University of Missouri
Colorado
Bjorklund's 22 Powers Buffs Over Mizzou
2/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2003
BOULDER, Colo. - Tera Bjorklund led all scorers with 22 points to lead Colorado to a 69-48 win over Missouri on Saturday at the Coors Events Center. With the win, the Buffs (19-5, 9-4 Big 12) remain in fourth place in the league standings, while the Tigers (13-11, 7-6) fall into a fifth-place tie with Oklahoma after the Sooners' win over Iowa State.
Junior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS), who led Mizzou in scoring with 16 points, was the only Tiger in double figures.
After Colorado got inside buckets from Sabrina Scott and Tera Bjorklund to start the game, the Tigers scored the next three baskets and had an 8-6 lead after the first media timeout. The teams continued to battle back and forth through a 15-all tie until the Buffs went on an 8-0 run to take a 23-15 lead with 5:06 left.
A basket by junior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) while being fouled by Tera Bjorklund brought the Tigers to within 23-19, and after a pair of Kate Fagan free throws, the Tigers pulled to within one at 25-24 on a 3-pointer by senior guard Kerensa Barr (West Plains, Mo. / West Plains HS) and a pair of free throws by sophomore center Megan Roney (Independence, Mo. / Truman HS). Lozier then put the Tigers up 30-27 at the half with a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, including one with 3 seconds left before the halftime buzzer.
Led by Lozier's 4-for-4 shooting, including all three of her 3-pointers, the Tigers hit on 48 percent (12-of-25) of their first-half shots, compared to just 33 percent (9-of-27) for the Buffs. Despite getting out-rebounded by a 23-13 margin and CU's 13-3 advantage in free-throw attempts, the Tigers took advantage of four treys in the first 20 minutes.
Missouri got only an Unrau free throw and a Lozier basket in the first 6:05 of the second half, allowing the Buffs to regain the lead at 42-33. After junior guard Terianne Wolford (Nixa, Mo. / Nixa HS) canned a 3-pointer and Unrau had a jumper to put the Tigers within four at 42-38, Mizzou went another 5 minutes without a field goal. Colorado took advantage to push the lead, then extended it by going on a 15-2 run to make the score 57-40 with 4:38 left.
The Tigers had trouble finding the basket in the second half, hitting only seven of 32 shots (21.9 percent) in the final frame. In addition, Mizzou had 18 turnovers - the most since the Tigers had 20 in a Jan. 28 loss at Texas Tech.
"Give Colorado credit; they're a top-20 team, and they should be recognized for it," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "They did a good job of keeping the ball out of Evan's hands. Kerensa was sick with the flu, but Tracy Lozier stepped it up. Not everyone brought their 'A' game, and we needed that today."
Barr's 3-pointer in the first half passed former Tiger Debbie Walker (1980-83) and moved her into a tie with Suzanne Alt (1974-77) for 18th on Mizzou's career scoring list. Barr finished with six points on the night, giving her 1,092 for her career. Her next target is 1,097 points, which would tie her with Cindy Kiser (1976-80) for 17th place on the list.
The Tigers play their final game of the regular season this Wednesday, Feb. 26, with a 7 p.m. tip against Oklahoma. Missouri then closes the regular season with a pair of home games: next Saturday, March 1, against Kansas in a Mizzou Sports Network statewide telecast, and Wednesday, March 5, against Texas A&M. For ticket information, call the Mizzou Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in mid-Missouri).
