Second Half Comeback Falls Short Again For Buffs

OMAHA, Neb.-For the second-straight game, Colorado fought back from a double-digit deficit in the second half, only to fall short as Creighton staved off a furious Buffaloes rally for a  77-72 decision Saturday afternoon at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

Colorado drops to 2-4 overall while Creighton improves to 2-2.

Colorado trailed by 13 points, 63-50, with 11:46 remaining in the contest but embarked on an 18-5 run over the next 8:22. Sophomore post Jackie McFarland had seven points during the CU run including a free-throw to tie the game at 68-68 with 3:24 left.

Creighton senior guard Kristi Woodard didn't allow the Buffaloes to get over the hump. Woodard, who led the Bluejays with 26 points, hit five free throws in the final two minutes as the Bluejays ended on a 9-4 run.

The Buffaloes had a similar comeback on Nov. 30 against Colorado State. CU erased a 14-point second half deficit and a potential game-tying possession, but came away with an 86-83 setback.

McFarland led Colorado with her fourth double-double in six games this season registering 23 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior forward Jasmina Ilic scored 26 points tying a career-high with six 3-point field goals.

Ilic, who was held to just seven points against CSU, hit 9-of-18 overall from the field, but as a team Colorado went cold in the second half. The Buffaloes shot just 32 percent in the second stanza (11-of-34) and 38.7 percent for the game (24-of-62).

Creighton was hot for the first 30 minutes of the game. The Bluejays shot 54.8 percent in the first half (17-of-31) and then cashed in on eight of their first 15 shots in the second half (53.3 percent) which helped them stretch their two-point halftime lead to 13. Creighton cooled off just enough towards the end of the game for CU to come back, but still hit 47.5 percent for the contest (28-of-59)

            Junior Anna Nedovic had eight points for Colorado while freshman Hannah Skildum had four points and a career-high seven rebounds.

            Colorado will host Pacific on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. in the Coors Events Conference Center.