Buffaloes Falter In Second Half, Fall To Stanford, 61-47

An 18-5 Stanford run at the beginning of the second half squashed any chance Colorado had at an upset, as the Cardinal advanced to the championship of the Pac-12 tournament, winning 61-47.

Colorado led for the majority of the first half, as Chucky Jeffery tallied 10 of her 19 total points in the first half. Brittany Wilson, Kyleesha Weston and Arielle Roberson all hit three-pointers, and Jamee Swan turned in another excellent performance on the interior to give Colorado a 28-27 lead entering halftime.

A Lexy Kresl three-pointer only six seconds into the second half extended the CU lead to a game-high four. Stanford's all-American Chiney Ogwumike responded with an 18-foot jumper of her own. Two Joslyn Tinkle free throws knotted the game at 31, giving Stanford their first share of the lead since the 5:02 mark in the first half.

Roberson countered with a mid-range jumper, but Stanford responded with five quick points to bring the Cardinal lead to three. Jeffery knocked down a three to tie the game with just over 14 minutes remaining, but from that point on it would be all downhill for the Buffaloes.

Stanford would score the next nine points, prompting Linda Lappe to take a full timeout. Out of the timeout, Jeffery found Swan on the low block to cut the deficit to seven. However, Colorado began to fade offensively, relying on Jeffery to do the majority of their scoring.

Roberson nailed a three to bring the Buffs within ten with just over a minute to go, but Stanford was solid from the line, effectively icing the game.

Colorado is a virtual lock for the NCAA tournament, and will host first and second round games at the Coors Events Center. The 2013 NCAA women's basketball tournament bracket is released on March 18^th.