SALT LAKE CITY — Alexis Robinson provided some much-needed scoring punch to the Colorado women’s basketball team on Friday night, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop the Buffaloes’ losing streak.
Host Utah drained a dozen 3-pointers and handed the Buffs a 78-59 loss at the Huntsman Center, keeping CU winless in Pac-12 Conference play.
CU (10-7, 0-6 Pac-12) played without senior point guard Kennedy Leonard for the third consecutive game, as she continues to be hobbled by a foot injury.
Robinson, the only healthy senior on the team, scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Buffs. Junior Quinessa Caylao-Do added 19 points and a team-high three assists.
That duo provided most of the offense, as the rest of the team combined for just 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
As they did during a 76-61 win in Boulder on Dec. 30, the Utes (16-1, 5-1) buried the Buffs with deadly 3-point shooting, hitting 12-of-22 from beyond the arc. In Boulder, the Utes were 13-of-22.
Megan Huff led the Utes with 17 points, while Kiana Moore added 15 and Andrea Torres 14.
A pair of Caylao-Do free throws pulled the Buffs within 13 with 5 minutes, 15 seconds to play, but the Utes were able to extend the lead from there. The Utes led throughout the final 34 minutes.
The Buffs continue to struggle without Leonard, who leads the team in scoring, assists and steals. Leonard, the program’s all-time leader in assists, made the trip, but was in a walking boot and continues to be day-to-day.
Leonard is among the Pac-12 leaders with 7.2 assists per game. The Buffs had just seven as a team on Friday.
This is just the second 0-6 start to conference play in CU history. The 2015-16 team started 0-9.
Notable
Freshman Lesila Finau got her second start at point guard in place of Leonard. In CU’s three games without Leonard, the starting point guard has combined for zero points and three assists in 49 minutes. … Robinson came into the night averaging 9.4 points per game. … Robinson attempted a career-high 28 shots, the sixth-highest total in CU history. … CU freshman Emma Clarke left the game in the final minutes with an apparent ankle injury. … Torres has 32 points in two games against CU and 18 combined in the other four Pac-12 games.
Utah 78, Colorado 59
COLORADO (10-7, 0-6 Pac-12)
Caylao-Do 8-16 2-2 19, Robinson 9-28 3-4 24, Finau 0-2 0-0 0, Hollingshed 3-6 0-0 6, Tuitele 2-3 0-0 4, Clarke 0-2 0-0 0, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Diop 0-0 0-0 0, Jank 1-2 3-3 6, Volcy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 8-9 59.
UTAH (16-1, 5-1)
Moore 5-13 2-2 15, Huff 6-12 3-5 17, Gylten 3-5 1-4 8, Bean 5-14 0-0 11, Edwards 1-3 0-0 2, Becker 2-3 0-0 5, Torres 5-7 2-2 14, Porter 2-3 0-0 6. Totals 29-60 8-13 78..
Score by quarters:
Colorado 15 19 11 14 — 59
Utah 23 20 18 17 — 78
3-point goals — Colorado 5-15 (Robinson 3-9, Caylao-Do 1-1, Jank 1-1, Hollingshed 0-2, Finau 0-1, Clarke 0-1). Utah 12-22 (Moore 3-5, Porter 2-2, Huff 2-4, Torres 2-4, Bean 1-4, Becker 1-2, Gylten 1-1). Rebounds — Colorado 33 (Hollingshed 7), Utah 39 (Gylten, Torres 7). Assists — Colorado 7 (Caylao-Do 3), Utah 20 (Gylten 8). Steals — Colorado 7 (Robinson 2), Utah 6 (Moore, Huff 3). Turnovers — Colorado 13, Utah 13. Total fouls — Colorado 15, Utah 11. Fouled out — None.
