BOULDER — It’s tough enough to dig out of any hole, but the Colorado women’s basketball team found itself buried in a whopper Saturday.
The Buffaloes trailed Iowa State by 18 points in the first half and never fully recovered in a 53-47 loss to the 21st-ranked Cyclones before 2,753 fans in the Coors Events Center.
Getting a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore guard Brittany Spears, Colorado (10-11, 2-7 Big 12) pulled as close as five points, 36-31, in the second half. But the Buffs could not hit the big shot or grab the key rebound down the stretch. CU also had two turnovers and a missed layup in the final three minutes.
Had senior center Kara Richards made the point-blank layup after a pretty feed from Spears, the Buffs would have trailed by just four points with 2:42 left.
“It takes a great deal to overcome that kind of deficit,” CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said of Iowa State’s early 31-13 advantage. “We talk about the runs teams make on us, and we consistently have to recover from them.”
Always a difficult matchup for Colorado because of its size and 3-point shooters, Iowa State defeated CU for the 10th time in the past 11 meetings.
Iowa State (18-4, 6-2) got 18 points from 6-foot-4 senior center Nicky Wieben. The Cyclones have won five straight after losing two of their first three league games.
“Offensively, we weren’t real pretty,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “It’s 31-13 and we are playing really solid at both ends. . . . (But) Colorado kept competing.”
Colorado couldn’t have played worse during the first 15 minutes if the Buffaloes had worn ski boots.
“We didn’t come out with a lot of energy,” CU senior forward Hannah Skildum said.
Hitting three 3-pointers during a span of 2 1/2 minutes, Iowa State jumped out to a 23-8 lead with a 17-2 run. CU finally pulled things together and finished the first half with a 9-0 spurt to cut the 18-point deficit in half.
IOWA ST. (18-4, 6-2 BIG 12)
Wieben 8-16 0-0 18, Nisleit 3-4 0-0 7, Stuckey 0-1 0-3 0, Bolte 2-6 0-0 5, Ezell 3-8 2-6 11, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Lacey 3-9 2-4 8, Arlen 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 21-49 4-13 53.
COLORADO (10-11, 2-7)
Spears 7-12 0-1 14, Richards 3-9 2-5 8, Fressle 4-8 0-0 10, Smith 1-5 0-0 2, Blythe 1-2 0-0 3, Skildum 2-5 0-0 6, Mullaney 2-5 0-0 4, Dunn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 2-6 47.
Halftime — Iowa St. 31-22. 3-point goals — Iowa St. 7-17 (Ezell 3-7, Wieben 2-2, Nisleit 1-1, Bolte 1-3, Williams 0-1, Stuckey 0-1, Lacey 0-2), Colorado 5-15 (Fressle 2-4, Skildum 2-4, Blythe 1-1, Spears 0-2, Smith 0-4). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Iowa St. 33 (Bolte, Lacey 5), Colorado 29 (Spears 12). Assists — Iowa St. 16 (Nis- leit 5), Colorado 7 (Spears 5). Total fouls — Iowa St. 10, Colorado 17. A — 2,753.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
