Colorado
Utah
Buffs Start Conference Play at Utah
December 27, 2019 | Women's Basketball
Tip is set for 2 p.m. MT on Sunday
SALT LAKE CITY– The 11-0 Colorado women's basketball team opens Pac-12 play with a stretch of three road games before returning to the CU Events Center. The Buffaloes make the short trip to Utah to open the conference season on Sunday (2 p.m. MT).
Colorado remains one of nine undefeated teams in the nation, following its two wins at the Tulane Classic. Of the nine undefeated teams, four of them reside in the Pac-12. The Buffs' wins in New Orleans were good building blocks before headed into tough conference slate.Â
"Those games were really good for us," head coach JR Payne explained. "Being down, having to come back and having to execute defensive and offensive game plans on the fly—to make in-game adjustments because our stuff was not working. For our young team to be able to do that, I thought was important for us and we can refer back to those games throughout Pac 12 play. Whether it's execution, being down, fighting back or whatever you want to use. Those games were really good for us."
Colorado's record remains perfect, but the team knows it has room to improve on the court. The young Buffs have had issues holding onto the ball throughout the season and cannot afford the same mistakes in the Pac-12 season.
"Everything is elevated," Payne noted. "We've been talking a lot about the details of execution and the details of doing your job. Those things become even more important as your opponent's get better and better. We've played a good preseason schedule. Our RPI is 47 right now. We've played good teams, but we haven't played Pac-12 teams. We have to be airtight with what we're trying to do offensively and defensively."
The conference schedule makers were not kind to Colorado at the start of the Pac-12 season. CU opens at Utah and then heads to No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Oregon State. A win for the Buffs in Utah would go a long way to helping build confidence during the treacherous stretch. Â
"Everyone is so good that you have to take one game at a time and pour all of your effort, focus and attention to detail into your next opponent," Payne commented. "Utah's a really good basketball team. They have a lot of great young players that can contribute in a lot of different ways. They always execute and rebound well. It's going to be a tough matchup."
The Buffs' last win at the Huntsman Center was a 69-65 thriller back on Feb. 1, 2018. Former Buff Kennedy Leonard scored 31 points, helping Colorado comeback from a 16-point deficit. Annika Jank and Quinessa Caylao-Do both started that game with Aubrey Knight and Mya Hollingshed coming off the bench. Since then Colorado has gone 1-4 against the Utes.Â
This time around, Colorado has contributions from all over the court. The Buffs are averaging 15.0 assist per game, up from last season's 12.2. So far this season, six different Buffs have led the team in scoring. Freshman Jaylyn Sherrod is one contributor to that. She ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 5.3 assists per game and is 28th in the NCAA with 58 total assists.Â
Knight and Peanut Tuitele had welcome contributions for the Buffs in the Big Easy. Knight, the tournament's MVP, had career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (13) against UAB, while Tuitele recorded her second career double-double (17 p/10 r) against Tulane. The pair will need to remain consistent threats for the Buffs along with Hollingshed (13.9 ppg), Emma Clarke (11.7 ppg) and Caylao-Do (10.0 ppg).Â
Sunday's game, along with the remaining Pac-12 schedule, will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks. Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy will have the call. Fans can also listen to the Colorado Radio Network through the Tunein app. Â
