The Colorado women’s basketball team was defeated by Illinois, 66-57, in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at Memorial Gymnasium on Mar. 21.
The loss ends Colorado’s season with a record of 22-12. The Buffaloes were led by junior guard Desiree Wooten, who scored 21 points. Despite leading early and making several runs to close the gap, Colorado was unable to regain the lead from Illinois after falling behind late in the first quarter.
Head coach JR Payne said, “Both teams played really hard. We held them way below their average, as we’ve done most nights of the year defensively, but in the end, everyone that’s playing right now is really, really good. Illinois is really, really good and really talented, and they scored a few more than we did. So two good teams. […] I think it was a fun game to watch. I’m proud of how we competed and, again, someone has to win and someone has to lose.”
Colorado outperformed Illinois in several statistical categories including points in the paint (36-30), rebounds (34-32), bench points (22-9), fast break points (6-4), and blocks (5-1). However, these advantages were not enough to secure a victory as Illinois maintained their lead through much of the second half.
Key contributors for Colorado included Wooten with 17 points and seven rebounds; junior guard Zyanna Walker with eight points; senior forward Anaëlle Dutat with eight points and six rebounds; senior forward Jade Masogayo with 15 points; freshman forward Logyn Greer with six rebounds; sophomore forward Tabitha Betson with five rebounds; junior guard Maeve McErlane with one assist; and freshman center Jade Crook with one steal.
With this result, Colorado moves to a 4-3 all-time record against Illinois and stands at 21-17 overall in NCAA tournament games. Head coach JR Payne’s career record is now 186-128 (.592).
Looking ahead, fans can find more information about schedules and results on CUBuffs.com or follow the team on social media.
