Buffs avoid late collapse, defeat Jayhawks in overtime
- Jake Chau
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
As the fourth-quarter buzzer went off, the Buffs had failed to ice it and had overtime to deal with.
Missed free throws in the fourth quarter nearly had them collapsing late in what would have been devastating fashion, but the Colorado Buffaloes (15-7, Big 12 6-4) avoided that fate and pulled away for a 69-66 win over the Kansas Jayhawks (13-10, Big 12 3-8) on Sunday.
“We might not play perfect,” head coach JR Payne said. “But certainly, we're going to stay connected and be able to execute down the stretch because of that cohesiveness.”
According to ESPN’s analytics, both teams had over a 90% chance to win the game with under five minutes left.
Junior guard Zyanna Walker scored a career-high 24 points, leading all scorers. Senior forward Jade Masagayo added 21 points and eight rebounds, including some clutch free throws in the overtime frame.
Senior guard Desiree Wooten added 15 of her own off the bench, though on just 23% shooting.
The Buffs’ perimeter defense held Kansas to just 13% on 16 3-point attempts, compared to their season-average of 36%.
Both teams started quietly, with Colorado ahead 7-4 after the first quarter.
Walker and Masagayo combined for eight points in another slugfest of a second quarter. Neither team led by more than three points or made more than a third of their shots.
The Buffs’ defense forced 14 turnovers in the first half, but only scored seven points off those turnovers.
Even though both teams looked flat, it remained competitive as Kansas took a 21-19 lead into the locker room.
Offense opened up in the third quarter with back-to-back Walker jumpers in the middle stages that shifted momentum in favor of the Buffs as they went ahead, 31-26.
Despite being outscored 22-20 in the third, Walker and Masagayo found their rhythm, combining for 18 points in the quarter.
The Buffs didn’t help themselves by fouling often, putting Kansas at the line 14 times in the third frame, as the Jayhawks took a 43-39 lead into the final frame.
The Kansas lead swelled to as much as eight in the early parts of the fourth quarter, but a Wooten 3-pointer helped slow down the Jayhawks momentum.
Masagayo recorded her seventh point of the quarter on a jumper that helped put Colorado up four with under two minutes remaining. The Buffs held that advantage with as few as 40 seconds left, but then came unforced errors.
Despite the efforts of Walker and Masagayo, they combined for six straight misses from the charity stripe as Kansas resorted to the foul game.
The Jayhawks didn’t miss their free throws, forcing extra time, tied 54-54 after 40 minutes.
Sophomore forward Tabitha Betson drained a 3-pointer off a turnover and hit on half of her two attempts at the free throw line to give Colorado a two-possession lead with over two minutes gone from the five-minute overtime.
Masagayo and Walker hit their free throws in the waning moments to ice the game for the Buffs.
The Buffs have really come together, picking up their second-straight road win after starting 0-5 away from Boulder this season.
"We have a very connected group," Payne said. "This is probably one of the closest teams I've ever been a part of in 25 years of coaching.”
Colorado is in action next against the No. 22-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (18-5, Big 12 8-3) at the CU Events Center this Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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