Buffs Persevere Without Jeffery, Edge Cyclones

BOULDER - Sometimes the most satisfying wins are the most improbable. So how's this for an improbable scenario: Colorado's women's basketball team, coming off a lackluster loss and suddenly minus its second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, takes No. 17/16 Iowa State to overtime and . . . wins?

Improbable never means impossible, and the Buffaloes boldly underscored that Saturday afternoon at the Coors Events Center, surprising the Cyclones, 66-60. CU improved to 10-6, 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference; ISU is 13-4, 1-2.

It was first-year CU Coach Linda Lappe's first league win and her first victory over a ranked opponent. It came against a school from Lappe's home state (she's from Morningstar, Iowa) and one she competed against when she played for former CU Coach Ceal Barry.

But as pleased as she was personally, Lappe was ecstatic for her players, who pulled together in the absence of sophomore Chucky Jeffery. She suffered a concussion in Wednesday night's disconcerting loss against Kansas and her status for Tuesday night's game at Oklahoma State is unknown.

"More than great for me, it's great for our players . . . I'm so glad our players were able to experience something like they did today," Lappe said. "That was fun. I'm so proud of our players and how they responded. Being down Chucky, it could have gone a lot of different ways . . ."

But in Jeffery's absence, several Buffs stepped forward - freshman point guard Brittany Wilson foremost among them. Wilson, who plays Jeffery's position, responded with a career-best 19 points, while senior Brittany Spears collected her 28th career double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds). Her defense on ISU's Anna Prins, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Broomfield, also was critical. Prins, who had averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in a pair of Big 12 games, finished Saturday with four points and three boards.

"She did a great job," Lappe said of Spears' defense. "I challenged her to be a leader and she stepped up in every way."

Then there was late-arriving senior Chelsea Dale, who became eligible for the second semester. Dale added 11 points, including a pair of free throws in overtime that gave the Buffs a 64-60 lead with 42 seconds left.

And CU sophomore Meagan Malcolm-Peck, battling through an ankle ailment that cut her minutes almost in half (27.8 average, 14 on Saturday) added the last of her 10 points on a pair of free throws with 29.2 seconds to play in OT, giving the Buffs a six-point lead and sealing the win.

Dale's pair of late free throws came after Spears was fouled but couldn't shoot because of bloody nose. As Spears went to the bench, Dale said Spears told her, "'This is what you do, you make free throws' . . . so I just went up there and knocked them down. I knew Brit was going to knock them down if she would have been able to stay in. So I said to myself, 'All right, I've got to make them for her.'"

Brittany Wilson said she and Jeffery spoke before the game. "I knew I had to step up," said Wilson, who also recorded career highs in rebounds and field goals made (eight each). "Especially with Chucky out, people thought we couldn't do it."

Lappe said even with her team losing a 12-point advantage in the second half and the game heading into overtime, she looked into her players' eyes in the huddle and liked what she saw.

"They knew they could win," she said. "They knew if we stuck together, we only had five more minutes. We were lucky on that last shot (in regulation) . . . it was almost like, 'You can't give it up now.' And I think they felt that sense of urgency."

The Buffs played with that sense for most of the night, and it showed up in advantages in points in the paint (20-14) and second-chance points (14-5).  And, despite such a thin roster, ISU's bench outscored CU's only by three points (20-17). 

Despite Jeffery's absence, CU got off to a fast start and led 5-2 on a Brittany Wilson jumper and a three-pointer by Dale. The first half saw four lead changes and three ties before the Buffs pulled away for a 29-22 halftime lead.

Aiding CU in the first 20 minutes were a pair of early fouls called on Prins, who missed her only first-half field goal attempt and collected just one rebound in 9 minutes.

The Buffs opened the second half as inspired as they closed the first. With Brittany Wilson scoring 11 of their first 13 points, the Buffs rolled to a 12-point advantage (41-29) before the Cyclones finally began stirring.

A 10-0 run keyed by a pair of three-pointers (Kelsey Harris, Kelsey Bolte) brought ISU to within 43-41 with 12:14 to play. But CU quashed that comeback with a pair of baskets by Malcolm-Peck, the first a layup on a feed from Dale as the shot clock wound down and the second a three-pointer from the left corner.

The Buffs shot back in front 48-41 with 9:11 remaining, but they could be assured the Cyclones weren't done. A basket by Bolte, the Cyclones' leading scorer (16.3 average) and a formidable three-point shooter, pulled ISU to 52-48. But Dale scored off an in-bounds play to push CU back in front by 54-48 with 4:22 left.

From there, it was up to the Buffs to make a final stand. A three-point play by Chelsea Poppens pulled the Cyclones to 54-51, but Spears answered with a trey from the right wing to give CU a 57-51 lead at the 2:23 mark.

After Harris buried a three-pointer to make it 57-54, Dale was off on a three attempt at the other end. ISU rushed the ball up court, then called a timeout with 27.9 seconds to play.

When the ball was in-bounded, it ended up in - where else? - Bolte's hands. Her trey attempt from the top of the key bounced on both sides of the rim, then the front, then fell through.

"I thought it was going out at one point. I thought it was going left, but then it just drops right in," an exasperated Lappe said. "She's a fantastic player, a great shooter."

It was 57-57 with 10 seconds to play. With 5.3 seconds left, CU called a time out to set up a play. The ball went to Brittany Wilson, but she was called for a charge. Less than 2 seconds remained for the Cyclones to attempt a court-length pass and shot. It missed and the game was headed for overtime.

Fortunately for the Buffs, it was a good place to be - but not the Cyclones. They got one early field goal in overtime (it was by Prins, who immediately thereafter fouled out) and missed five of six free throws.

"We were awful," veteran ISU Coach Bill Fennelly said. "There is no way around it when you have only one person scoring (Bolte, with 26 - 20 in the second half)."

But, Fennelly added, "You always have to give the other team credit . . . they made some big plays; that's to their credit, and we certainly didn't."

It began as an improbable afternoon for the Buffs, but they finished it by celebrating.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU