BOULDER, Colo. – Indiana State held tough with Pac-12 foe Colorado in the first half of the game on Tuesday, but the Buffaloes were able to pull away in the second half for a 13-point victory, 59-46.
 
The blue and white fall to 2-3 on the season while Colorado now improves to 6-0.
 
CeCe Mayo was the leader for the blue and white on Tuesday, as the junior ended her afternoon with 10 points to go along with four steals. LeAndra Echi continued to be a force on the boards, pulling down 11 while also scoring seven points and dishing out four assists.
 
ISU also got a solid afternoon of production from Jasmine Elder and Jamyra McChristine, each of whom ended with nine points. McChristine added three boards and Elder brought down two.
 
As a team, the Sycamores shot 34.0% from the field on 17-50 shooting while Colorado ended the game 24-64 from the floor for 35.7%. The Buffaloes were dominant on the glass, holding a 47-32 rebounding advantage. The Sycamores finished the night with seven assists.
 
Indiana State did manage to come away with eight steals in Boulder, but Colorado forced 24 turnovers and 12 steals.
 
The Sycamores wasted no time raising the defensive intensity at the start of the game, as Elder intercepted a pass on the first Colorado possession that led to a lay-in by McChristine. Echi came out on the following offensive possession and drained a triple to give the Trees a quick five-point advantage.
 
Colorado answered the early ISU offensive flurry, however and took an 11-10 lead into the first media timeout. Echi remained committed on the defensive end, recording two blocks by the end of the period and the Sycamores as a team would force five turnovers, but CU owned a 17-16 lead at the end of the first.
 
Continuing her strong defensive play, Echi blocked her third shot of the game to force a shot clock violation with 8:08 left in the second period. Both teams struggled offensively to start the quarter, but a McChristine lay-in broke a four-minute scoring drought and then Elder drained her second three of the game to tie it up at 21.
 
The Buffaloes answered with a mini 4-0 run of their own to lead 25-21 at the second quarter media timeout. Colorado began to pull away over the final three minutes, but Mayo got into the lane and took a beating, leading to a traditional three-point play, and then Marie Hunter got to the line off of a fast break to keep ISU close at half, 32-27.
 
Out of the break, ISU got on the board quickly as Echi sliced through the defense for an easy layup. However, a 2:55 scoring drought would follow later in the period that coincided with a 6-0 run for the Buffaloes, giving CU a 40-30 lead at the first media break. The Colorado run would end at 16-0 when Mayo knocked down a free throw with 1:24 left in the third. Indiana State trailed Colorado, 50-31, heading into the final frame.
 
Facing a large deficit in the fourth, the Sycamores didn't give up. With the lead locked in at around 19 for most of the first part of the fourth, a drawn charge by Caitlin Anderson ignited the Indiana State offense, as Mayo and Hattie Westerfeld each broke free for layup and then free throws by Adrian Folks would close the gap to 13 where it would stay.
 
The Buffaloes were led by Emma Clarke with 14 points and nine boards.
 
The Trees are back in action on Friday when they travel to Stockton, Calif., to take part in the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off where they'll open with the University of the Pacific at 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.