BOULDER – After her basketball team fashioned one of its most improbable rallies in recent memory, Colorado women’s coach Linda Lappe was fairly certain there would be enough positive residue for game two of Pac-12 play two nights later.
Granted, the Buffs ultimately dropped their conference opener against Washington by two points. But they rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit with arguably their most effective half off the season.
Lappe had no reason to question her players’ upbeat post-game responses – at least not until Monday night’s tip against Washington State. Whatever mental benefits CU absorbed in the second half against UW had evaporated like a dish of water in desert heat.