Women’s basketball: End of the line, as CU Buffs fall to Gonzaga in WBIT

Fast break

Why the Buffs lost: Shots that normally fall didn’t, turnovers hit at bad times and the Buffs couldn’t get enough stops in the second half to make a run.

Three stars:

1. Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim: The All-American finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

2. Gonzaga’s Allie Turner: Star freshman had 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and hit some dagger 3-pointers.

3. CU’s Lior Garzon: Scored a team-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and dished out two assists.

Up next: CU heads to the offseason, which is sure to include several roster changes.

From the start of the season to the end, there were plenty of positives and plenty of challenges for the Colorado women’s basketball team.

In a way, Sunday’s matchup against Gonzaga epitomized the entire campaign.

There was good effort and a strong start from the No. 1-seeded Buffaloes, but too many mistakes and not enough in the tank at the end, as they fell to fourth-seeded Gonzaga, 64-55, in the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament at the CU Events Center.

“For today, tremendous effort; two really good teams,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “Anyone that’s playing right now is really good and really experienced and all of that. So I thought both teams played really hard and I was proud of our effort.

“I don’t think anyone in (Gonzaga’s) 35 games they’ve played, no one’s tied them on the glass, so great execution there. But really, the game is kind of irrelevant at this point.”

Irrelevant in that CU (21-13) now turns its focus to the offseason after what was a difficult, yet successful, season. A roster overhaul brought in 10 new players and the injury bug bit the Buffs all season, as their main rotation missed 45 games due to injury – almost as many as the previous five years combined (46).

“It’s a very unconventional year and very different than the past three years that I’ve had here,” senior guard Kindyll Wetta said. “But with that also comes change and excitement, and there were some really good things that came out of this year too, but yes, definitely brought on different challenges.”

Still, the Buffs got to 21 wins and played in the postseason for a fifth consecutive season, and there were emotions that came with Sunday’s finish.

Wetta was one of five seniors who played in their last collegiate game. Nyamer Diew, Lior Garzon, Sara-Rose Smith and Johanna Teder also played in their final game. Another senior, all-time 3-point leader Frida Formann, saw her career officially come to a close, as well, although she hasn’t played since Jan. 29 because of a foot injury.

“You sort of feel like you’re ending your career sort of prematurely,” said Smith, who battled through a foot injury over the last month, but gave the Buffs a strong six minutes Sunday, with five points, a steal and a block. “It’s emotional, and it’s something that you know is coming down the pipeline your whole career. But I’m just grateful for the relationships that I’ve had and the experiences that I’ve had. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Wetta, who went to Valor Christian High School and played her entire collegiate career in front of family, posted four points and four assists in her finale.

“It’s sad, but I think I started to process this on senior night, and so I’ve known that it’s going to be coming to an end here soon,” she said. “I’m going to miss my teammates more than anything. It’s a great atmosphere, great people. Love them to death, but I know that those will be lifelong relationships that I will always have.”

As usual on Sunday, CU’s effort wasn’t a problem. Under Payne, the Buffs are almost surely going to give strong effort. Execution was an issue at times, though.

CU led 10-2 early after a pair of Garzon 3-pointers and held a 14-9 lead midway through the first quarter. At that point, the Buffs were 6-of-10 from the floor with no turnovers. During the last 35 minutes, though, they were 12-of-36 (33.3%) with 16 turnovers.

Gonzaga grabbed the lead for good on an Allie Turner 3-pointer with 5:06 to play in the third quarter. That sparked a 13-2 run and CU never recovered.

“I thought we got some good looks that didn’t fall like maybe they normally do,” Payne said. “I also think (the Bulldogs) are really, really long, and contest shots very well on the perimeter, and inside things were pretty contested.”

As Gonzaga (24-10) moves on to the quarterfinals to face Minnesota, the Buffs now head to the offseason, reflecting on a season that, despite challenges, produced a fourth consecutive 20-win record.

“I told the team I was really proud of the way everyone persevered throughout the season,” Payne said. “There were so many challenges and different things, and it wasn’t just one or two people that stepped up when they were needed.

“It was every single person, every staff member, every one that touched our program did more than they needed to at different times, and really proud of our players for sort of having that resilience throughout the season.”

Notable

Sunday’s second round was tough for No. 1 seeds in the WBIT, as Virginia Tech lost 69-59 at home to Texas Tech and St. Joseph’s lost at home to Villanova, 62-60. The other No. 1 seed, James Madison, needed a rally to beat Marquette, 80-76 in overtime. … Wetta topped the 700-point mark for her career (703) and finished with 480 career assists, ranking seventh in program history. … This was CU’s eighth all-time trip to the WNIT or WBIT and just the second time it failed to win at least two games. The only other time was the first trip to the WNIT in 1999. … CU fell to 24-8 all-time in postseason home games. … Sunday’s attendance (1,860) was third-largest in 16 home games in the Buffs’ WBIT/WNIT history.

Gonzaga 64, Colorado 55

GONZAGA (24-10)

O’Connor 2-9 0-0 5, Huijbens 4-9 0-0 9, Dalton 2-5 2-2 7, Turner 6-8 0-0 15, Ejim 7-14 1-2 15, Little 1-2 0-0 2, Bettencourt 1-5 0-0 3, Osarobo 0-0 0-0 0, Dalan 0-0 0-0 0, Salenbien 2-5 2-2 8. Totals 25-57 5-6 64.

COLORADO (21-13)

Garzon 4-11 4-4 15, Masogayo 4-6 3-6 11, Wetta 1-5 1-2 4, Betson 1-5 2-2 4, Teder 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Sanders 2-6 0-0 4, Smith 1-1 2-2 5, Diew 2-8 2-3 6, Oliver 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-46 14-19 55.

Gonzaga                      15        11        25        13        –           64

Colorado                     16        9          17        13        –           55

3-point goals – Gonzaga 9-21 (Turner 3-4, Salenbien 2-3, O’Connor 1-7, Huijbens 1-3, Bettencourt 1-2, Dalton 1-1, Ejim 0-1), Colorado 5-18 (Garzon 3-9, Wetta 1-2, Smith 1-1, Betson 0-4, Sanders 0-1, Diew 0-1). Rebounds – Gonzaga 31 (Ejim 10), Colorado 31 (Betson 6). Assists – Gonzaga 18 (Turner, Bettencourt 5), Colorado 14 (Wetta 4). Steals – Gonzaga 11 (Salenbien 3), Colorado 7 (Diew 2). Turnovers – Gonzaga 12, Colorado 16. Total fouls – Gonzaga 16, Colorado 11. Fouled out – None. Attendance – 1,860.