LUBBOCK, Texas – Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball saw the regular season finale likely doom its NCAA Tournament aspirations, as the Texas Tech Lady Raiders (15-16, 4-14 Big 12) snapped a nine-game losing streak to pull off an 83-79 overtime win on Saturday.
Colorado finished the season just 1-8 on the road in conference play, and with the Arizona Wildcats’ win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, CU is locked into the No. 9 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament. The Buffs controlled their destiny down the stretch, but injuries and hostile environments proved impossible to overcome.
After a 23-19 start, the second quarter was a microcosm of how the Buffs (18-11, 9-9 Big 12) have been stymied away from Boulder all season. Reckless, inefficient play throughout a 15-0 Lady Red Raider run set Colorado back for the long haul despite a fourth-quarter comeback.
CU became its own worst enemy when it matted most, committing 23 turnovers and 26 fouls, leading to 25 points off turnovers and 31 free throws for Texas Tech.
"The areas that have plagued us this year, I thought, really plagued us tonight," head coach JR Payne said. "We had our chances and did some things that we couldn't afford to do at pretty pivotal times."
Contrary to their 16-point win on Feb. 2, the Buffaloes struggled to contain TTU’s scoring arsenal.
Junior guard Bailey Maupin exploded late to lead the way with 20 points, going 9-for-11 from the free throw line, including seven arrows into the heart of CU’s overtime efforts. Kilah Freelon added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Jasmine Shavers came up clutch with 14 points and a massive 3-pointer late in the extra period.
Jade Masogayo nailed one tough shot after another for Colorado, thriving in close quarters to finish with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Fourteen of her points were scored in either the second half or overtime.
Kindyll Wetta was the second of four Buffs to score double figures, leading the charge in the first half and finishing with 12 points. Her flaws this season, however, reared their ugly head.
The senior turned the ball over six times and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders picked up the slack with Wetta on the bench, though, scoring 11 points and dishing out a career-high six assists.
Lior Garzon led a valiant fourth-quarter rally to force overtime, as the grad student scored all 16 of her points after halftime. Massive mid-range jumpers padded CU’s whopping 17-for-24 (70.8%) shooting clip in the second half.
After a Sara-Rose Smith layup with 3:22 left in regulation, Texas Tech’s once 11-point lead had changed hands. With the game in the balance, however, Garzon committed back-breaking flaws that erased the Buffs’ momentum surge.
With 12 seconds left and Colorado up by three, the forward committed a foul on a 3-point heave by TTU’s Jalynn Bristow. The sophomore drilled her trifecta of freebies to tie the game, whereafter the Buffs put the ball in Garzon’s hot hands. She was then stripped with under 10 seconds to go, nearly committing a turnover before a bad pass from Sanders and ensuing Texas Tech travel resulted in no basket for either side and overtime.
Maupin then took over the extra time, drilling a quick 3 and scoring 12 points. Masogayo managed to keep pace with a few more signature turnaround jumpers, but a gassed CU squad could not prevent offensive rebounds or make consistent stops.
With the regular season now over, a sour taste may linger in Colorado's mouth ahead of its first-round Big 12 Tournament affair, where the No. 16-seeded Houston Cougars (5-23, 1-16) lie ahead. Tip-off from T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri is set for Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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