Friday, February 17
Tempe, Ariz.
11:00 AM
Colorado
21-5,11-3Pac-12
70
at
62
Arizona State
7-17,0-13Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
22
20
11
17
70
Arizona St.
21
10
15
16
62
Photo by: Will Insull
No. 21 Buffs Hold on in Tempe
February 17, 2023 | Women's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz. – It wasn't pretty and it wasn't easy but the No. 21 Colorado women's basketball team picked up its 21st win of the season on Friday afternoon. The Buffaloes led by as many as 15 and held on late for the 70-62 win over Arizona State.
The Buffs (21-5, 12-3 Pac-12) held a 42-31 lead at the half but got outscored 31-28 by the Sun Devils in the second half. Colorado struggled with turnovers throughout the day, coughing the ball up 20 times. ASU took advantage, scoring 18 points directly off the turnovers.
"We felt like we were doing what we needed to do," head coach JR Payne explained after the win. "We had several people in foul trouble so that's tough. They [ASU] are a good, scrappy, defensive-minded team and I thought they did a good job of being disruptive. Some shots that typically fall [for us] didn't. It was sort of a combination of all those things that made for kind of a jumbled game."
Senior Quay Miller led the Buffs with her fifth double-double in the last seven games, closing with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Tameiya Sadler had her best outing in a Colorado uniform, going 6-for-6 from the field and a CU-high of 16 points.
"I thought Tameiya was great," Payne added. "6-for-6 from the floor and not just the scoring but like the aggressive offensive presence that she brought to the table. When we needed a buck, she went and got one. It's not that we had to run something for her she just made a really aggressive effort to produce and we certainly needed every point."
Sadler's performance, which included five rebounds, three assists and two steals, also didn't go unnoticed by her teammates.
"I think we can throw teams off with having some like Tameiya," Miller expressed. "I think she averages like five points but she put up 16 today. That's something she can do. If she's out there, she's going to score and I think that just having those different elements of Kindyll [Wetta] and Tam being able to put up numbers and do big things takes the attention off players like Jaylyn [Sherrod] and Netty [Vonleh]."
Arizona State (7-17, 0-15 Pac-12) was led by Tyi Skinner and her game-high 27 points. All but seven of the Sun Devil's 62 points came from their starting five, with Jaddan Simmons (11) and Treasure Hunt (10) finding their way into double figures.
How It Happened
Miller was the key to Colorado's early production. She scored seven of CU's first nine points and finished with nine in the first quarter. ASU used six CU turnovers in the frame to force six lead changes in the quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Frida Formann and Kindyll Wetta put CU ahead 16-15, but four ASU free-throws following a technical foul on Jaylyn Sherrod got the Sun Devils back to even at 19-19. Brianna McLeod closed the quarter for CU with an old-fashioned 3-pointer, taking a 22-21.
ASU regained the lead, 23-22, at the start of the second quarter, but the Buffs countered with an 8-0 run to steal back the lead at 30-23. Sadler, who got extended time with Sherrod in foul trouble, scored four points in the run and was a perfect 4-for-4 in the quarter for 11 points. She drilled a wide-open 3 to give the Buffs their largest lead, 40-29, of the half.
"Anything can happen," Sadler noted. "You never know when your number is going to be called. So coming in and coming in with confidence I was just really trying to build on the flow of the game."
The Buffs outshot ASU 61.5% to 26.3% in the second quarter and went CU 58.6% from the field in the first half.
Colorado never trailed in the second half, but the Sun Devils did make the Buffs sweat things out to the final seconds.
The Buffs got baskets from Sherrod and Vonleh to start the third quarter on a 4-0 run, increasing the CU lead to 46-31. But things quickly backfired for the Buffs, who would go 0 for its next 10 shots and saw a 15-point lead dissolve to five with a 10-0 run. The Sun Devils outscored the Buffs 15-11 in the quarter and got as close as four after a Sydney Erikstrup 3-pointer cut the CU lead to 50-46. The Buffs beat the buzzer with a Wetta 3-pointer in the final seconds, going back up by seven to start the fourth quarter.
"I think we allowed them to speed us up on offense and our pace was really bad," Sadler said about the Buffs' second-half start. "We let them push us out of our game and push us out of our offense and make us rush. I think we just needed to slow down, relax and take a deep breath and let the game come to us. That helped a lot."
CU's lead got back up to double figures, 58-48, with a little more than two minutes gone in the fourth quarter, but by the five-minute mark the Sun Devils had gotten back to within four, 62-58. Three empty Colorado possessions late and the CU lead was down to two, 62-60, with 3:22 to play.
