The only drama in the Huskies loss to the Buffaloes, 56 – 64, came late in the game.
The Washington Huskies had an auspicious start with a steal and a layup by Lauren Schwartz to lead 2-0.
Then the Colorado Buffaloes caught and passed the Dawgs to lead 5-2, and they never looked back for the remaining 38 minutes and 40 secs of the 40 minute game.
Three-Point Problems
As usual, the three-point line was the Achilles heel for the Huskies, on offense and defense.
The Huskies attempted 24 three-pointers and only made seven for a 29.2 % three-point shooting average.
Meanwhile UW’s three-point defense continued its season-long struggle.
The Huskies allowed the Buffaloes to shoot 42.9% from three-point range (6 for 14).
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers
The Huskies committed 22 turnovers which negated the 15 turnovers committed by Colorado.
As a result, the Buffaloes scored 14 points from UW turnovers versus UW’s 11 points off of Colorado’s turnovers.
in a game that was statistically close in multiple categories, turnovers alone were enough to seal the victory for Colorado.
Game Summary
In the first half, Colorado shot 53.6% overall and 60% from three-point, while the Huskies shot 36% overall and 25% from three-point range.
At halftime, Colorado led the Dawgs by 15 points, 38 – 23.
To start the second half, UW scored the first seven points of the third period to cut Colorado’s lead to eight points.
The Buffaloes responded with a 12-3 run to increase their lead to 49-33 over the Huskies.
At the end of the third quarter, Colorado led by 14 points over UW, 53-39.
To start the fourth period, Colorado started 0-for-5 from the field, and Washington closed to within seven, 53-46, with 5:31 to play in the game.
Over the final, 4 minutes and 32 seconds, Colorado outscored Washington, 10-7.
Washington turned the ball over twice in the final two minutes of the game.
Ex-Husky Senior Quay Miller led Colorado with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Overall, Colorado’s shooting percentage dropped to 37.5% in the second half.
However, the Huskies continued to misfire offensively as they shot only 48% from two-point range, which negatively offset their much improved 33% shooting from three-point range.
UW Huskies Player of the Game
Huskies sophomore Jayda Noble led the Huskies with nine (9) points in the second half, along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 17 minutes of the half.
Noble sparked the Huskies offensively in the second half with three made three-pointers — she shot 75% from three-point range (3 for 4) in the half.
The Washington Huskies resume PAC-12 conference play on January 1, 2023, when they host the Utah Utes at 12pm.