CU's Second Half Scoring Drought Brings Iowa State Victory
AMES, Iowa - Colorado shot just 27 percent as No. 20 (AP)/23 (WBCA) Iowa State defeated the Buffaloes 71-45 in the final Big 12 Conference regular season matchup between the two teams Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum.
Senior Brittany Spears had 13 points as she moved into second place on CU's all-time scoring list at 1,961.
Colorado (12-13, 3-9 Big 12) made just 13-of-47 from the field, and made only three buckets in the second half, tying a program record-low for a 20 minute period.
"I'm proud of them," head coach Linda Lappe said. "I think it's the hardest we've fought in a long time. It didn't go our way tonight, but they stayed together and they continued to play."
Julie Seabrook had 10 points. Rachel Hargis had five points, six rebounds and four blocks off the bench for the Buffaloes.
The Buffaloes were hindered though foul trouble. ISU was in the bonus by the 13:31 mark and double-bonus before 10 minutes had elapsed. After CU held an early 10-5 lead, Jessica Schroll hit four straight free throws which ignited a 12-2 ISU run, finished off by a Kelsey Bolte 3-pointer to take a 17-12 lead.
"[When in foul trouble,] you're not sure as a player what you can and cannot do offensively and defensively," Lappe said. "It just takes you out of your rhythm and you have to be tough."
Iowa State upped its lead to six on a couple of occasions, but the Buffaloes stayed close in the first half. Anna Prins hit a 3-pointer to give ISU a 20-14 lead, but Spears answered with a 3-pointer of her own.
Prins hit another jumper after a Chelsea Poppens 3-point play, but Seabrook cut the lead in half with a 3-pointer. Meagan Malcolm-Peck then hit a trey to cut the ISU lead to 29-28.
After trailing only by three at the half, the Buffaloes missed their first eight shots of the second period. Hargis hit a pair of free throws for CU's only points in the first 10 minutes. Seabrook broke the drought with her second 3-pointer of the game with 9:36 remaining.
"I'm sure Iowa State came out and wanted to play better defense [in the second half]," Lappe said. "We couldn't really have an answer for their man to man defense. We weren't screening for each other. We were just cutting without a purpose. It was really tough for our players to get open. They were packing it in the paint and daring us to shoot it on the outside."
Meanwhile, Iowa State opened the half on a 14-2 run and outscored the Buffaloes 40-17 in the final 20 minutes. Iowa State took advantage of Colorado's foul trouble by hitting 22-of-28 free throws. Bolte led all scorers with 17 points. Lauren Mansfield added 13.
"We needed someone to step up and knock down a couple big shots and get a couple stops on the other end as well," Lappe said. "When you can't score you have to keep defending. I told our team when we were down 10 or 11 that it's a stop and a score and another stop and score and it's a totally different ballgame."
Colorado will return home to host No. 14/15 Oklahoma on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center. The game will be televised live by FSN Rocky Mountain.
NOTES
Colorado and Iowa State split the season series, each winning at home. Colorado continues to lead the overall series 37-30.
Colorado drops its ninth straight road game and 11th consecutive away from Boulder dating back to an 80-79 overtime win at Missouri on Feb. 23, 2010.
Colorado falls to 1-2 against ranked teams this season.
Colorado falls below .500 for the first time this season (12-13).
Senior Brittany Spears scored 13 points, giving her 1,961 and moving her into second place on CU's all-time scoring list. She passes former teammate Jackie McFarland who had 1,957 from 2004-08.
Spears extended her own school records with her 118th consecutive start. She moves into sole possession of third place for career starts, breaking her tie with Bridget Turner and Tracy Tripp who each started 117 games from 1985-89.
Meagan Malcolm-Peck was 1-for-4 from 3-point range. She moved into sole possession of 17th on CU's career list for 3-pointers, now with 50.