Colorado got a free-throw from Sadler to go back up by three and then a timely 3-ball from Forman followed by a Vonley layup to get the lead back to eight, 68-60, with 1:25 on the clock. CU outscored ASU 8-2 in the final 3:22 of the game and closed out the afternoon with a pair of Sherrod free-throws to leave Arizona State still in search of its first conference win.
"I definitely think it is a sign of maturity and growth in this team," Miller said of being able to hold on for the win. "I think that in previous years we would have probably would have sulked longer than we did today. I think that's what played a role in their leads today. We sulked when we usually don't ever do that. If we mess up, we get it back either with a stop or score and I think that we kind of sat too long in our previous mistake and didn't bounce back as quickly."
Key Moment
The Buffs were being outscored 15-8 in the third quarter before Wetta's 3-pointer ended the period. The shot put the Buffs up by seven, giving the team a boost of confidence following a down quarter. CU bounced back and hit 54.5% (6-11) in the final quarter.
Notes
Friday's win snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Sun Devils…It was CU's first win over ASU since Feb. 17, 2013…The win was also Payne's first over ASU, going 0-for-9 in previous matchups…CU has its best record through 26 games since 2012-13 (21-5)…It is also the team's best record through 15 games in the Pac-12 (CU twice went 14-0 in the Big Eight…ASU's 21 first-quarter points were the most allowed by CU this season…CU's 29 bench points were the most since its 33 against Southern Utah…Formann passed 800 career points (801)…Miller now has 600 career rebounds (384 at CU).
Quotes
Head coach JR Payne
On CU's turnovers – "We had 11 at the half. We don't typically turn the ball over like that. That's frustrating and leads to clean looks at the basket for them as well. That's not a great game plan."
On the 11 a.m. tip time – "They played at 11 too. We all tipped off at the same time. We didn't get to practice in this gym. But none of that has anything to do with how we play. We need to make sure that no matter what, no matter where and no matter who – we are locked in and understand how we need to play to win."
On Miller's play – "We probably should have made a more concerted effort to get the ball inside to her. We just didn't end up posting her up that much."
On what needs to improve before Arizona – "I think our pace offensively was pretty sluggish here today and in the half court. That doesn't work very well. We need to make sure that we can play with a better pace and move the ball a little bit faster and we need to be able to guard personnel. I mean, Skinner is really hard to guard because she's so fast and draws a foul on almost every possession. That's tough. But we've got to be able to lock into our personnel scout."
The Buffs (21-5, 12-3 Pac-12) held a 42-31 lead at the half but got outscored 31-28 by the Sun Devils in the second half. Colorado struggled with turnovers throughout the day, coughing the ball up 20 times. ASU took advantage, scoring 18 points directly off the turnovers.
"We felt like we were doing what we needed to do," head coach JR Payne explained after the win. "We had several people in foul trouble so that's tough. They [ASU] are a good, scrappy, defensive-minded team and I thought they did a good job of being disruptive. Some shots that typically fall [for us] didn't. It was sort of a combination of all those things that made for kind of a jumbled game."
Senior Quay Miller led the Buffs with her fifth double-double in the last seven games, closing with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Tameiya Sadler had her best outing in a Colorado uniform, going 6-for-6 from the field and a CU-high of 16 points.
"I thought Tameiya was great," Payne added. "6-for-6 from the floor and not just the scoring but like the aggressive offensive presence that she brought to the table. When we needed a buck, she went and got one. It's not that we had to run something for her she just made a really aggressive effort to produce and we certainly needed every point."
Sadler's performance, which included five rebounds, three assists and two steals, also didn't go unnoticed by her teammates.
"I think we can throw teams off with having some like Tameiya," Miller expressed. "I think she averages like five points but she put up 16 today. That's something she can do. If she's out there, she's going to score and I think that just having those different elements of Kindyll [Wetta] and Tam being able to put up numbers and do big things takes the attention off players like Jaylyn [Sherrod] and Netty [Vonleh]."
Arizona State (7-17, 0-15 Pac-12) was led by Tyi Skinner and her game-high 27 points. All but seven of the Sun Devil's 62 points came from their starting five, with Jaddan Simmons (11) and Treasure Hunt (10) finding their way into double figures.
How It Happened
Miller was the key to Colorado's early production. She scored seven of CU's first nine points and finished with nine in the first quarter. ASU used six CU turnovers in the frame to force six lead changes in the quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Frida Formann and Kindyll Wetta put CU ahead 16-15, but four ASU free-throws following a technical foul on Jaylyn Sherrod got the Sun Devils back to even at 19-19. Brianna McLeod closed the quarter for CU with an old-fashioned 3-pointer, taking a 22-21.
