Boulder – There were 48 fouls, about a dozen knockdowns and at least one bloody nose.
It is probably safe to say the fight has not gone out of the struggling Colorado women’s basketball team.
In a game that gave new meaning to “hard fought,” the Buffaloes got their licks in against a young and rambunctious Texas A&M team Tuesday night, but couldn’t quite match up in a 55-46 loss, their fourth in a row in the Big 12 Conference.
Down 26-18 at halftime, the Buffs (6-13, 1-6 Big 12) got tough behind point guards Whitney Law and Yari Escalera in the second half to take a 40-39 lead on Escalera’s 3-pointer from the right corner with seven minutes to go. But freshman center La Toya Micheaux and sophomore point guard A’Quonesia Franklin took the Aggies on a 7-0 run that carried them to the victory.
“At halftime we just talked about handling the pressure,” CU coach Kathy McConnell- Miller said of an A&M defense that leads the league in forced turnovers (25 a game) and points allowed (55.4). “All we addressed was being tough with the ball. And when we got tough with the ball, we made things happen. With the amount of pressure they put on you, I thought it was important to have two point guards on the floor.”
With those two handling the ball, the Buffs drew 27 fouls on the Aggies (16-4, 5-2) and got back in the game at the free- throw line before Escalera drilled her second 3-pointer of the contest from deep in the corner. She finished with 15 points to lead all scorers.
Just inside the five-minute mark, Micheaux scored on a driving layup, drew a foul and converted the free throw to put the Aggies back in command.
“This little kid saved us,” Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said. “Colorado had a great defensive game plan. They squeezed our penetration lanes. I knew we’d have trouble scoring.”
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
