Hollingshed's Offensive Effort Not Enough for Buffs
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Senior Mya Hollingshed went out on Sunday night and shouldered the Colorado offense, bouncing back from a foul-riddled game against No. 10 Oregon two days earlier. She finished with a season-high 21 points, but the Buffaloes struggled to find additional scoring, falling to No. 17 Oregon State 70-53.
Hollingshed was the lone Buffs to reach double figures, going 8-for-20 from the field in her 32 minutes. CU's second-leading scorer was sophomore Charlotte Whittaker with nine points.
Aleah Goodman led OSU with 24 points. She went 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 8-for-13 from the field. Sasha Goforth and Ellie Mack also hit double-digits, each finishing with 11 points.
CU's shooting struggles continued from Friday. The Buffs shot just 29.2 percent (19-65) and were 3-for-20 from long range. The Beavers, on the other hand, were an efficient 41.8 percent (23-55) on the day and 10-for-27 from 3.
The loss drops Colorado to 2-2 on the season and 0-2 in the Pac-12. Oregon State improved to 3-0 on the year and 1-0 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The early moments of the first quarter looked like a 3-point contest. The Buffs took four of its first six shots from behind the arc, getting just one from Peanut Tuitele to fall. The open for Oregon State was right in its kitchen. The Beavers took five consecutive 3's to open the game, drilling three, to open a 9-3 lead. Hollingshed shifted the pace, netting five straight points for the Buffs, including CU's lone 3 of the quarter, to cut the OSU lead to 15-11 with under four minutes to go. The Beavers pushed back, gaining a 20-11 lead, before Aubrey Knight and Hollingshed combined for four points in the final two possessions, closing the gap to 20-15.
The defensive play took center stage at the start of the second quarter. Colorado held Oregon to a 1-for-6 start, while the Beavers similarly locked donw the Buffs (1-for-9). A Goodman 3 at the 3:30 mark extended the Beavers' lead to double-digits, 30-20 and a Mitrovic jumper landed CU in a 12-point hole on OSU's next possession. Late contributions from Whittaker, Jaylyn Sherrod, Kylee Blacksten and Hollingshed helped CU close the half on a 6-2 run, getting back to within eight points (34-26) at the break.
Sherrod got CU within five points, 34-29, hitting a 3-ball on the Buffs' opening possession of the third quarter. The offense failed to build any moment from the shot, going scoreless over the next 4:45. The CU slump allowed Oregon State to go on an 11-0 run, jumping out to a 45-29 lead. Colorado chipped away from the free-throw line but shot just 4-for-14 in the quarter.
The Beavers' lead hit 17 points by the end of the third and never dipped back below 10 points.
Mack scored six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping OSU gain a 21-point lead. Whittaker scored eight of her nine points in the final frame, going 2-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
KEY MOMENT: Colorado fell out of contention in the third quarter, in large part to its inability to make a basket. The Buffs suffered through a span of close to seven minutes without a field goal. Hollingshed broke the Buffs' 0-for-8 shooting streak with 3:04 to go in the quarter, CU's first made field goals since Sherrod's opening 3.
KEY STAT: CU's 29.2 field goal percentage was a season-low. The team struggled on the Oregon road swing, shooting a combined 30.6 percent (41-134).
QUOTABLE: "We don't want to shoot as many 3's. Our best output this year was a game where we only took six and we shot over 60 percent from the floor. We don't want to be shooting as many 3's. We want to move the ball and get inside."
NOTES: The Buffs fall to 6-12 all-time against Oregon State…CU is now 0-2 in December this season and 17-8 with Coach Payne…Sherrod snagged a career-high eight rebounds (all defensive) to go with her seven points…Knight handed out a career-high four assists…all of CU's games, win or lose, have been decided by more than 15 points…Colorado outscored OSU 24-18 in the paint…Hollingshed continues to move closer to 1,000 career points, now with 950 in 91 career games…CU finished 12-for-18 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).
NEXT UP: It's a quick turnaround as the team heads back to Boulder later tonight. The Buffs will practice on Monday and get ready to head to Denver on Tuesday (6 p.m. MT) for the final non-conference pairing of the season.