Colorado
17-5,7-3Pac-12
Oregon
14-8,5-6Pac-12
Vonleh's 22 Leads Buffs Past Ducks
February 03, 2023 | Women's Basketball
A career night for the CU sophomore gives Colorado its first win in Eugene since 2014
EUGENE, Ore. – Colorado sophomore Aaronette Vonleh scored a career-high 22 points, helping the Buffaloes to the 63-53 win over Oregon on Friday. The win for CU marked the first at Matthew Knight Arena since the 2014 season.
Recent trips to Eugene haven't been pretty for the Buffs, resulting in deficits of 29, 58 and 59 since the 2019-20 season.
"We've come a long way," head coach JR Payne recalled about the team's previous visits to Oregon. "Everyone has just poured so much into helping us build our program that's built on toughness and discipline and all the things we care about. It's cool to reap the reward and see the difference of a huge point swing from that time to this time."
The win marked the 17th of the season and the team's eighth in the Pac-12 (17-5, 8-3 Pac-12), keeping Colorado firmly in the No. 3 slot of the conference standings.
"I was really proud of how we played," Payne commented. "The third quarter wasn't great and they [Oregon] got back in it. They were switching defenses a lot and kept us on our heels. It was a loud crowd and we had to make sure we were on the same page, offensively. I thought we did a great job communicating. Defensively, we had a couple of different coverages we were trying to be in. I was just really proud of our efforts."
Vonleh finished 10-for-15 from the field with eight rebounds, while Frida Formann was the only other Buff to record double figures. She went 5-for-12 from the field and 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Jaylyn Sherrod handed out seven assists on the night to go along with her nine points. Quay Miller led all players with 10 rebounds but snapped her streak of 10 consecutive games in double figures, finishing with five points.
"I feel like with our team, it's someone different every night," Vonleh said. "You never know whom it's going to be, whether it's Frida, Quay or anyone else. I'm thankful it was me [tonight] and that I was able to execute and contribute to our success. I was focused and motivated from the loss that we just had so we just fed off that energy."
Oregon (14-8, 5-6 Pac-12), who entered Friday as the top 3-point shooting team in the Pac-12, was shutout from long distance. The Ducks finished 0-for-16 from 3-point distance, marking just the fourth time UO got blanked from deep in a game since the 1999-00 season. Grace VanSlooten and Endyia Rogers each had 15 in the losing effort.
"I thought they got some good looks in both halves," Payne added. "They took some shots that they normally make, but we were intent on making sure that they were contested shots. Even if we were late. Even if it was a closeout, just make sure our hands are up and we're contesting. I think we really did that tonight."
How it happened
Colorado trailed for the first 1:28 of the game, but that was the extent the Buffs had to play from behind.
Vonleh got her game going early on, hitting three of CU's first four baskets. She accounted for six of CU's first eight points as the Buffs doubled up the Ducks, 8-4, in the opening three minutes. The rest of the Buffs followed suit as the team shot 52.9% (9-17) in the quarter. Colorado took advantage of Oregon's turnovers in the opening quarter, scoring seven points off of six Duck turnovers. CU twice led by seven points in the frame but Oregon closed the quarter with a 4-0 run to cut the Buffs' advantage to 19-16.
Colorado wouldn't relinquish its lead the rest of the night, growing it to as many as nine points before the end of the half. Tameiya Sadler went the distance on a swipe-and-score to put CU up 31-23. A Vonleh free throw gave CU its largest lead of the half, 32-23, before going into the locker room up seven, 32-25.
Vonleh kept it going to start the second half with her 14th point on CU's first basket out of the break, but Colorado's productivity came to a halt in the quarter. The Buffs scored just seven points in the quarter while hitting 17.6% (3-17). CU struggled through an 0-for-8 shooting slump after Vonleh's opening basket and saw the Ducks go on a 6-0 run to get back within three, 34-31. Sherrod scored the final five CU points and the Buffs clung to a 39-37 lead going into the fourth.
The Buffs saved their best quarter for last, totaling 26 points and going 11-for-16 from the field to close out the Ducks. Miller opened the quarter by making a layup through contact and converted the free throw to put Colorado ahead 42-37. Tayanna Jones put the Buffs up 46-38 inside the opening two minutes of the quarter and a Formann 3 extended the lead to 11, 49-38, just three minutes into the quarter.
Oregon would get back within six points with 2:25 to play, but the Buffs came back with a 6-0 run to claim their largest lead of the night, 61-49, with 1:38 on the clock.
Key Moment
Miller's AND-1 to open the fourth quarter was the spark that fueled the Buffs to victory. Colorado ripped off a 10-1 run, capped by a Formann 3, to open the fourth quarter. The run, which put CU ahead 49-38, accounted for more points in 2:52 than all of the third quarter.
Notes
Colorado has now won two consecutive games against Oregon, marking the longest win streak against the Ducks since winning four straight from Feb. 10, 2013, to Feb. 22, 2015…CU is 7-0 in conference play when scoring 60+ points…Oregon's 53 points marked its fewest in Pac-12 play this season…Vonleh has scored 10+ points in 17 consecutive games…Friday was Sherrod's sixth game with at least seven assists this season…Colorado was just 3-for-5 from the free-throw line, while the Ducks went 13-of-17…Rebounds were identical with both teams finishing with 36 (nine offensive, 27 defensive)…CU outscored Oregon 40-34 in the paint and 16-6 on the fast break.
Quotes
Head coach JR Payne
On maturity of Colorado – "In order to win on the road you have to be mature because your opponent is so good and they can rack up points very quickly. I thought everyone that played really contributed. I thought Tameiya came in and played really well. I thought Tay Jones played well. We had a lot of different people step up when we needed it."
On Vonleh's game – "I said to her after the game, I'm most proud because she didn't have the best start. She picked up a foul in the first minute of the game and didn't score early easily. But she just put her head down and kept working. She didn't get upset. She didn't get frustrated. She just kept working and played really smart and contributed in a lot of meaningful ways. It was a huge, mature response."
Aaronette Vonleh
On winning on the road – "It means a lot. Road wins are hard to come by. Playing in a tough environment against a really good team and getting a win is always a good thing."
