Junior Sociology major Brittany Spears (22) pushes down the court against Iowa State's Kelsey Bolte during the CU versus Iowa State basketball game in Coor's Events Center on Jan. 16, 2009. (CU Independent file/Stephanie Davis)
Another slow start was too much for the Colorado women’s basketball team to bounce back from. The Buffs fell 65-55 to the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.
CU fell behind early, with the Sooners taking a 17-2 lead with 14:21 remaining in the half.
“We’ve gotten off to a bad start the last three games; just very ineffective,” said CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller in a news release. “OU came out and completely attacked, controlled the tempo.”
The Buffs did manage to narrow the lead to 23-18 with help from Brittany Spears. The junior forward was limited to 14 combined points in her last two games, but she broke that slump by putting up a game-high 28 points and helped CU get back into the game.
Oklahoma (18-6, 8-3 Big 12) would have none of that though, going on an 11-0 run afterward. The Sooners went on to show that a 3-pointer by senior guard Bianca Smith wouldn’t be enough narrow the margin when Lauren Willis answered with two treys of her own.
The Buffs went into the break with the scoreboard at 42-23.
While Oklahoma led by 25 points with 11:05 remaining in the second half, Colorado continued to fight, and went on a 24-9 run at the end of the game. But their 26 turnovers were just too much to overcome.
The 65-55 loss was the Buffs’ sixth straight and their 18th straight against a ranked opponent.
The Buffaloes (12-11 overall, 2-8 Big 12) return home to the Coors Events Center to host the University of Kansas at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Marlee Horn at Marlee.Horn@colorado.edu.
