BOULDER, Colo.—Kathy McConnell-Miller appreciated a win for No. 23 Colorado. But she wasn’t able to overlook concerns as the Buffaloes continued their best start since the 2003-04 season.
“There were a lot of times I thought we were dominating and I looked up and we were only up 13,” said the Colorado coach. “We just could not pull away from them.”
Jackie McFarland had 19 points and eight rebounds to help No. 23 Colorado win its 10th straight, 65-53 over struggling Pepperdine on Friday night.
The Buffaloes offset an 11-0 run by Pepperdine with runs of 19-4 and 17-7 of their own in the first half to provide some breathing room.
“Overall it was a game where we had great performances, great individual performances and great shooting performances and shooting percentages,” McConnell-Miller said.
Bianca Smith added 18 points and Brittany Spears had 16 for Colorado (11-2) which is off to its best start since beginning the 2003-04 season 12-1. The Buffaloes begin their Big 12 season on Wednesday against Missouri.
Daphanie Kennedy led Pepperdine (5-8) with 15 points. The Waves have lost six in a row, all on the road. The Waves open West Coast Conference play Jan. 10 at Gonzaga.
Trailing by 15 at the break, Kennedy hit a short jumper to get Pepperdine within 38-33 with 18:08 to play and then McFarland took over for Colorado.
McFarland muscled in four layups and Smith added a 3-pointer in a three-minute span for a 49-32 lead. Two free throws by Kennedy with 1:50 left got Pepperdine to within 61-53 with 1:50 left, before Smith’s basket and two free throws put the game away for Colorado.
“Whenever they went on one of their runs it was a matter of our miscommunication on defense,” McFarland said. McFarland played in her 100th game at Colorado.
Pepperdine led only once when Kennedy buried a 3-pointer 39 seconds into the game. The Waves then promptly missed their next 14 shots.
“We couldn’t get anything going at the start and then couldn’t sustain anything the rest of the game,” Pepperdine coach Julie Rousseau said. “Maybe it was the fatigue of playing six consecutive games on the road and having to play three Top 25 teams on the last part of the trip.”
While the Waves struggled, Colorado went on a 19-1 run. McFarland scored seven of the points to put the Buffaloes ahead 19-4.
Miranda Ayim’s basket with 7:53 remaining capped an 11-0 run, but Smith came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers in the last seven minutes as Colorado pulled away to a 36-22 halftime lead.
“It’s great to have that recognition,” McConnell-Miller said of the team’s ranking. “It’s not something that the players fear, it’s not something that they are afraid to lose or worry about getting higher.”
