Fast break
Why the Buffs won: CU posted a season-high shooting percentage of .569 and held Oklahoma State to a 5-for-25 mark on 3-pointers.
Three stars
1. CU’s Jade Masogayo. Paced CU’s hot shooting day with a 9-for-14 showing, finishing with a career-high-tying 22 points with five rebounds.
2. CU’s Desiree Wooten. Turned in a strong all-around performance off the bench, recording 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
3. OSU’s Achol Akot. Nearly posted a double-double, going 9-for-14 with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Up next: The Buffs return to the road with a Thursday game at Kansas State (5:30 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
On a day honoring the biggest legend from the Colorado women’s basketball program, losing wasn’t an option.
And with Ceal Barry watching from the stands, the Buffaloes weren’t going to let another one slip away.
Colorado responded to every Oklahoma State charge, and the Buffs punctuated a festive day at the CU Events Center with a 79-65 victory against Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon. CU ended a run of three losses in four games and celebrated the dedication of Ceal Barry Plaza outside the Events Center.
The legendary former CU coach and administrator was the guest of honor for the pregame dedication outside the arena, and she also was honored on the floor during halftime.
“Before I got here, when I thought of the University of Colorado, you think of the women’s basketball program. And you think of Ceal Barry,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “The winningest coach, and the longevity. Continued winning, which is really hard to do. She was able to instill things that we also value: the work ethic, toughness, discipline, doing what you’re supposed to in the classroom, the community. All of those things. She’s just such a great role model.”
It was one of the most efficient offensive performances of the season for the Buffs, who posted a season-high shooting percentage of .569. CU went 5-for-12 on 3-pointers and 16-for-20 at the free throw line.
Jade Masogayo led the offensive assault, going 9-for-14 while tying a career-high with 22 points. The Buffs also committed only 14 turnovers after averaging 18 over the previous four games.
“I had a meeting with my coach early on in the week, just telling me to be aggressive and have that attack mentality,” Masogayo said. “I was just really trying to apply that to today’s game for sure.”
Oklahoma State led only briefly at 4-2 in the game’s early moments, but the Buffs still had to hold off several comeback attempts by the Cowgirls.
CU built a 19-point lead in the first half, yet OSU scored the final nine points of the second quarter to cut the Buffs’ lead to 35-25 at halftime.
The Buffs earned some breathing room by opening the third quarter with a 7-2 burst, eventually building their advantage back to 18 points. However, the Cowgirls chipped away once again, cutting CU’s lead to nine points going into the fourth quarter and rallying to within seven points with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Buffs, though, held OSU to just one field goal the rest of the way and gradually iced the win at the free throw line. The Buffs had let several fourth-quarter leads slip away so far in Big 12 play, including during a loss at Oklahoma State two weeks ago, and Payne was encouraged with the fourth-quarter finish ahead of a two-game trip through Kansas.
“We’ve watched the film, we’ve studied the areas that shoulda-woulda-coulda down the stretch of the games, and that almost hurts more than getting beat pretty big,” Payne said. “Knowing that if we had just executed here or finished this, done that. I’m sure it feels incredible for everybody.
“We put in a couple things that we thought would get us more paint touches for high-percentage scores. The execution of those things was it. And also transition. I just credit our team for great execution.”
CU Buffs women’s basketball 79, Oklahoma State 65
Oklahoma State 10 15 21 19
Colorado 16 19 20 24
OKLAHOMA STATE (16-5, 5-3 Big 12)
Akot 9-14 4-5 22, Whiting 3-7 0-0 7, Gray 3-11 0-3 7, Timmer 7-13 0-1 17, Heard 0-5 3-6 3, J. Wooten 1-12 2-2 4, Egharevba 0-0 0-0 0, Girardi 0-3 5-6 5. Totals 23-65 14-23 65.
COLORADO (13-7, 4-4)
Masogayo 9-14 4-4 22, Dutat 3-4 2-2 8, Walker 6-9 0-0 13, McErlane 1-3 1-2 4, Betson 1-2 0-0 3, D. Wooten 4-8 5-6 15, Greer 3-5 3-4 9, Gooden 0-3 1-2 1, Crook 0-1 0-0 0, Nworie 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 29-51 16-20 79.
3-point field goals: Oklahoma State 5-25 (Akot 0-1, Whiting 1-3, Gray 1-6, Timmer 3-8, Heard 0-3, J. Wooten 0-2, Girardi 0-2); Colorado 5-12 (Walker 1-1, McErlane 1-2, Betson 1-2, D. Wooten 2-3, Greer 0-2, Gooden 0-2). Rebounds: Oklahoma State 34 (Akot 9); Colorado 36 (D. Wooten, Greer 9). Assists: Oklahoma State 13 (J. Wooten 4); Colorado 14 (Dutat, D. Wooten, Greer 4). Turnovers: Oklahoma State 12 (Four players with two); Colorado 14 (Dutat 4). Total fouls: Oklahoma State 21, Colorado 22. Fouled out: Akot. A: 3,152.
