A frigid first ten minutes doomed the Colorado women's basketball team, as they suffered their first defeat of the 2012-13 season at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal, 57-40.
"We can't simulate that type of team in practice," said Chucky Jeffery of her team's slow start. "We weren't being as aggressive as we should have."
Stanford scored the game's first five points, converting a Joslyn Tinkle three-pointer and an Amber Orrange layup to quite the boisterous crowd of 5,888, the most since over six thousand came to see Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears in 2010.
The Buffs finally would get on the board with a Rachel Hargis layup at the 16:16 mark. From that point, the Cardinal would go on a 12-0 run, putting the Buffs down by a 17-2 count with just over ten minutes to go in the first half.
Colorado would regroup, ending the half down 31-17, as Jeffery's aggressive play was rewarded in the form of eight first half points. Jeffery was one of only four Buffs to score in the first half.
The Buffs found a groove as the second half began, playing Stanford even. Arielle Roberson became more confident, scoring eight of her 10 points in the last 20 minutes.
CU cut the deficit to 12 points with just over three minutes on the clock, but by that point, Stanford was confident that they had the game in hand.
"When you are down, it is tough to come back," said Roberson. "I think it is really hard to do that against a team like Stanford, one of the top teams in the country."
The Buffs face a quick turnaround, as the seventh-ranked California Golden Bears come to Boulder on Sunday at noon. The Golden Bears are coming off a win in their conference opener, 55-50 at Utah.