University of Colorado Athletics
Sunday, November 12
Boulder, Colo.
4:00 PM
Colorado
vs
Oklahoma State
Photo by: Tony Harman
No. 20 Buffs Conclude Busy Opening Week on Sunday
November 11, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Colorado hosts Oklahoma State to wrap week one
BOULDER – The No. 20 Colorado women's basketball team will wrap up opening week action with a showdown against Oklahoma State (4 p.m. MT) at the CU Events Center on Sunday. It will be CU's third game of the week, following opening wins over No. 1 LSU and Le Moyne.
The Buffaloes finally had time to breathe this week, following a front-loaded start to the week with two games in three days. Colorado had the day off following Wednesday's 97-38 win over Le Moyne, before getting back on the court on Friday.
Sunday's game will be Colorado's second Power 5 matchup of the opening week.
"We're really excited to play Oklahoma State," head coach JR Payne exclaimed. "I think it will be a great crowd and a great game with two NCAA Tournament teams [from last year]. Both teams have high expectations this year and we just scheduled this really challenging preseason on purpose, knowing that we don't have to win every game. We want to continue to prepare ourselves for the Pac-12 season and I think a team like OSU will do that."
Colorado has built a reputation as a strong defensive squad over the last few years and that's held through the first two games this season, holding the defending national champs to 78 points and Le Moyne to just 38. What might be a surprise early on this year is the team's offensive numbers. The Buffs opened with back-to-back 90-point games for the first time since March of 2001, putting 92 up on LSU and 97 on Le Moyne. CU's 97 points on Wednesday was its most since totaling 106 against Westminster (Mo.) on Dec. 12, 2017.
"We're trying to be great with our execution," Payne noted. "If we execute well, we have the pieced and the talent to be able to score like that. Defense is ultimately what we will rely on. You can go 10-for-10 from 3 and go 0-for-10 from 3. Sometimes the ball just doesn't go in even though they're great looks. We will continue to rely on being one of the best defensive teams around."
Part of the key to CU's offensive success this season has been the ability to high from behind the arc. Colorado has double-digit 3's in each of its first two games, a feat the team only repeated once last season hitting 10 against Jackson State (Nov. 12) and 11 vs Louisiana (Nov. 15).
Senior Frida Formann got the party started vs LSU, tying the school record with seven makes from deep. Graduate transfer Maddie Nolan shouldered a bulk of CU's triples against Le Moyne, going 5-for-7. Formann ranks second in the NCAA through two games with 10 3-pointers and the Buffs are third in the Pac-12, hitting 41.2%.
"We intentionally wanted to recruit and add another shooter in the offseason and we did that with Maddie," Payne continued. "She's one of the best shooters in Michigan history and can do a lot of different things. Having great insight along with perimeter shooting makes everybody's job a little easier. It opens things up on the outside when you have great inside presence and vice versa. I think that balance is really good for us."
Oklahoma State (2-0) went 21-12 last season and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cowgirls opened the season with wins over SIUE and New Orleans and rank 19th in the NCAA with a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio.
The Buffs own a 27-26 series lead, having jumped ahead with a 55-45 win to open the 2021-22 season in Stillwater. Current CU assistant coach Taelor Karr was an assistant at OSU the past two seasons, before joining Payne's staff before the start of this season.
Sunday's game is the Buffs' annual toy drive. Fans are encouraged to donate new toys that will benefit A Precious Child.
Mary Murphy and Jenny Cavnar will have the call for the Pac-12 Network. Fans can also listen to the game locally on AM 630 and across the Colorado Radio Network, the Varsity App and SiriusXM channel 373.
The Buffaloes finally had time to breathe this week, following a front-loaded start to the week with two games in three days. Colorado had the day off following Wednesday's 97-38 win over Le Moyne, before getting back on the court on Friday.
Sunday's game will be Colorado's second Power 5 matchup of the opening week.
"We're really excited to play Oklahoma State," head coach JR Payne exclaimed. "I think it will be a great crowd and a great game with two NCAA Tournament teams [from last year]. Both teams have high expectations this year and we just scheduled this really challenging preseason on purpose, knowing that we don't have to win every game. We want to continue to prepare ourselves for the Pac-12 season and I think a team like OSU will do that."
Colorado has built a reputation as a strong defensive squad over the last few years and that's held through the first two games this season, holding the defending national champs to 78 points and Le Moyne to just 38. What might be a surprise early on this year is the team's offensive numbers. The Buffs opened with back-to-back 90-point games for the first time since March of 2001, putting 92 up on LSU and 97 on Le Moyne. CU's 97 points on Wednesday was its most since totaling 106 against Westminster (Mo.) on Dec. 12, 2017.
"We're trying to be great with our execution," Payne noted. "If we execute well, we have the pieced and the talent to be able to score like that. Defense is ultimately what we will rely on. You can go 10-for-10 from 3 and go 0-for-10 from 3. Sometimes the ball just doesn't go in even though they're great looks. We will continue to rely on being one of the best defensive teams around."
Part of the key to CU's offensive success this season has been the ability to high from behind the arc. Colorado has double-digit 3's in each of its first two games, a feat the team only repeated once last season hitting 10 against Jackson State (Nov. 12) and 11 vs Louisiana (Nov. 15).
Senior Frida Formann got the party started vs LSU, tying the school record with seven makes from deep. Graduate transfer Maddie Nolan shouldered a bulk of CU's triples against Le Moyne, going 5-for-7. Formann ranks second in the NCAA through two games with 10 3-pointers and the Buffs are third in the Pac-12, hitting 41.2%.
"We intentionally wanted to recruit and add another shooter in the offseason and we did that with Maddie," Payne continued. "She's one of the best shooters in Michigan history and can do a lot of different things. Having great insight along with perimeter shooting makes everybody's job a little easier. It opens things up on the outside when you have great inside presence and vice versa. I think that balance is really good for us."
Oklahoma State (2-0) went 21-12 last season and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cowgirls opened the season with wins over SIUE and New Orleans and rank 19th in the NCAA with a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio.
The Buffs own a 27-26 series lead, having jumped ahead with a 55-45 win to open the 2021-22 season in Stillwater. Current CU assistant coach Taelor Karr was an assistant at OSU the past two seasons, before joining Payne's staff before the start of this season.
Sunday's game is the Buffs' annual toy drive. Fans are encouraged to donate new toys that will benefit A Precious Child.
Mary Murphy and Jenny Cavnar will have the call for the Pac-12 Network. Fans can also listen to the game locally on AM 630 and across the Colorado Radio Network, the Varsity App and SiriusXM channel 373.
Players Mentioned
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