Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Southern Utah
Buffs Continue to Roll
December 07, 2022 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Colorado women's basketball continued to roll at the CU Events Center on Wednesday. The Buffaloes picked up their fourth consecutive win, all by 20 or more points, sending Southern Utah packing, 78-48.
"I keep telling our team 'I think we're playing pretty good basketball,'" head coach JR Payne said after the win against her former school. "Every time we play, I feel like we're adding something new to our game. We haven't put 40 minutes together but that's the goal. We had a lot of contributions from these two [Jada Wynn and Brianna McLeod] in particular. Our two point guards had 12 assists and no turnovers. There was just a lot of good play, offensively and defensively, tonight."
Colorado (8-2) outrebounded Southern Utah by seven, 37-30. The Thunderbirds entered Wednesday night fourth in the NCAA with an average of 47.8 boards per game. Sophomore Aaronette Vonleh led the Buffs with seven rebounds to go with her 12 points.
"We were trying to prioritize rebounding because these guys [Southern Utah] were No. 4 in the country in rebounding and I thought we did a great job. We're just continuing to get better and better."
Senior Quay Miller led CU with 13 points. Sharpshooters Frida Formann and Jada Wynn each hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points apiece. The Buffs drained 11 3's on the night and shot 47.7% (31-65). from the field.
"It makes the offense a lot easier to run and design when you have players that are really competent in shooting from 3," Payne added. "We knew Jada was going to be a shooter. Jaylyn [Sherrod] and Kindyll [Wetta] have also worked a lot on their shots since last season. When you have all these different players that can really shoot with confidence, it makes a huge difference in our flow."
Southern Utah (3-6) had three players in double figures, led by Daylani Ballena's game-high 16 points.
How It Happened
It was a back-and-forth start to the night, with both teams using early runs. Colorado opened with a 5-0 start but Southern Utah came back with a 9-0 run to take the lead halfway through the quarter. The T-Birds got up by as many as five in the quarter, 12-7, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Wetta and Sadler helped the Buffs close the period on a 13-4 run to take a 20-16 lead.
Southern Utah got back within four, 24-20, just over two minutes into the second quarter. A Miller 3-ball followed by a Brianna McLeod jumper handed the Buffs a nine-point lead, 29-20, with 5:57 to go in the quarter. The nine-point separation was all the Buffs needed, outscoring SUU 14-7 the rest of the quarter to take a 43-27 lead at the half.
Colorado's defense took the reins in the third quarter. CU held the T-Birds to 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting in the period. Seven of SUU's 15 turnovers occurred in the quarter. The Buffs took full advantage, scoring eight of their 14 points in the quarter off of turnovers.
"Coach T [Toriano Towns] leads our defense and he's a really smart basketball coach," Payne expressed. "He's very intelligent in what he sees. He also is willing to listen to our staff who also contribute with really good ideas. The best thing is that our team is making the adjustments. It's one thing for a coach to see something that needs to be adjusted. It's a whole different thing for the team to say, 'Okay, let's do this,' come together and do that. I think our team does that really well. And they listen and engage, they communicate, and that's really helping us be great in the second half."
The Black & Gold's lead reached 30 points in the fourth quarter as the team hit a game-best 21 points and shot 66.7% (8-12) in the frame. Wynn played all 10 minutes in the final quarter, totaling eight of her 11 points in the frame. The Buffs' bench contributed 15 points of its 33 points in the closing period.
Turning Point
McLeod secured CU's first offensive rebound of the night, following a Wynn miss at the 4:28 mark of the first quarter. Colorado was trailing 12-7 at that point and the o-board led to a Miller second-chance layup that kickstarted a 13-4 run to the end of the quarter for the Buffs.
"We weren't rebounding very well offensively," Payne recalled. "I think we're going to see that our first few possessions of the game, we had nobody on the offensive glass. When Bri came in she instantly gave us multiple offensive efforts on the glass and I think that kind of kick-started our energy."
Up Next
The Buffs will open up Pac-12 Conference play on the road next week. Colorado will travel to Utah for the conference-opener (Dec. 14) before returning home to play Alcorn State (Dec. 16).
Notes
It's the first time since the 1996-97 season that Colorado has held opponents to 50 points or less in four consecutive games (Mar. 5 – Iowa State, 39, Mar. 6 – Texas, 50, Mar. 8 – Kansas State, 44, Mar. 14 – Marshall, 49)…CU's four straight wins of 20+ points tie its streak from last season ( Dixie State, +25, Southern Utah +34, SMU + 23, San Francisco +24)….The Buffs have held opponents to under 55 points in seven games this season…Colorado now has three games with 10+ 3FGM, compared to just one (11 vs Samford) all last season…The Buffs did not attempt a free throw in the first half and finished with a season-low in makes (5) and attempts (6).
Quotes
Head coach JR Payne
On having confidence in Wynn and McLeod
"As a coach, I always believe in them and I always want them to believe in themselves as much as I believe in them. I see the mistakes in ways like, 'Oh, that's something we can fix.' As young players, they see their mistakes as pretty detrimental, like, 'that was such a big mistake.' For me, I just want them to move on, and just learn from it and let's keep moving. These two are doing a really great job of that and the truth is we need them. We need them to come in and contribute the way that they did tonight. I think we are a much better ballclub when they play like that with confidence and aggressiveness and you know, don't hang their head and just keep playing and we're a really good team like that."
Jada Wynn
On contributing as a freshman
"I think it helps to have those veterans in front of you that can guide you and help you limit those freshman mistakes. Then having coaches and teammates that trust you in the game definitely builds your confidence."
On the 3-point shooting
"It just comes from getting a lot of reps in. I think also having coaches that tell you to, 'Shoot the next one. Even if you miss, shoot the next one. The next one's going in.' It makes you believe more in yourself that the next one is going in."
Brianna McLeod
On contributing as a freshman
"It means a lot to be honest because we're young. Everybody says, 'Oh, freshmen don't really play a lot. 'You have to play behind people,' or 'You have to earn your stripes.' It means a lot to me that I can get in so early and contribute. Also, it means a lot that Coach trusts me enough to put me in and believes in my abilities."
On benefits of having a shooting team
"[It helps] a lot. I do benefit a lot. Knowing that if I ever get stuck or anything that if I pass it out, I'm passing it to shooters and they'll take a good shot."
