Junior guard Chucky Jeffery came up big again for the CU women’s basketball team.
Jeffery hit a jumper with 17.7 seconds left in regulation to give the Buffs (14-4, 3-4 Pac-12) a 56-54 win over the Arizona Wildcats (13-5, 2-5 Pac-12) at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday, snapping a three game losing streak.
Sophomore guard Brittany Wilson led the Buffs with 15 points, grabbing four assists and four steals. In her first career start, freshman forward Jen Reese had 12 points and seven rebounds. Jeffery, the Buffs’ leading scorer so far this season, only managed to score seven points, but she made the last of those seven count.
The Buffs shot 38.2 percent from the field, and only made two 3-pointers. The Wildcats won the battle on the boards, grabbing 51 to Colorado’s 30. The Buffs turned the ball over 13 times, improving on their season average of 19 turnovers per game.
Colorado had a six point lead with 4:41 left, but couldn’t close things out. Arizona’s top scorer, senior guard Reiko Thomas, tied the game 54-54 with 2:38 left, hitting two free throws after a technical foul on the CU bench.
With the game still tied and just seconds remaining, Reese grabbed an offensive rebound, which let the Buffs reset and run a play that allowed Jeffery to score the winning shot.
The CU defense held strong as Arizona made one more attack, but the Wildcats came up short and the Buffs came away with a tight win.
The Buffs will return to Boulder for their next game, where they will take on the University of Southern California Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mark McNeillie at Mark.McNeillie@colorado.edu.
All statistics courtesy of the University of Colorado Sports Information Department.