ASU regained the lead, 23-22, at the start of the second quarter, but the Buffs countered with an 8-0 run to steal back the lead at 30-23. Sadler, who got extended time with Sherrod in foul trouble, scored four points in the run and was a perfect 4-for-4 in the quarter for 11 points. She drilled a wide-open 3 to give the Buffs their largest lead, 40-29, of the half.
"Anything can happen," Sadler noted. "You never know when your number is going to be called. So coming in and coming in with confidence I was just really trying to build on the flow of the game."
The Buffs outshot ASU 61.5% to 26.3% in the second quarter and went CU 58.6% from the field in the first half.
Colorado never trailed in the second half, but the Sun Devils did make the Buffs sweat things out to the final seconds.
The Buffs got baskets from Sherrod and Vonleh to start the third quarter on a 4-0 run, increasing the CU lead to 46-31. But things quickly backfired for the Buffs, who would go 0 for its next 10 shots and saw a 15-point lead dissolve to five with a 10-0 run. The Sun Devils outscored the Buffs 15-11 in the quarter and got as close as four after a Sydney Erikstrup 3-pointer cut the CU lead to 50-46. The Buffs beat the buzzer with a Wetta 3-pointer in the final seconds, going back up by seven to start the fourth quarter.
"I think we allowed them to speed us up on offense and our pace was really bad," Sadler said about the Buffs' second-half start. "We let them push us out of our game and push us out of our offense and make us rush. I think we just needed to slow down, relax and take a deep breath and let the game come to us. That helped a lot."
CU's lead got back up to double figures, 58-48, with a little more than two minutes gone in the fourth quarter, but by the five-minute mark the Sun Devils had gotten back to within four, 62-58. Three empty Colorado possessions late and the CU lead was down to two, 62-60, with 3:22 to play.
Colorado got a free-throw from Sadler to go back up by three and then a timely 3-ball from Forman followed by a Vonley layup to get the lead back to eight, 68-60, with 1:25 on the clock. CU outscored ASU 8-2 in the final 3:22 of the game and closed out the afternoon with a pair of Sherrod free-throws to leave Arizona State still in search of its first conference win.
"I definitely think it is a sign of maturity and growth in this team," Miller said of being able to hold on for the win. "I think that in previous years we would have probably would have sulked longer than we did today. I think that's what played a role in their leads today. We sulked when we usually don't ever do that. If we mess up, we get it back either with a stop or score and I think that we kind of sat too long in our previous mistake and didn't bounce back as quickly."
Key Moment
The Buffs were being outscored 15-8 in the third quarter before Wetta's 3-pointer ended the period. The shot put the Buffs up by seven, giving the team a boost of confidence following a down quarter. CU bounced back and hit 54.5% (6-11) in the final quarter.
Notes
Friday's win snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Sun Devils…It was CU's first win over ASU since Feb. 17, 2013…The win was also Payne's first over ASU, going 0-for-9 in previous matchups…CU has its best record through 26 games since 2012-13 (21-5)…It is also the team's best record through 15 games in the Pac-12 (CU twice went 14-0 in the Big Eight…ASU's 21 first-quarter points were the most allowed by CU this season…CU's 29 bench points were the most since its 33 against Southern Utah…Formann passed 800 career points (801)…Miller now has 600 career rebounds (384 at CU).
Quotes
Head coach JR Payne
On CU's turnovers – "We had 11 at the half. We don't typically turn the ball over like that. That's frustrating and leads to clean looks at the basket for them as well. That's not a great game plan."
On the 11 a.m. tip time – "They played at 11 too. We all tipped off at the same time. We didn't get to practice in this gym. But none of that has anything to do with how we play. We need to make sure that no matter what, no matter where and no matter who – we are locked in and understand how we need to play to win."
On Miller's play – "We probably should have made a more concerted effort to get the ball inside to her. We just didn't end up posting her up that much."
On what needs to improve before Arizona – "I think our pace offensively was pretty sluggish here today and in the half court. That doesn't work very well. We need to make sure that we can play with a better pace and move the ball a little bit faster and we need to be able to guard personnel. I mean, Skinner is really hard to guard because she's so fast and draws a foul on almost every possession. That's tough. But we've got to be able to lock into our personnel scout."
Team Stats
CU
ASU
FG%
.491
.375
3FG%
.333
.211
FT%
.714
.769
RB
40
33
TO
20
14
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballColorado Women's Basketball: Cooking with the Buffs
Friday, July 18
Colorado Women's Basketball WBIT second Round Press Conference
Sunday, March 23
Women's Basketball: Colorado vs Gonzaga Highlights | Mar 23, 2025
Sunday, March 23
Colorado Women's Basketball WBIT First Round Press Conference
Friday, March 21