The last time Colorado sophomore Bianca Smith scored her career high, the Buffs knocked off Vanderbilt behind her 22 points.

But that was more than two months ago, when CU was in the early stages of an 11-game win streak.

Times have changed since Smith last put up such big numbers.

And it took another career night Saturday from Smith to help Colorado snap a six-game losing streak.

Smith tied a single-game school record with seven 3-pointers en route to a career-high 26 points as the Buffs beat Texas 67-52 in the Coors Events Center.

"I always look to shoot," said Smith, who was left open time and again when Texas tried to trap CU's point guards. "I just happened to be open and knock them down."

Colorado (14-11, 3-9) won for the first time since Jan. 22 against Kansas and for the second time in the last 11 games.

Smith's points were big, but so were several other factors.

The Buffs outrebounded the Longhorns 50-29. Texas hadn't been outrebounded by that large of a margin this season, and it was just the sixth time this year the Long-horns were beaten on the boards.

Colorado sophomore Aija Putnina re-emerged. The forward had been held scoreless in her last two games and had an average of 3.3 rebounds in her past three games. But she notched a double-double against Texas with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Senior teammate Jackie McFarland added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"She's like a bull in a china shop," McConnell-Miller said of Putnina. "If (the referees) allow that kind of contact, that plays to Aija's (favor)."

Lastly, the Buffs made a late lead stick with sophomore reserve Whitney Houston at point guard. Houston has struggled late in games this season with turnovers.

But she finished out the game on the court and CU pulled away in the last three minutes, despite a lot of pressure on the ball by Texas.

"That was probably the most pressure I've ever had in a single game," Houston said. "I was getting frustrated with my turnovers (in previous games), but I just said, 'Not this one. I'm going to fight to the end.' "

The Longhorns hadn't allowed a player to hit as many 3-pointers this year as Smith made.

Smith tied a school record when she hit five 3-pointers in the first half to help CU to a 34-29 lead. The Buffs led at halftime despite receiving zero points from McFarland.

Texas (16-9, 4-7), fighting for an NCAA bid, was coming off a 61-60 upset victory over No. 8 Baylor. Sophomore guard Brittainey Raven paced her team in scoring with 16 points.

"This loss was inexcusable," Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Colorado played with more passion and more purpose. It was embarrassing."

Colorado 67, Texas 52

TEXAS (52)

min fg-fga ft-fta rb ast pf tp

Williams 29 3-8 0-0 1 0 2 6

Lindsey 31 4-9 3-4 7 1 5 11

Cortijo 34 4-10 4-6 2 4 4 12

Raven 35 5-11 6-8 5 0 2 16

Bailey 18 2-6 0-0 0 2 3 4

Nash 21 0-4 0-0 8 0 4 0

Hughes 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Boyd 15 1-6 0-0 3 1 2 3

Cook 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Rentschler 11 0-0 0-0 2 1 1 0

Totals: 200 19-54 13-18 29 9 24 52

COLORADO (67)

min fg-fga ft-fta rb ast pf tp

Spears 35 1-6 0-0 12 1 0 3

Putnina 31 5-13 4-6 15 3 3 14

McFarland 30 2-6 6-7 10 2 2 10

Smith 32 7-17 5-5 2 2 2 26

Powers 21 0-2 0-0 1 2 1 0

Houston 22 1-5 4-5 2 3 1 7

Skildum 10 0-1 1-2 0 0 3 1

Dow 9 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 2

Richards 10 1-4 2-4 4 0 2 4

Totals: 200 18-55 22-29 50 14 16 67

Score by halves:

Texas 29 23 -- 52

Colorado 34 33 -- 67

3-point field goals -- Texas (1-15): Williams 0-1, Cortijo 0-2, Raven 0-2, Bailey 0-1, Nash 0-4, Boyd 1-5; Colorado (9-25): Spears 1-5, Putnina 0-1, Smith 7-14, Powers 0-2, Houston 1-3.

Officials --Barlow, Price, Jones.

Technical fouls -- None.

Attendance -- 3,891.

STEALS

Texas (11):Williams 2, Lindsey, Cortijo 3, Raven 3, Bailey, Boyd.

Colorado (7):Spears 2, Putnina 3, Powers 2.

BLOCKED SHOTS

Texas (6):Lindsey 5, Raven.

Colorado (2):Spears 2.

TURNOVERS

Texas (16):Williams 3, Lindsey 3, Cortijo, Raven 5, Bailey, Nash, Boyd, Cook.

Colorado (22):Spears 3, McFarland 2, Smith 4, Powers 3, Houston 6, Skildum, Dow 2, Richards.