Colorado
5-2,0-0Pac-12
Chicago State
0-7,0-0DI Independent
Buffs Cruise Past Chicago State
November 27, 2022 | Women's Basketball
CHICAGO – Career win No. 200 for head coach JR Payne was never in doubt on Sunday. Colorado throttled Chicago State, 83-32, picking up the Buffaloes' first road win of the season.
"I didn't know that was coming," Payne said after the win. "We've had incredible coaching staffs that have been together for a really long time and we've coached a lot of really great players over the years. It's cool but it's not something that I necessarily knew about."
The 51-point margin was CU's first 50-point win since the team's 106-47 win over Westminster back on Dec. 21, 2017.
"It didn't matter whom we were playing, we were trying to get better in our execution," Payne noted. "We wanted to make sure were on the same page and really prioritized our details. There were so many possessions against Tennessee that we just weren't on the same page. [Today] was a great opportunity to really prioritize our communication, execution and attention to detail. We did that really well."
Colorado (5-2) had four players score in double figures, led by Aaronette Vonleh's 18. The sophomore transfer was 8-for-9 from the field with four rebounds. Senior Quay Miller had herself a quality bounce-back game, totaling 13 points and seven rebounds.
5th-year Tayanna Jones put in 15 of the team's 33 bench points. Junior Frida Formann, returning from national team duty, closed her day with 10 points.
CU had nine different scorers on Sunday and all 12 available Buffs got in on the action.
"It's always nice when you can play more people," Payne continued. "Coaches always want everybody to get to play a lot of minutes. That was really great. I thought we sort of maintained a level of discipline and togetherness throughout the day, which was our goal."
Colorado's defense was solid in the win, holding Chicago State to just 10 field goals in the game. The 32 points allowed were the fewest since holding Valparaiso to 32 points in 2011.
The Cougars didn't have a player in double figures. Janiah Newell finished as CSU's leading scorer with eight points.
How it Happened
Tameiya Sadler started the Buffs' afternoon with an AND1 to open the game, giving the Buffs a 3-0 start. Vonleh and Formann offered up early contributions to get a 9-4 cushion as the two teams took the early part of the first quarter to get familiar with each other.
Colorado led 13-8 at the media timeout and a CSU free throw brought the Cougars within four, 13-9 at the 4:55 mark. That's when the Buffs took off. Brianna McLeod made a strong drive to the basket, kickstarting a 14-2 close to the opening quarter and giving CU the solid 27-11 lead.
The Buffs' run continued to grow in the second quarter, hitting 27-2, to give Colorado a 40-11 lead.
Colorado held Chicago State to 3-for-11 shooting and seven points in the second quarter and the Buffs enjoyed a comfortable 46-18 lead at the break.
CU's offense continued to pour on in the third quarter, totaling 22 points and expanding the lead to 40 points, 68-28.
Chicago State's offensive woes continued in the final quarter, posting only four points and suffering through a 0-for-13 shooting slump. The Buffs did not allow CSU to get to the basket until the 1:23 mark of the period while using a 21-0 run to claim an 81-28 lead.
Turning Point
A pair of Miller free throws at the 6:33 mark of the first quarter helped start Colorado's offensive onslaught. CU outscored Chicago State 17-5 the rest of the quarter and the Buffs never let off the gas.
Up Next
Colorado heads back home for Wednesday's meeting with Western Michigan at the CU Events Center (6 p.m. MT).
Notes
Coach Payne now has 99 career wins at Colorado…CU's 27 points in the first quarter matched its best opening quarter of the season (at Texas Tech)…Sunday was the second time CU has held its opponent to under 20 points in a half, doing so in both halves (last first half vs Louisiana)…Jones' 15 points matched her career-high but were the most she's scored as a Buff.
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