Whitney Law's 27 Leads Buffs Past OSU On Senior Day
BOULDER - Senior Whitney Law scored a career-high 27 points to lead Colorado to a 73-62 win over Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon, on senior day at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
Law hit 8-of-11 from the field and 10-of-11 from the line as she hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season and surpassed her previous best of 22 set at Colorado State on Nov. 30. Law also had a game-high six assists while adding five rebounds and two steals.
Junior Jasmina Ilic pitched in 22 points and Jackie McFarland recorded her 14th double-double of the season by adding 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Buffaloes (9-19, 3-12 Big 12). The win broke a 13-game Colorado losing streak against the Big 12 Southern Division and gave head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller her 100th career victory.
Colorado has clinched the No. 11 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Championship in Dallas and will play an opening round game against the No. 6 seed on Tuesday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Reunion Arena. With one game left in the regular season, Kansas State, Texas and Nebraska are tied for the No. 6 spot at 7-8.
Whitney Pegram led the Cowgirls (6-20, 0-15) with 17 points while Catherria Turner chipped in 16. OSU dropped its 21st consecutive Big 12 contest and its 30th straight on the road.
Law scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half, including a perfect 9-of-9 from the line, to help the Buffaloes pull away late in the game. Trailing 48-47 with just over 11 minutes left, Ilic put CU up for good with a 3-point field goal, one of four on the afternoon for the junior. The Buffaloes proceeded to outscore the the Cowgirls 27-15 in to end the game.
Law began her career night early as she took a pass from McFarland on the Buffs first position and laid it in. The Buffaloes teamwork continued as their first three field goals were assisted as the team built a 9-5 lead.
The Cowgirls, fighting for their first Big 12 victory, stayed close throughout the opening half taking the lead on four occasions including once with just 52 seconds remaining that capped an 11-3 run. With just five seconds remaining in the half, Law dribbled the length of the court for the tying lay up.
"Oklahoma State kept on changing their defense and I thought Whitney was key in that little stretch when they came at us and made a little run," McConnell-Miller said. "I thought Whitney answered and identified the defense. She did a great job of passing in the zone and getting to the rim and making great shots. She was definitely key in that run offensively and defensively. I could not have written a better script for her. Any senior would like to go out on a win and on a career high, and she was able to accomplish that."
McFarland was 6-of-11 from the field and added five blocks and four assists. McFarland, who needs just eight points to become the third player in CU history to record 500 points and 250 rebounds, notched her fifth 15-plus rebound performance of the season. Ilic recorded her seventh 20-plus point performance of the year, and her highest since her league-best 36-point outburst against Nebraska on Jan. 4.
Colorado will end regular season play on Thursday, March 2, as the Buffaloes travel to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State at 6 p.m. MST.