Colorado Wins in OT, Reaches WNIT Final Four

By Daniel McHugh SPM CO Writer
Posted Sunday, March 30, 2008

BOULDER, Colo.: With 12:38 to go in the first half Colorado found themselves trailing the visiting Horned Frogs from Texas Christian University 20-4. In other words they had them right where they wanted them. For the second consecutive WNIT game the Buffs (19-14) fell behind by double digits only to battle all the way back to advance in the tournament. The 96-90 overtime victory means the Buffaloes are in the final four. Not THE final four but the final four of the WNIT nonetheless.

"I didn’t think we could top Thursday night’s game," CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said afterward, speaking of her team’s come from behind victory against Villanova. But they did. They rallied from a bigger deficit and they had more statistics jump off the page.

Colorado trailed by as many as 16 and were down double digits for most of the first half. The Buffs had no answer for the slashing style of TCU leading scorer Adrienne Ross. Her fluid, lightening-quick footwork allowed her to get to the rim, get free for jump shots and track down loose balls on both ends of the floor. Ross would finish the game with 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. As TCU (23-12) built, then maintained, their lead in the first half and the start of the second, Ross had plenty of help. Overall five Horned Frogs finished in double figures. Senior Lorie Rayford-Butler just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Moneka Knight (14), Helen Roden (13) and Jenna Lohse (10) were the other TCU players that reached double digits.

Colorado doesn’t want to make it a habit to come out and get down early but at least they have set a precedent for digging themselves out of a hole. "It didn’t look good at that point." Senior Jackie McFarland said of the 20-4 deficit. "But coming off the Villanova game it gave us confidence." Much like that Villanova game McFarland led the Buffs and at times carried them on her back. This time, however, her teammates didn’t wait until late in the game to give her some help.

CU nearly matched the number of TCU players in double figures with four of their own while sophomore Bianca Smith finished with nine. Not surprisingly McFarland led the Buffs in scoring with 30 points while pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. "I can’t stop smiling," McFarland said. "Watching the team around me and how much they’ve grown."

The player McFarland was smiling at the most was sophomore forward Aija Putnina. On a single shot, the native of Latvia secured her career high point total and gave Colorado its first lead in the game. With 4:22 to go and CU trailing 68-66, Putnina stepped back and made her fourth 3-pointer of the game. The one point lead didn’t last long however and it was up to another of the Buffs in double figures to get Colorado in position to send the game to overtime.

Whitney Houston, who finished with 13 points, grabbed a tipped pass near half court and didn’t realize the shot clock wasn’t going to be reset. She had no choice but to take one dribble and hoist up a shot from well beyond the NBA 3-point line. As the buzzer sounded the ball banked in and gave Colorado a 74-72 lead. TCU didn’t go away and Houston found herself in another pressure packed situation. With the score tied at 74 and time running out Houston took the inbound pass, milked some clock and drove left. With 4.8 seconds remaining she made a runner in the lane seemingly closing out the Horned Frogs.

The purple clad team from Fort Worth, Tex. had other ideas as they got the ball up court fired a 3-pointer that missed badly but the rebound went right into the waiting arms of Helen Roden. Roden quickly got the ball back up to the rim and the shot went is as the final buzzer sounded. The referees gathered at mid court for a few minutes before determining that the shot made it out of Roden’s hands before time expired.

Colorado came out with a vengeance in overtime scoring 20 points in the five minute period. "It was a proud moment," McConnell-Miller said. "They came out in the overtime with a sense of urgency." Freshman Brittany Spears started the scoring with a 3-pointer and the Buffs never looked back from there. Spears finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Even with Jackie McFarland scoring 30 points for the second straight game the story on Sunday was Putnina. She scored a career high 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. "It was an amazing game," Putnina said. "I was excited to play them. TCU recruited me and I really wanted to beat them.

The win means Colorado advances to the semifinals of the WNIT where they will play host to the Marquette Golden Eagles. The game will be at the Coors Events Center Wednesday night at 7pm.