Colorado
6-2,0-0Pac-12
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Western Michigan
2-4,0-0MAC
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Buffs Saddle Broncos, 75-37
November 30, 2022 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Colorado picked up right where it left off in Chicago on Sunday. The Buffaloes returned home on Wednesday night and ran Western Michigan out of the CU Events Center, 75-37.
Colorado (6-2) used an offensive burst early and a defensive lock-down late to pick up the win. CU scored 47 points in the first half and led by 27 points at the half. The Buffs' defense impressed, limiting the opponent to under 40 points for the second consecutive game.
"I did not expect us to play that well," head coach JR Payne admitted. "To be honest, we didn't have a great practice yesterday. We did have a good shootaround today, but I thought we played really well tonight against a different style of team. Their offensive system is different than we typically see, with all of the switching. They switch everything defensively, which we don't typically see. I thought our defense really dictated our offense. I'm really proud of how everybody played tonight."
Three Buffs finished in double figures, led by Quay Miller's 20 points. Aaronette Vonleh and Jaylyn Sherrod contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Tameiya Sadler was all over the floor on Wednesday. She only totaled five points but lassoed a season-high eight rebounds and a career-best seven steals.
"We all know Tam is one of the most talented players on our roster," Payne expressed. 'She can do things that nobody else can. But we have been talking about playing with more urgency – be stout. We use the term stout with her. We need to be tougher. We need to be more urgent. She's capable of doing that. I almost said, 'You messed up, you showed everybody what you're capable of,' so now we expect it. If Tam can play like that, Tam is an X-factor for us. She's a difference-maker. When she can play like that, it opens things up for other people. It creates windows, it seems, you know, for our post players. It can create transition offense. We need Tam to play like that and clearly, she's capable."
The win marked a second consecutive milestone for Payne, who picked up her 200th career victory on Sunday. Wednesday's win was her 100th as the bench boss at CU.
"I just think we've worked really hard to have a great staff and great players," Payne reflected. "I had a lot of old players reach out after 200 and I thought in every one of them, I was like man, a lot of them were with you at the point guard or a lot of them were with you hitting that jumper baseline. It's really fun to be at a place where you can stay long enough to do that because we've been at other places where we've sort of built a program and left. It's been really a blessing to be here this long. I'm excited along with these guys to have many more."
Western Michigan (2-4) was limited to 14 baskets on the night and attempted 33 of its 54 shots from behind the arc. The Broncos turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 33 points off turnovers for the Buffs. Lauren Ross was the lone Bronco to hit double figures, leading WMU with 13 points.
"We paid attention to the personnel so knowing how to guard each player on the court really helped us," Sadler explained. "We were in the gaps on defense and talking to each other. We communicated a lot tonight on defense."
How it Happened
WMU only led the contest for 48 seconds and it all came in the opening two minutes of the night. The Broncos led 2-0 and 4-2 before Vonleh put in back-to-back layups in a 6-0 run that handed CU the 8-4 lead. The Buffs dominated the post early in the game, totaling 20 points in the paint in the first 10 minutes. The Buffs put the game away early with a 13-0 run, capped by a Miller 3-pointer to pull ahead 27-9.
The Broncos' 11 points in the first quarter proved to be their best output of the night as the Buffs held a 29-11 advantage.
"We talked about different definitions of toughness going into the game," Payne added. "It's not bravado and chest bumping. It's being in a stance. It's communicating when you're tired. It's getting back transition defense. It's getting open when you need to, you know, things like that. I don't know if they took that to heart or they just did it, but I thought we played tough tonight."
The Buffs used a 12-0 run to open the second quarter, growing the lead to 41-11. WMU got out to a 1-for-8 start to the quarter and finished just 3-for-13. Colorado doubled up the Broncos, 18-9, in the quarter and took a 27-point lead at the break.
The Buffs' lead grew to 43 late in the fourth quarter, despite a decline in their offensive output from the first half. The Black & Gold totaled 28 points in the final 20 minutes, while the defense picked up its efforts, holding Western Michigan to just six baskets and 17 points.
Turning Point
Colorado forced eight turnovers in the first quarter, but none were bigger than a pair of back-to-back swipes from Kindyll Wetta in the closing minutes of the period. She converted one steal on her own on the fast break and the second led to a Miller's 3 that put the Buffs up 27-9.
"I think tonight was a big game for us," Wetta noted. "Like coach was saying, I think this is the first time that we've all gelled together as a team defensively. Like Tameiya was saying, in the gaps talking, going for steals and I think that shows what we can do."
Up Next
The Buffs will be back out on the road on Sunday, traveling to Boise State for a 1 p.m. MT tip against the Broncos.
Notes
CU's 29 points in the first quarter marked its best opening quarter of the season…The last time CU held opponents to under 40 points in back-to-back games was Prairie View A&M (38) and Samford (39) in the 2018-19 season…It was the second straight game CU held its opponent to 20 points or less in both halves (Chicago State)…Miller passed 800 career points on Wednesday (813)…She's now scored 452 points at Colorado…CU had a season-high 50 points in the paint…The Buffs' 33 points off turnovers were also a season-high.