Women's basketball loses to Colorado in overtime

Missouri didn't score the last two minutes in overtime.

By John Montesantos

Published Feb. 26, 2010

The Missouri women's basketball team held the lead over Colorado the entire game Tuesday before the Buffaloes fought back to force overtime. The Tigers failed to hold on in the extra minutes and suffered their 12th conference loss.

Junior forward Shakara Jones got a clear look from the top of the key as overtime expired, but the shot hit the back rim and Colorado squeaked by with an 80-79 victory. Missouri failed to score in the final two minutes of the overtime.

Coach Cindy Stein thought multiple players had open looks in the final possession and said Jones took a smart shot.

"This one leaves a bad taste in your mouth because you're right there," Stein said. "The difference is that I felt like we had a good look."

Although the final minutes didn't go as planned, the Tigers dominated for the majority of the game. They grabbed the lead early, shooting 7-of-10 to start and earning a 10-point lead 10 minutes into the game.

"It was a tough night for us initially," Colorado coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "I thought Missouri came out very focused and they hit shots. I thought they were very collected."

No matter how strong Missouri played, Colorado kept the deficit within reach using 3-point shooting. The Buffaloes took 17 long balls in the first half alone, with 27 of their 36 points at halftime coming from long distance.

Although the Tigers led by as many as 12 points in the second half, the Buffaloes continued to pour it on from 3-point land, as junior forward Brittany Spears and senior guard Bianca Smith each had six 3-pointers in the game. Nearly half of Colorado's 61 shot attempts came from beyond the arc.

What 3-pointers were to the Buffaloes, free throws were to the Tigers. Missouri earned 35 free throw attempts and shot an impressive 82.9 percent as a team from the line.

Colorado crept back late in regulation, cutting the lead to five with two minutes to play. Despite clutch free throws from senior guard Toy Richbow, the Buffaloes tied it at 74 in the final minute with 3-pointer from Spears.

The deflation in the final minutes of regulation and then overtime showed Stein an ugly side of her team.

"Our lack of confidence down the stretch definitely revealed itself," Stein said. "I'm not sure how you build confidence when you're losing, but we'll have to figure out how. I see their confidence dwindling, and we're not in position for our confidence to dwindle right now."

After leading the team in scoring against Iowa State on Saturday, junior guard RaeShara Brown led the Tigers again with 21 points Tuesday. Missouri had three other players score in double figures, including senior forward Jessra Johnson who posted a double-double.

Brown and Stein both commented on the ability of a close loss to put a damper on the great play of the team.

"You can't really put these losses into words," Brown said. "It's hard on the team because you put it all out there every night. That's what we did tonight, and I was extremely proud of this team."

The Tigers start a two-game road trip in Lincoln, Neb., as they take on the No. 3 Cornhuskers at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.