No. 25 Colorado 81, S. Utah 38

12/28/2007 9:56 PM

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -Jackie McFarland scored 22 points and Brittany Spears added 17, guiding No. 25 Colorado to an 81-38 win over Southern Utah on Friday night.

The Buffaloes (9-2) have won eight straight games. The streak has helped vault the team into the top 25 for the first time in three years.

Southern Utah (2-9) lost its 30th straight road contest, including seven straight this season. The Thunderbirds haven't won on the road since a win over St. Mary's on Dec. 10, 2005.

With her 22-point outing, McFarland moved into eighth place on the Buffaloes' all-time scoring list. She now has 1,510 career points.

Bianca Smith came off the bench to score 12, including three 3-pointers. Aija Putnina had six points and Susie Powers dished out seven assists.

Spears entered the game as the leading scorer among freshmen in the Big 12 Conference, averaging 13.3 points. She also had five rebounds and two steals.

Kaila Goff led Southern Utah in scoring with seven points. Anne Westwood, the Thunderbirds' leading scorer, finished with six points, and didn't score her first basket until early in the second half. She also had eight rebounds.

The Buffaloes closed the first half on a 13-0 run to take a 44-20 lead into the break. It's the third straight game the Buffaloes have closed the opening half on a big spurt, going on a 20-4 run in a win over Dartmouth and a 15-0 burst against Texas Southern.

Colorado started the second half where it left off, going on a 12-0 run to up the lead to 36 points. The Buffaloes led by as many as 43 points.

The Thunderbirds finished with 21 turnovers, which is one below their season average.

Colorado played without Whitney Houston and RyAnne Ridge after both returned late from holiday break and missed practice.