TicketsBOULDER, Colo. – The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team’s fourth quarter comeback attempt came up short in a 79-68 loss at Colorado on Saturday afternoon at the CU Events Center.
Cincinnati (5-10, 0-3) battled back from a 17-point deficit and pulled within seven late in the fourth quarter before Colorado held on down the stretch.
Freshman Caliyah DeVillasee, who made her return after missing four games, finished with a team-high 17 points. She shot 6-of-14 from the field, connected on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and added five assists.
Senior Mya Perry extended her double-figure scoring streak to 15 games with 13 points, including three three-pointers. Freshman Kylie Torrence recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. It marked her fourth double-digit rebounding performance of the season.
The Bearcats shot 38% from the field and made seven three-pointers (.368), while Colorado countered with a 44% clip. Both teams attempted more than 20 free throws, with the Bearcats going 19-of-24 (79.2%) and the Buffaloes finishing 23-of-32 (71.9%).
Cincinnati jumped out to a 13-8 advantage at the first quarter media timeout. Colorado responded with a 6-2 spurt to pull within one. A late 3-pointer by CU evened the score at 17-all.
Colorado took the lead early in the second before Perry drained a three and Jackson converted two free throws to give UC a 26-25 edge. The teams traded baskets before entering the media break tied at 30. DeVillasee buried a three-pointer to halt a Colorado run with 2:56 remaining, but Cincinnati was held scoreless over the final two minutes of the half and went into the locker room trailing 45-36.
The Buffaloes used a 14-2 run in the third quarter to build their largest lead of the game at 59-42 with 4:02 remaining. Cincinnati responded with six straight points, highlighted by an and-one from Ndiba, to pull within nine. A driving layup from Crawford at the buzzer made it 65-56 heading into the fourth.
Colorado scored the first six points of the final quarter to extend its lead to 15. Cincinnati answered with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits, and Perry’s three-pointer with 2:19 left made it a seven-point game. The Bearcats were unable to get closer, as Colorado closed out the 79-68 victory.