Fast break
Why the Buffs won: They had one of their most efficient offensive performances of the season, hitting 49.2% of their shots from the field, 88.9% from the free throw line and committing just eight turnovers.
Three stars:
1. CU’s Jade Masogayo: Scored a season-high 23 points while hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Also had three rebounds and two assists.
2. TCU’s Olivia Miles: Tied her season high with 31 points, and also had five rebounds and two steals.
3. CU’s Logyn Greer: The freshman had one of her best games, with 17 points and five rebounds.
Up next: The Buffs will play at Houston on Wednesday (5:30 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
After missing a free throw with 58.3 seconds to play Sunday, Colorado’s Jade Masogayo couldn’t help but think back a week.
On Feb. 1, Masogayo missed five consecutive free throws in the final three minutes of regulation during a tight game at Kansas that the Buffs eventually won in overtime.
Fortunately for her and the Colorado women’s basketball team, there wasn’t a repeat of the previous Sunday.
Masogayo was clutch down the stretch this time around and converted a three-point play with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Buffaloes to an 80-79 upset of No. 14 TCU at the CU Events Center.
The senior forward, who finished with a season-high 23 points, tied the game with a layup while drawing a foul. She then stepped to the line and hit what proved to be the game-winning free throw.
“I said, ‘This going in right here, right now,’” she said. “’I don’t got no other choice. This going in right now.’”
TCU star Olivia Miles, who scored 31 points, hit the side of the backboard with a last-second 3-point attempt, sparking a CU celebration after its second win over an Associated Press ranked opponent this season.
“I mean, wow,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “What a resilient group we have here to take a team like that down the stretch, down eight two separate times. Our execution and aggressive mindset and ability to make big plays, so many people made big plays tonight.”
Masogayo in particular. She was fouled with 58.3 seconds to go and the Buffs trailing 76-74. She missed the first shot, though.
“Yeah, definitely on the one that I missed, I was pretty much taken back to Kansas,” Masogayo said.
She was 8-for-8 at the line against Kansas before going 1-for-7 in the last 3:29 of the fourth quarter that day, which led to the game going to overtime.
“I was just telling myself on the line, like, ‘Jade, we’re not going to do this again,’” she said. “’Like, come on, let’s just finish it.’ That was pretty much my mentality.”
She finished this time, hitting the second one, then tying the game with two free throws with 24.2 seconds left and winning it with her free throw at the 2.1-second mark. She went 9-for-10 at the line for the day.
“Jade was obviously incredible down the stretch,” Payne said.
It was hardly a solo effort.
Freshman Logyn Greer had her best game in Big 12 play, scoring 17 points and pulling down five rebounds. She had 10 of her points in third quarter, after CU had fallen behind by eight.
Desiree Wooten energized the Buffs with 12 first-quarter points before finishing with 19. Zyanna Walker had 15 points and four steals while locking down on defense.
Anaelle Dutat and Tabitha Betson combined for just six points, but those all came in the fourth quarter, cutting TCU’s eight-point lead to four.
“Lots of different people made winning plays tonight, offensively and defensively,” Payne said, while praising the defensive efforts by Dutat, Walker and Betson. “Just great team effort. I’m really, really happy about this one.”
CU led by 11 in the first quarter and never trailed in the first half. Then, TCU’s Donovyn Hunter and Miles got hot, sparking a 13-5 surge to start the third quarter.
Miles drilled a 3-pointer with 5:46 to play in the third to put the Horned Frogs up 47-39, prompting Payne to call a timeout. The TCU senior was hit with a technical foul for taunting, though, and CU capitalized. Wooten hit the ensuing two free throws and Walker a quick jumper to slice the deficit to 47-43 in just nine seconds.
“We thought we could get a four-point swing out of it, and we did,” Payne said. “So that was really important. Good execution by the team.”
TCU got the lead back to eight, 74-68, with 6:55 to go, but Dutat and Betson hit some big shots, while the Horned Frogs lost two of their key players in the paint. Marta Suarez, a 6-foot-3 forward who finished with 20 points, fouled out with 4:02 to go. Then, 6-foot-7 Clara Silva fouled out with 58.3 to go.
That all helped CU, sparked by a lively crowd of 2,240, to close the game on a 10-3 run over the last 2:35.
“I thought the energy in the arena was so good,” she said. “I think anyone that comes to watch us play sees that it’s really fun. It’s a really fun couple of hours. So, I just hope we can really get great crowds the last few games.”
Notable
CU’s previous ranked win came against then-No. 19 Iowa State, 68-62, on Jan. 14. … The Buffs have 18 wins against AP Top 25 teams under Payne, including 15 in the past five seasons. … TCU leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 55.3 points per game. CU was the first team to reach the 80-point mark against the Horned Frogs in regulation. Only Utah scored more overall, beating TCU 87-77 in overtime on Jan. 3. … The Buffs were just 4-of-19 from 3-point range in the previous two games, but went 4-for-6 in the first quarter Sunday and finished 6-for-13.
Colorado 80, No. 14 TCU 79
TCU (21-4, 9-3 Big 12)
Bigby 1-2 0-0 2, Hunter 8-12 0-0 17, Miles 11-20 5-6 31, Suarez 8-14 3-3 20, Silva 1-4 0-0 2, Basham 0-1 0-0 0, Sheffey 0-0 0-0 0, Bielefeld 2-4 0-0 5, Parker 1-1 0-0 2, Scherr 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-59 8-9 79.
COLORADO (16-8, 7-5 Big 12)
Walker 7-12 0-0 15, McErlane 0-1 0-0 0, Masogayo 7-11 9-10 23, Dutat 2-5 0-1 4, Betson 1-4 0-0 2, Gooden 0-0 0-0 0, Wooten 6-15 4-4 19, Nworie 0-2 0-0 0, Crook 0-0 0-0 0, Greer 6-9 3-3 17. Totals 29-59 16-18 80.
TCU 20 14 33 12 – 79
Colorado 28 6 28 18 – 80
3-point goals – TCU 7-20 (Miles 4-9, Suarez 1-4, Hunter 1-3, Bielefeld 1-2, Bigby 0-1, Scherr 0-1), Colorado 6-13 (Wooten 3-6, Greer 2-2, Walker 1-2, Betson 0-3). Rebounds – TCU 31 (Miles, Suarez, Silva 5), Colorado 27 (Betson, Greer 5). Assists – TCU 10 (Hunter, Suarez, Silva 2), Colorado 14 (Wooten 6). Steals – TCU 5 (Miles 2), Colorado 6 (Walker 4). Turnovers – TCU 10, Colorado 8. Total fouls – TCU 18, Colorado 12. Fouled out – Suarez, Silva. Attendance – 2,240.
