Colorado
3-0
Wyoming
2-2
Buffs Hold Off Cowgirls
November 17, 2019 | Women's Basketball
CU improves to 3-0 on the season
LARAMIE, Wyo. — Colorado's first road test of the season came down the wire. The Buffaloes women's basketball team held off a late Wyoming charge, earning a 66-56 win in front of 2,531 Cowgirl faithful on Sunday.
Colorado (3-0) got off to a slow start in the first quarter but overtook the lead on the last shot of the period. CU's lead grew to as many as 14 in the third quarter, but Wyoming fought its way back in the fourth quarter, sliming the deficit to five points in the final minute.
Four Buffs finished in double figures. Junior Mya Hollingshed led the team with 17 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Emma Clarke recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Jaylyn Sherrod and senior Quinessa Caylao-Do each finished the day with 10.
Colorado finished the afternoon outrebounding the Cowgirls, 46-27. The Buffs shot 44.0 percent from the field (22-50), and limited Wyoming to just 18-of-56.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a less than ideal start for the Colorado offense. CU started 0-for-5 from the field and turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes. Wyoming, on the other hand, jumped out to the early 8-0 lead on 3-of-4 shooting to start.
Caylao-Do opened the Buffs scoring with a free-throw almost five minutes into the contest. Redshirt sophomore Aubrey Knight recorded CU's first field goal with 4:43 to go in the quarter, waking the Buffs up with a 5-0 run. Colorado outscored Wyoming 15-7 in the last 5:37 of the quarter, taking the lead on a Hollingshed layup right before the quarter expired.
Back-to-back baskets from Clarke and Hollingshed started the second quarter for Colorado, extending the lead to 20-15. The Buffs never relinquished the lead, allowing Wyoming to tie the contest, 22-22. Peanut Tuitele hit a mid-range jumper to break the tie, starting an 8-0 run to push the Buffs lead to 30-22. CU's defense forced eight turnovers in the period, directly leading to eight Colorado points.
An early 7-0 run in the third quarter handed CU a 39-26 lead. A Knight layup with 4:17 to play in the quarter lifted CU to its largest lead of the day, 45-31. The Buffs shot 8-of-13 in the period to take a 12-point lead into the final quarter.
The Cowgirls fourth-quarter charge began with 7-2 run, sliming the Buffs' lead to seven (53-46) in the first three minutes of the quarter. A strong drive from Sherrod followed by a Clarke layup briefly put the Buffs back up by 11 with 2:35 to play. The Cowgirls used an 8-of-10 showing from the free-throw line to keep pace with Colorado, despite a near six-minute shooting slump.
Wyoming cut the score to a two-possession game, 61-56, with 59 seconds to go. Key free throws from Sherrod and Caylao-Do sealed the victory, as the Buffs' defense held Wyoming scoreless in the final minute.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado's bench outscored Wyoming, 24-4. Sherrod led the CU reserves with her 10 points, while Knight had eight and freshman Charlotte Whittaker totaled six.
NOTES: Colorado improves to 3-0 to start the season for the second consecutive season…CU's 20 free throws made were the most since making 31 against Northern Colorado in last season's opener…Colorado made just two 3-pointers on Sunday, the fewest since making just one against Pepperdine last season…CU had a season-high 16 second-chance points…Colorado held Wyoming to zero fast-break points.
NEXT UP: The Buffs will be back in Colorado next week, albeit on the road in Fort Collins. Colorado and Colorado State will play for the 51st time in school history on Nov. 22.
QUOTES
Head Coach JR Payne
Overall Thoughts
"I'd rather win a game by 20. But the truth is with such a young ballclub, we gained a lot more from this type of game. We haven't been in any games where we've had to hit free throws down the stretch or we've had to get the ball in against pressure or we've had to play against the defense that's really alternating what they're doing. There are just different things that you see throughout a season. This is good for us. Especially, to come out on top. But the learning curve that can happen in a game like this is good for us."
On not having Hollingshed or Jank down the stretch
"We went small at the end just trying to guard the 3-point line a little bit better. We ended relying on everybody even Jay [Sherrod] who's a freshman—having two point guards in Sila [Finau] Jaylyn and Quinessa [Caylao-Do] those are three of our best aggressive ball handlers to get open and handle the pressure was important down the stretch. Then kids like Aubrey [Knight] and Emma [Clarke we're just so good on the glass down the stretch of the game. Even though we were smaller we were able to rely on just a team effort you know on the glass which was really important."
On Emma Clarke
"Part of Emma's role this year is to have a great presence on the glass. She takes those things personally. She says, 'Okay, give me a job to do I'll crush it.' She's had a great presence on the glass this year and will continue to do so. I'm proud of her for the double-double. She's just grown since she arrived as a freshman. She's just grown incredibly."
Sophomore Emma Clarke
Overall Thoughts
"We knew that this stadium was going to be a hard one to play in with the fans and the crowd and just Wyoming in general. It's a competition. It's a rivalry. It was really great to come out and get the win. I just had to get the rebounds because when we secure rebounds, we can go in offense and go in defense. I was happy with our stat line. We all had a rebound."
On Keeping the Composed in the Fourth Quarter
"The crowd made it a little bit difficult. We just stayed together as a team and really bought into our team offense and defense. I think that kept us together."
On Colorado's Fourth-Quarter Defense
"We were jumping to the ball just going off what [Associate Head Coach] Toriano [Towns] was saying. Jumping to the ball and getting into our stance and talking. We were just being more active on the ball, pressuring and they were getting to the basket."
