Despite spirited effort, CU Buffs come up short in Big 12 quarterfinals

Fast break

Why the Buffs lost: A poor stretch on offense during the last seven minutes of the third quarter put the Buffs in a hole that proved too much to overcome. Struggles at the free throw line, going 7-for-15, played a role, as well.

Three stars:

1. TCU’s Hailey Van Lith: The Big 12 player of the year scored 24 points, hitting five 3-pointers, while also posting three assists, three rebounds and two steals.

2. CU’s Jade Masogayo: Started 7-for-7 from the floor and went 11-for-19 overall, scoring a career-high 22 points. She also had four rebounds.

3. CU’s Kennedy Sanders: The freshman sparked the Buffs late, finishing with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Up next: The Buffs now wait their postseason fate on Selection Sunday, March 16, to see if they’ll get into the NCAA Tournament or the WBIT.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There was a lot that had to go right for the Colorado women’s basketball team to pull off an upset of top-seeded TCU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday at T-Mobile Center.

Ultimately, there was a lot that went right for the ninth-seeded Buffaloes, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell to the No. 8-ranked Horned Frogs, 69-62.

“We were just talking about it in the hallway, like, I’m really not one for moral victories, but when you look at this game on paper – they have three first-team, all-league kids, including the player of the year – it’s pretty remarkable, our will and our fight and our competitive spirit, considering we’re still without two leading players,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “And just really, really proud of our toughness.

“Just really proud of our effort tonight.”

Big 12 player of the year Hailey Van Lith scored a game-high 24 points to lead TCU (29-3), while first-team All-Big 12 center Sedona Prince had 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Still, the unheralded Buffs (20-12), still without leading scorer Frida Formann (foot injury), pushed the Horned Frogs to the limit, responding to every punch and giving themselves a shot in the end.

Jade Masogayo had a career-high 22 points and freshman Kennedy Sanders was sensational down the stretch to lead CU. The Buffs out-shot the Horned Frogs (54.3% to 44.8%), out-rebounded them (28-24), and limited turnovers and fouls.

TCU’s stars rose to the occasion, though, to carry it through to the semifinals. TCU will face No. 4 seed and No. 16-ranked West Virginia on Saturday.

TCU took its biggest lead of the game, 55-42 on a 3-pointer by Madison Conner – another first-team All-Big honoree – with 9 minutes to play. Masogayo and Sanders fueled a 12-2 run, though, that cut the deficit to 57-54 with 4:58 to play.

“We just talked about never giving up,” Sanders said. “Obviously, we scored a lot in that fourth quarter and held them. We just talked about getting stops, trying to get buckets, playing together. But yeah, we just went out and did that.”

A redshirt freshman, Sanders played a huge role in CU’s come-from-behind win against Arizona on Thursday, scoring seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. On Friday, she scored nine of her 11 points in the last 7:14, including a pair of free throws to pull CU within 65-62 with 47.7 seconds to go.

“I just think we were all in it together,” Sanders said, deflecting praise to her team. “I mean, we had a lot of people making shots for each other, being able to get each other open on the wing, and that kind of thing. It was the same thing yesterday.”

TCU sealed the game, however, with a late bucket by Prince and a pair of cosmetic free throws from Van Lith with 1.6 seconds to go.

After slugging past last-place Houston in Wednesday’s first round, 66-58, the Buffs overcame a dismal start to outlast Arizona. Then, they put together their best game in weeks against TCU.

Masogayo got it started, scoring eight points to stake the Buffs to an early 17-9 lead. She started the game 7-for-7 from the floor and finished 11-for-19. CU led for most of the first 18 minutes before going into halftime down 36-32.

“I think we were all really in sync to begin with,” Masogayo said. “We just had really good energy coming into the game. We were ready, we were psyched. We knew this would be a big game for us, so just ready to take them on.”

CU got within 39-38 with 7:13 to go in the third quarter, but was outscored 13-2 the rest of the quarter as TCU got some breathing room. The Buffs didn’t make it easy on the favored Horned Frogs in the fourth, though, going down with the fight that has been a trademark during Payne’s nine-year tenure.

“Anyone that’s ever seen our Colorado team play knows that we’re a team that never quits and never wilts, and we rise to most challenges with a lot of confidence and cohesiveness,” Payne said. “I thought we showed that today.

“Proud of our effort. Disappointed with the loss, of course, but definitely lots to continue to build on as the season goes forward.”

No. 8 TCU 69, Colorado 62

COLORADO (20-12)

Garzon 3-7 1-2 7, Masogayo 11-19 0-3 22, Wetta 3-6 0-0 9, Betson 1-3 0-2 2, Teder 1-1 3-4 6, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Sanders 4-4 2-2 11, Nworie 0-0 1-2 1, Powell 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Oliver 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-46 7-15 62.

TCU (29-3)

Roberson 1-5 1-2 4, Prince 8-18 2-2 18, Conner 3-6 0-0 9, Hunter 6-7 0-0 13, Van Lith 8-15 3-3 24, Bigby 0-6 0-0 0, Merrill 0-1 0-0 0, Jovanvic 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 26-58 7-9 67.

Colorado                     17        15        8          22        –           62

TCU                            13        23        16        17        –           69

3-point goals – Colorado 5-9 (Wetta 3-4, Teder 1-1, Sanders 1-1, Garzon 0-1, Betson 0-1, Smith 0-1), TCU 10-23 (Van Lith 5-11, Conner 3-3, Roberson 1-3, Hunter 1-2, Bigby 0-4). Rebounds – Colorado 28 (Betson 7), TCU 24 (Prince 6). Assists – Colorado 13 (Garzon 4), TCU 16 (Prince 5). Steals – Colorado 4 (Betson 3), TCU 6 (Van Lith 2). Turnovers – Colorado 17, TCU 11. Total fouls – Colorado 13, TCU 16. Fouled out – Prince. Attendance – 4,886.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.