
"They're a great team. They return their top five scorers and starters from last season. Hampton is also a very good team, a tournament team. I'm sure it was a great game and we look forward to Sunday."
Quinessa Caylao-Do, sophomore
On her career-high 18 points
"I've been working out a lot more. I wasn't satisfied with my first year and I knew that I had to pick it up and work on my shot."
On hitting key shots to spark the comeback
"It felt really good to help my team out."
On guarding Nichols after she got off to a hot start for Samford
"We went over the scout and they did what they told us. I figured out once I sat on the bench [and realized] I had to jump to the ball and be a lot more physical. Being physical helped a lot with her."
Players Mentioned
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