The University of Colorado women’s basketball teams’ hoped that their trip to southern California would be sunny and carefree. But, a late rally wasn’t enough for Linda Lappe and her Buffs, who lost to the UCLA Bruins by a score of 72-65. With 3:12 left to go in the game, the Buffs retook the lead off the heels of a 20-6 run, but it was the turnover margin that ended up playing the spoiler.
CU’s 28 turnovers caused the Buffs to constantly battle throughout the game, including the four that doomed them in the last two minutes of the second half. 18 came in the opening half, which allowed UCLA jump out to a 34-22 lead, which ballooned to as much as 17 points. This loss put the Buffs two losses under .500 on the season, 10-12 overall, and 3-8 in conference play.
The Bruins swept the season series against CU for the 2014-2015 season, after defeating Lappe and her crew 90-84 in Boulder on January 11th. Their all-time record against UCLA dropped to 5-5.
Sophomore center Jamee Swan had a productive night, ending with 17 points, while senior guard Lexy Kresl added 13 of her own, and six assists. Swan grabbed nine rebounds and also had four blocks on the night. Nirra Fields led the Bruins with 24, and Monique Billings poured in another 14.
A quick three point barrage from guard Lauren Huggins brought the Buffs back in the game cutting a 16 point UCLA lead to 8. Most of the offensive legwork during the 20-6 second half run was done by Swan and Jasmine Sborov, and the lead was overtaken, with the Buffs leading 61-60. But as Lexy Kresl hit two free throws to give CU a 63-62 lead late in the second half, four turnovers out of five possessions assured that the Bruins ended the game on a 10-2 run.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Andrew Haubner at andrew.haubner@colorado.edu.
