Fast break
What went right: The Buffs continue to keep their turnover numbers low, finishing with just 10. They also got seven steals and forced Oregon State into 15 turnovers.
What went wrong: CU was soundly beaten on the boards, 48-31, and could not hit their shots.
Star of the game: Alexis Robinson. She scored 18 points and pulled down five rebounds to lead the Buffs.
What’s next: CU will host Utah on Wednesday at Coors Events Center at 7 p.m.
CORVALLIS, Ore. — While the wins haven’t always been there this season, Colorado women’s basketball coach JR Payne has come to expect her team to battle from start to finish.
On Sunday, the Buffaloes were overmatched and let their effort slip during an 81-57 loss to No. 11 Oregon State at Gill Coliseum.
“I thought for the first time in a while, we got outworked,” Payne said. “And that’s something that just can’t happen. That’s where our success comes from, where we’re going to outwork people and never going to give in and we’re going to be tough. For the first time in a while — maybe it’s fatigue, I don’t know what it is — but I thought they were the tougher team.”
Oregon State (18-2, 7-1 Pac-12) is often the tougher team, and on Sunday, that buried the Buffs (11-8, 1-7), who were handed their fifth consecutive loss.
Alexis Robinson had 18 points for the Buffs, but they once again had a poor night of shooting (21 of 65, 32.3 percent) and got bullied on the boards, with OSU having a 48-31 advantage.
“They just beat us on the glass really badly, and they’re the best rebounding team in the league,” Payne said. “I’m disappointed in our rebounding effort tonight.”
Plenty of rebounds were to be had, as the Buffs continue to struggle with their shooting. CU came into the game as the worst shooting team in the Pac-12 during conference play, and that percentage will drop as the Buffs were held below 40 percent for the sixth consecutive game.
CU point guard Kennedy Leonard, who came in averaging 18.9 points per game, was held to just six points on 2-for-10 shooting. It was just the second time this season she was below 10 points.
Despite Leonard going scoreless in the first half, the Buffs kept the game close.
Robinson had 10 points and Makenzie Ellis eight as the Buffs were down by just six in the closing
seconds of the first half. Sydne
y Wiese drained a 3-pointer for the Beavers just before the
half to
give them
a nine-point advantage.
OSU then opened the third quarter with a 6-0 surge in the first 71 seconds. The Beavers used that run as a springboard to pull away. CU trailed by 19 after three quarters and fell behind by as many as 27 points in the fourth.
Kolbie Orum led four Beavers in double figures, with 16 points. Wiese added 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Notable
CU fe
ll to 1-29 vs. ranked Pac-12 teams since joining the conference in 2011. … Haley Smith had 10 rebounds for the Buffs. … CU’s Bri Watts matched her career high with three assists, while also chipping in with five points.
Colorado (11-8)
Robinson 6-15 4-4 18, Ellis 3-9 0-0 8, Freeman 4-8 0-0 8, Leonard 2-10 0-2 6, Smith 1-6 3-4 5, Watts 2-4 1-2 5, Beard-Fails 1-3 0-0 3, Correal 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 1-2 0-0 2, Burich 0-5 0-0 0, Caylao-Do 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 21-65 8-12 57.
Oregon State (18-2)
Orum 6-8 4-6 16, Tudor 5-9 0-0 14, Wiese 4-9 2-2 13, Brown 3-5 4-5 10, Gulich 4-10 1-2 9, Hanson 3-8 0-0 7, McWilliams 3-5 0-0 7, Kalmer 1-4 0-0 3, Pivec 0-4 2-2 2, Green 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 29-62 13-17 81.
Colorado 17 12 18 10 — 57
Oregon State 20 18 28 15 — 81
3-Point Goals — Colorado 7-21 (Ellis 2-4, Leonard 2-5, Robinson 2-5,
Beard-Fails 1-2, Smith 0-2, Burich 0-2, Thomas 0-1), Oregon St. 10-27 (Tudor 4-8, Wiese 3-7, Hanson 1-4, Kalmer 1-4, McWilliams 1-3, Pivec 0-1).
Assists —
Colorado 11 (Leonard 5), Oregon St. 24 (Wiese 9).
Fouled Out — None. Rebounds — Colorado
31 (Smith 10), Oregon St. 48 (Gulich 13).
Total Fouls —
Colorado 13, Oregon St. 10.
A —
3,927.
