Oklahoma City – Getting 32 points from junior forward Jackie McFarland, eighth-seeded Colorado overcame 25 turnovers and defeated No. 9 seeded Texas Tech 71-67 today in a first-round game of the Big 12 Tournament.
The Buffaloes (13-16) won their first league tournament game since 2003. CU advanced to play top-seeded Texas A&M (23-5, 13-3 Big 12) Wednesday at 11 a.m. in a quarterfinal game.
In their only regular-season meeting, Colorado committed just 11 turnovers in a 70-67 victory over the Lady Raiders on Feb. 3 in Boulder. But the Buffs had to battle through a case of tournament jitters this time.
Freshman guard Whitney Houston scored the go-ahead points with 37 seconds remaining on a layup that made it 69-67.
McFarland tried to carry the Buffs. Despite not touching the ball during the first five minutes, McFarland scored 15 of CU’s 28 first-half points.
Senior forward Jasmina Ilic buried a 3-pointer with 14:55 remaining to give CU its biggest lead, at 39-33. But Texas Tech senior guard Alesha Robertson answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner and the game was hotly contested until the end.
Ilic finished with 19 points.
Texas Tech, in its first season under coach Kristy Curry, was led by Robertson’s 18 points.
Colorado had to feel fortunate going into halftime even at 28-28. The Buffs came out tight and couldn’t hold on to the ball. CU committed five turnovers on its first six possessions and already had 12 giveaways in the first 11 1/2 minutes and finished the first half with 15 turnovers.
But Texas Tech had problems of its own. The Lady Raiders shot just 35.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes, including one-for-eight from 3-point range.
CU was seeking its first victory in the Big 12 Tournament since 2003.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
