Washington Downs Buffs 81-71
SEATTLE – Washington freshman guard Kelsey Plum scored 35 points as the Huskies handed No. 21/20 Colorado its fourth straight loss, 81-71, Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Plum and backcourt mate Jazmine Davis combined for 55 of Washington’s 81 points. Plum made a CU opponent record 18 free throws, on only 19 attempts, and drilled three 3-pointers. Davis had 20 points on 6-of-14 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line.
The Huskies (10-7, 3-3) won the battle mostly from the free throw line. Washington was 38-of-46 from the charity stripe, setting a CU opponent mark for free-throws made in one game.
“We put them to the free throw line way too much. We outshot them, but we didn’t shoot as well as we needed to. They were scoring, and they were getting to the free throw line," coach Linda Lappe said.
Washington made 21 of those in the first half as the Huskies used a 10-0 run midway through the period to build a double-digit lead at the break, 39-27.
Colorado (11-6, 1-5) tightened up its defense early in the second half and started turning the Huskies over. The Buffaloes were able to completely erase Washington’s advantage, taking a 54-53 lead on a Jamee Swan layup with 8:42 remaining.
But Plum scored the game’s next six points to spark a 17-2 Washington run and the Huskies built their lead back to 70-56.
Brittany Wilson scored 10 of her 16 points during a final Colorado push. The Buffaloes knocked Washington’s lead back down to five with under a minute left with a 13-4 run. However, time ran out on the Buffaloes. Forced to foul, Plum sank her final four tries from the line to put the game away.
Colorado was held to 38 percent from the field. Washington also limited the Buffaloes to one shot, winning the battle of the boards, 45-33.
Arielle Roberson led Colorado with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Jen Reese added 13 points and six rebounds. Haley Smith also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds for the Buffaloes.
“I just think we have to find a way to win games," Wilson said. "We have to find some type of competitive fire and win some games. We have to get it together. We’ll definitely figure it out. We’ll go home, put our hats together and go hard at home.”
Colorado returns home to host the Arizona schools next weekend. The Buffaloes face Arizona on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m., at the Coors Events Center. Colorado hosts Arizona State on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m.