BOULDER — First-year Colorado women’s basketball coach Linda Lappe didn’t think CU played particularly well Saturday in a 58-48 victory over Missouri. But she sure got her players’ attention at halftime.
Trailing 27-23 at the break, Colorado took control with a 17-5 run to open the second half.
“Coach gets a little fire in her sometimes,” CU sophomore guard Chucky Jeffery said of Lappe’s halftime speech.
Colorado (11-7, 2-3 Big 12) got a double-double from senior forward Brittany Spears with game bests of 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Buffaloes won for the first time this season after trailing at halftime.
“I just challenged our players to step it up,” Lappe said of her halftime words. “They did a great job of coming together and doing whatever it took.”
Missouri (9-10, 1-4) had closed the first half with a 16-2 run to take the lead at the break, stunning the Coors Events Center crowd of 1,573, which must have thought things would come easy when the Buffs jumped out to a 21-11 advantage.
After Lappe’s halftime words, Colorado remembered to share the ball, rather than forcing up quick shots in traffic. The Buffs, especially the 6-foot-1 Spears and freshman guard Brittany Wilson, drove the lane.
And everybody hit the boards.
Colorado’s 53 rebounds tied for the most by CU in a Big 12 game, matching the 53 grabbed by the Buffs on Feb. 8, 1997, against Texas A&M — in the Big 12’s inaugural season.
Even Wilson, generously listed at 5-8, battled along the baseline and recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Another key: the shutdown defense by CU senior guard Britney Blythe on RaeShara Brown, Missouri’s top offensive threat who managed just 5-for-16 shooting from the field with Blythe in her face.
Jeffery returned after missing two games with a concussion but did not start. Her rust showed with 1-for-8 shooting.
“I’ll shake it off,” Jeffery said. “The important thing is we won.”
MISSOURI (9-10, 1-4 BIG 12)
Jones 5-18 2-3 12, Flores 2-11 0-0 5, Otote 3-5 0-0 9, Brown 5-16 3-7 13, Thornton 1-5 2-2 5, Gee 0-0 0-0 0, Spietz 0-0 0-0 0, Niemann 0-2 0-0 0, Crafton 0-4 0-0 0, Brock 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 18-65 7-12 48.
COLORADO (11-7, 2-3)
Seabrook 3-5 1-4 7, Dale 0-3 0-0 0, Spears 11-24 3-3 26, Blythe 2-5 0-1 6, B. Wilson 4-11 2-4 11, A. Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Malcolm-Peck 1-2 0-2 3, Jeffery 1-8 1-2 3, Hargis 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 23-60 7-18 58.
Halftime — Missouri 27-23. 3-point goals — Missouri 5-18 (Otote 3-5, Flores 1-3, Thornton 1-4, Jones 0-1, Niemann 0-1, Crafton 0-2, Brown 0-2). Colorado 5-12 (Blythe 2-4, Malcolm-Peck 1-1, B. Wilson 1-1, Spears 1-4, Dale 0-2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Missouri 41 (Flores 10), Colorado 53 (Spears 13). Assists — Missouri 11 (Brown 6), Colorado 8 (B. Wilson 3). Total fouls — Missouri 16, Colorado 14. A — 1,573.
