Dallas – The Colorado women did not bow out gracefully at the Big 12 Tournament.
It was more like the Buffaloes left kicking and screaming Tuesday night after a frustrating 67-59 loss to Nebraska that capped a season of frustration, a season that started with a new coach and ended with too few players.
“They didn’t want to go home,” Nebraska guard Kiera Hardy said of the Buffs.
With only eight players in uniform, the Buffs were badly outmanned against a team CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller called “easily the deepest team in the Big 12.”
But forwards Jasmina Ilic and Jackie McFarland gave it all they had. With McFarland covered by two defenders all night, it was up to Ilic to provide most of the offense. In one of her best performances of the season, Ilic responded with 24 points and five assists. Three Buffs fouled out.
“I don’t think the record shows how far they’ve come,” McConnell-Miller said. “Jackie and Jasmina did everything they could to carry this team. We just don’t have the depth to play with that much foul trouble.”
Ilic, a junior, and McFarland, a sophomore, were already looking forward to next season.
“I think you saw all the things we can do better next year,” Ilic said.
With Hardy in early foul trouble, the Buffs set the pace. Point guard Yari Escalera sank a 3-pointer with 9:52 left in the first half to give CU a 19-12 lead.
But that’s when the Huskers began to dominate inside, outscoring the Buffs 10-0 on second-chance points to take a 31-28 halftime lead on a putback by Jessica Gerhart just before the buzzer. A second-chance 3-pointer by LaToya Howell, an Air Force transfer, gave the Huskers a 34-28 lead to start the second half. Six minutes later, Nebraska was up by 11.
The Buffs battled back to take a 54-53 lead with 4:48 remaining, but the Huskers answered.
In three other first-round games, Iowa State defeated Texas 72-68 to advance to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Oklahoma; Texas Tech beat Oklahoma State 61-42 to advance opposite fourth-seeded Missouri; and Kansas State rolled past Kansas 72-52 to advance against the second seed, defending national champion Baylor.
COLORADO (9-21)
Nedovic 2-4 0-2 4, Ilic 10-21 0-0 24, Law 2-14 2-2 6, Escalera 2-3 0-0 5, McFarland 4-9 3-5 11, Skildum 0-0 0-0 0, Lubin 0-0 0-0 0, Dow 2-6 5-6 9. Totals 22-57 10-15 59.
NEBRASKA (17-11)
Howell 2-6 4-5 9, Hardy 4-15 3-4 13, Griffin 2-3 5-8 9, Gerhart 4-9 2-4 10, Aubry 2-8 1-2 6, Ford 0-0 0-0 3, Hieb 0-0 0-0 0, LaFleur 3-7 1-2 8, White 0-0 0-0 0, Diaz 2-6 0-2 4, Page 3-5 2-2 8. Totals 22-59 18-29 67.
Halftime – Nebraska 31-28. 3-point goals – Colorado 5-12 (Ilic 4-8, Escalera 1-2, Law 0-1, Dow 0-1), Nebraska 5-17 (Hardy 2-8, Howell 1-2, LaFleur 1-2, Aubry 1-5). Fouled out – Escalera, McFarland, Lubin. Rebounds – Colorado 43 (Dow 10), Nebraska 41 (Gerhart, Page 7). Assists – Colorado 17 (Ilic 5), Nebraska 12 (Howell 7). Total fouls – Colorado 25, Nebraska 17. A – 1,423.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
