Plum scores 28 as No. 10 Washington beats Colorado, 79-75

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor helped Washington close out a rare close game.

Plum scored 28 points, Osahor had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and the 10th-ranked Huskies held on to beat Colorado 79-75 on Sunday. The Huskies have won eight of their last nine.

Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson led Colorado with 19 points each and Makenzie Ellis scored 18.

The Huskies (22-3, 10-2, Pac-12) haven't played many close games this season. Only one of their previous 21 wins were by single digits but the Buffaloes made them work for their second win in less than 48 hours.

"That's what's going to help you win in March," Osahor said. "Putting us in those type of situations and staying poised, that's good for us."

Osahor and Plum did most of the damage on offense but they got help. Katie Collier had 11 points and eight rebounds and Aarion McDonald scored 14.

The Huskies, who routed Utah on Friday, played their second straight game at altitude and Plum played all but three of the 80 minutes. She came into Sunday shooting 53 percent from the floor and finished 11 of 24 against Colorado.

"We knew coming in they play a limited amount of players and this altitude is our best friend," Ellis said. "We could tell they were having a hard time."

Colorado (13-10, 3-9) hung around after falling behind by nearly 20. The Huskies led 54-37 midway through the third when Osahor picked up her fourth foul. Colorado scored 11 straight points, capped by Leonard's 3-pointer.

"You take her off the floor offensively and defensively changes with what you do," Washington coach Mike Neighbors said of Osahor. "That was also the time the altitude hits you. We have to answer the call when it happens."

The Huskies did and stretched the lead to 14 early in the fourth but Colorado went on an 11-1 run to get within four, the closest it had been since early in the second quarter.

The Buffaloes had a chance to get within a possession but missed a layup and Plum scored five points as the Huskies stretched the lead to 72-61 with 3:29 left and closed it out.

"I feel like we have played some close games; 10 doesn't look close but it feels close," Plum said. "Almost every game in the Pac-12 is competitive. We knew they were going to go on a run, they always go on a run. We got enough stops and we got in the paint and got some good looks."

Colorado tried to keep it close in the first half but the combination of Osahor and Plum kept Washington comfortably ahead. The pair combined for 29 of the Huskies' 42 points through the first 20 minutes.

Plum, the nation's leading scorer at 30.9 points a game, didn't take a shot for the first four minutes and then scored seven quick points to put Washington ahead for good. Her 14th point of the first half came during a 9-0 run that gave the Huskies a 36-23 lead with 5:05 left.

"Tremendous effort by our team," Colorado coach JR Payne said. "We played one of the best teams in the country and the best scorer and rebounder in the country and we went toe-to-toe with them."

BIG PICTURE:

Washington: Osahor now has 20 double-doubles this season. Her 14.9 rebounds a game leads the nation. ... Plum has scored at least 21 points in all 25 games this season.

Colorado: The Buffaloes have lost 10 of 13 after starting the season 10-0. ... Haley Smith led the Buffaloes with 11 rebounds.

UP NEXT

Washington: Host Arizona on Friday night.

Colorado: At No. 8 Stanford on Friday night.