STILLWATER, Okla. – There wasn’t enough in the tank for the Colorado women’s basketball team to pull off an upset on Saturday afternoon, but the Buffaloes got a sensational effort from Ayianna Johnson.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore forward tied her career high with 20 points during the Buffaloes’ 82-65 loss at No. 24 Oklahoma State.
“Yeah, she was great,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “She was being really aggressive inside. Her teammates did a good job of finding her and feeding the hot hand. She made almost all of her free throws. I thought she played really well.”
Johnson played just 15 minutes off the bench, but went 7-for-9 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. She’s been a 53% free throw shooter in her career and was just 5-for-12 (41.7%) in Big 12 play this year.
This was the second Saturday in a row that Johnson has hit the 20-point mark. She had 20 in CU’s 83-60 rout of Houston on Feb. 15.
Wetta returns
Senior point guard Kindyll Wetta was back in the lineup on Saturday, providing a boost.
Wetta, who had missed the previous three games with a concussion, had not practiced in the past two weeks until Friday, yet still played 30 minutes on Saturday. She scored four points on 2-of-5 shooting, while adding seven assists, four rebounds and three steals.
“Kindyll has been with the program for a long time, and is a senior point guard that’s played hard every minute of her career,” Payne said. “So I think it’s great for her to be back. I always want players to go out on their own terms, and really happy that she was able, even though the injuries, she’s able to come back and finish her career the way she started.”
Wetta moved past Tracy Tripp (1985-89) for seventh on CU’s list for career assists, with 449. She also now has 225 career steals, ranking 12th.
Welcome back
CU senior Lior Garzon made her return to Stillwater after playing the past two seasons for the Cowgirls. It was a tough game for Garzon, who fouled out in the fourth quarter after scoring three points on 1-of-6 shooting. It was the first time in 145 career games that she fouled out.
Asked if Garzon was a bit too amped up, Payne said, “No, I think she handled it really well. She’s a very level-headed young woman, so I don’t think there’s anything that really rattles her too much.
“I thought she had a really good second half. It’s hard to play when you’re playing against your old teammates and your old program. That’s not always an easy, emotional thing, but I thought she handled it well.”
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