Boulder – What began as a dark day for the Colorado women’s team brightened considerably under the lights of the Coors Events Center on Tuesday night.
Hours after sophomore center Kara Richards was redshirted with a broken foot, the Buffs won their first Big 12 game of the season, defeating Kansas 74-65.
Richards, who suffered a broken foot a few days before the regular-season opener, won’t be playing under the basket for the Buffs this season.
And neither will sophomore forward Jackie McFarland.
CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller moved 6-foot-4 forward Anna Nedovic to center Tuesday, making McFarland the happiest player on the floor – and the most productive once again, as she scored 18 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and had four assists.
“It feels great to have a victory over a quality opponent,” McConnell-Miller said after the Buffs (6-9, 1-2) handed their coach her first conference win and the Jayhawks their second straight loss. “You look at the schedule and how tough the Big 12 is and you just have to win on your home floor.”
The Buffs shot a season-high 50.9 percent, outrebounded the Jayhawks 38-29 and had a season-low 10 turnovers, but the coach said: “I think the strongest part of our game tonight was our defensive effort.”
The Jayhawks (12-2, 1-2) knocked down 11 3s and made a late run. Kansas shot just two free throws and failed to convert either, a first in CU history.
The Buffs, on the other hand, shot 28 free throws but made just 16. They were up 66-51 with 4:05 left, but missed 6-of-11 to help the Jayhawks close to within six at 1:22. CU put Kansas away when guard Yari Escalera made three of the last four.
McConnell-Miller said the Buffs decided to redshirt Richards when it became clear she wouldn’t be able to get back to 100 percent during the course of the season. Richards said she agreed with the decision and that there is no question about playing a fifth season.
“I don’t think any of us knew about it during the game,” McFarland said. “We all heard about it after.”
With Richards no longer in the picture, the Buffs have gone to more of a spread offense, opening things up for McFarland and small forward Jasmina Ilic.
“It’s a nice change to face the basket and be able to move around and pass more,” McFarland said.
KANSAS (12-2, 1-2 Big 12)
McIntosh 1-3 0-0 2, Kemp 6-8 0-1 12, Catic 3-8 0-0 7, Brown 7-15 0-0 19, Hallman 6-13 0-0 17, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Sallard 0-1 0-0 0, Zinic 1-5 0-1 2, Mosley 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 27-60 0-2 65.
COLORADO (6-9, 1-2)
Ilic 6-13 4-6 18, McFarland 7-10 4-4 18, Nedovic 3-5 0-0 6, Skildum 2-9 1-2 5, Law 4-5 2-8 11, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Escalera 1-5 5-8 7, Dow 4-6 0-0 9. Totals 27-53 16-28 74.
Halftime – Colorado 33-28. 3-point goals – Kansas 11-23 (Hallman 5-8, Brown 5-11, Catic 1-3, Kemp 0-1), Colorado 4-10 (Ilic 2-5, Law 1-1, Dow 1-1, Escalera 0-3). Fouled out – Mosley. Rebounds – Kansas 29 (Zinic 6), Colorado 38 (McFarland 15). Assists – Kansas 16 (Catic 8), Colorado 13 (McFarland 4). Total fouls – Kansas 25, Colorado 10. A – 1,233.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
