Furious Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Short Against Colorado

SEATTLE  – The Husky women's basketball team mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally against Colorado, but the Buffaloes made all eight of their free throw attempts over the final two minutes to hold on for a 55-50 win on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
 
The Buffaloes (10-9, 8-8 Pac-12) defense held the Huskies to single digits in each of the first three quarters on Senior Day, before UW responded with 24 points in the fourth quarter. Colorado led by as much as 17 points in the fourth before Washington (6-12, 3-12) was able to get into an offensive rhythm.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Zuzanna Kulinska gave Colorado a 45-28 advantage with 8:44 remaining in the game, but from there, the Huskies turned it on and put the onus on the Buffs to hold on for dear life.
 
"They showed they aren't quitters," Coach Jody Wynn said of her team's effort. "Credit Colorado, but our kids are not quitters and are fighters, and that's a testament to their incredible character as women."
 
The Huskies were spurred by a sudden resurgent defensive effort and a couple of long bombs by Haley Van Dyke to start a 17-2 run. Freshman Tameiya Sadler capped the run with a three-pointer as the shot clock wound down that cut the Buffaloes lead to two, 47-45, with 2:14 remaining. It was as close as the Huskies would get.
 
From there, Colorado intensified its defense and did just enough offensively to seal the game. Mya Hollingshed missed a pair of free throws during the Huskies' extended run, but she came up clutch down the stretch, going 6 of 6 in the final two minutes to finish the night with 12 points.
 
Colorado freshman Frida Formann iced the game, hitting a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left, part of her team-high 17-point effort.
 
"It was unfortunate that we got into a hole," Wynn said. "(But) they showed their intensity and turned (Colorado) over and got us points in transition and gave us more opportunities, especially since we couldn't get ourselves to the free throw line. It was just a tough night in the half-court offense."
 
In a physical game, the Huskies only shot six free throws all night – none by their five starters. In what ended up a five-point difference in the final score, Colorado was 11 of 13 from the free throw line while the Huskies were 5 of 6.
 
Van Dyke finished with 16 points – 13 coming in the second half – and was the only Husky starter that scored.
 
Sadler came off the bench for a team-high 17 points, and Darcy Rees added 14. Callie Lind was the only other Husky to score, hitting a three-pointer in the second quarter.
 
The Huskies wrap up the regular season at Washington State on Sunday. Tip-off in the Palouse is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.