Colorado
Adams State
Colorado Posts Strong Showing in Exhibition
November 01, 2022 | Women's Basketball
Buffs open the season on Nov. 7
BOULDER – Sophomore Aaronette Vonleh made a strong first impression at the CU Events Center on Tuesday night. The Arizona transfer led Colorado with 20 points in her CU debut, helping the Buffaloes cruise to a 75-48 win over Adams State.
"I can't believe that basketball season is here," head coach JR Payne said after the win. "I'm proud of how we played tonight. Exhibition games are not meant to be beautiful, they're meant to try different lineups, have people play different positions and get people into a uniform for the first time under the lights and in front of people I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. I'm proud of how we played and we definitely have lots to build upon."
Vonleh, who got the start in the post, made 10 field goals and collected three rebounds. Senior Quay Miller stepped into a starting role as well, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Fifth-year guard Tayanna Jones led all players with 16 rebounds to go with eight points.
"It was awesome to see [Quay and Aaronette together]," Payne added. "We have different lineups that we run in practice, but I think those two are really comfortable together. Anytime you can have that type of statistical success between two players – I love it."
CU used its decisive height advantage throughout the night, outrebounding Adams State 52-24. The Buffs were efficient from close range, totaling 48 points in the paint.
"I thought a lot of people played really well," Payne continued. "Statistically these two [Jones and Vonleh] were phenomenal. Aaronette finished almost everything around the basket. Tayanna was incredible on the glass. Quay had a double-double. Jaylyn [Sherrod] had no turnovers in I don't know how many minutes [18]. Jada [Wynn] knocked down a couple of shots. There were just a lot of really good things. I don't know if anyone surprised me, but I thought we executed pretty well. We had a huge height advantage, but sometimes it's really hard to play against smaller teams. It's kind of hard to wrap your head around, but it's a weird thing that these guys don't see very often. I thought we responded well and that was good learning for us."
The Buffs led by 20, 46-26, at the half and then got the bench worked into different rotations throughout the second half. All 13 players got into the action against the Grizzlies.
"We're still figuring out how to gel together," Payne explained. "We have new roles, new people, new looks and things like that. But I love our team. I love the pieces we have. I think we have everything we need to be really successful this season."
CU's defense kept Adams State to 34.5% shooting, limiting the Grizzlies to just 19-for-55 from the floor. Darlisha Reed was the only ASU player to reach double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Upcoming
The Buffs will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 7, opening the season against New Mexico State. The game is an early tip-off, set for Noon.
Quotes
Tayanna Jones
On Overall Team Performance
"We have been prepping all preseason just focusing on executing details, so it was easy for us. We also have had a couple of scrimmages as well. We have just been prepping with the guys and the practice players, so it felt like an easy transition playing Adams State. We were all ready for it, prepared and we are all very competitive, so it was good."
On Offensive Rebounding
"I think it is just the little things like the intangibles, so I have been really applying that. As far as rebounding I did not know I had eight. It's crazy because I was trying to get more. Coach Tim [Hays] was telling me to keep rebounding, keep getting more numbers and so I was trying to keep going. But it is definitely something I'm going to keep on striving for".
Aaronette Vonleh
On Overall Team Performance
"It was really refreshing to finally get all the jitters out in the first game with this team. It is obviously my first year [at CU]. I think it was 50/50, Adams State did a really good job of being intentional about looking in the post, especially since they knew we had that height advantage this game. But for us just doing anything to finish the easy layups helped us. So far, I think me and Quay work well in practice, so finally being able to put that together in a game setting was great. I think we will just keep building off of that as the season goes on."
