Colorado
15-2,5-1Pac-12
UCLA
15-1,4-1Pac-12
No. 3 Colorado Falls to No. 5 UCLA
January 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Four Buffs hit double figures
BOULDER – No. 3 Colorado fell to the No. 5 UCLA Bruins by a score of 76-68 in a tightly contested battle Friday night at the CU Events Center
A record crowd of 11,338 fans filled the arena for the first-ever top 5 matchup in CU women's basketball history. It was the fifth sellout in program history and the first in almost 30 years with the last coming in March of 1995.
"How about 11,000 people showing up for these guys," head coach JR Payne exclaimed after the game. "Proud of a lot of things we did and very disappointed and frustrated with our rebounding because I do think that determined the outcome of the game. I mean, two heavyweights. Two of the best teams in the country and the first top-five matchup. I thought we competed on every single possession. I think our offense got stagnant, which we haven't seen really at all this year. Then the defensive rebounding just absolutely crushed us. They're [UCLA] a great team that is very well-coached. [They have] a lot of talented players on the floor. I am so proud of our team and some cool accomplishments happening with records and climbing in the record book."
The Buffs' loss to UCLA marks their first Pac-12 Conference loss of the season and second overall. It snaps their nine-game win streak, dating back to November 28th.
Four different Buffaloes had double-digit points, Jaylyn Sherrod led with 17 while Frida Formann had 16 with three triples. Aaronette Vonleh and Quay Miller had 10 points apiece.
UCLA outscored Colorado 44-33 in the second half, and it was CU's 17 fouls to UCLA's 10 fouls that was the difference maker. Despite shooting better from the field all game compared to the Bruins, it was CU's foul trouble that led to the defeat. The Buffaloes had the same amount of free-throw attempts (24) as the Bruins had made free-throw makes (24).
Five different Buffs had four or more fouls, including Miller, who fouled out with just over a minute left in the game.
"It definitely played a role when the ball stopped, and now you have people trying to play in a way they don't typically play," Payne noted. "And then there are so many free throws in the fourth quarter, which is hard to combat, but then on the flip side, we'll watch the film and figure out where we could have been better to keep them off [the line]. That is our mindset. We don't really blame anybody, but we are trying to figure out ways that we could have been more effective, which we will do. It's definitely hard to play like that with a lot of your top players in foul trouble."
UCLA (15-1, 4-1 Pac-12) was led by Charisma Osborne's 22 points. Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic both finished with double-doubles, helping the Bruins outrebound the Buffs, 44-27.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams got off to a hot start, trading buckets back in forth through the first five minutes, with Sherrod opening up the game with a bucket beyond the arc. Five different Buffs logged at least one bucket in the first quarter which included seven different lead changes.
It was a 6-0 run topped off by a Vonleh jumper that pulled CU out in front, ending the first quarter up four, 19-15. Formann led Colorado with six points in the period.
Each team started with a 3-pointer of their own to open the second quarter, with Charlotte Whittaker getting things going for the home squad. The Buffs would then hold UCLA scoreless until the 5:12 mark resulting in a 5-0 run led by a Formann 3-pointer, extending CU's lead to 27-18.
Colorado gained its largest lead of the game, 32-24, after a Sherrod AND-1, that was finished off with a Formann free throw when Sherrod was forced to leave the game after hitting the floor hard.
After not reaching the free throw line once in the first quarter, the Bruins got nine chances at the line the following period, scoring eight of their 17 points in the second quarter from the stripe. UCLA closed the half with an 8-3 run that cut the Buffs' lead down to 35-32 at the half.
The third quarter featured nine more lead changes, with UCLA taking a one-point lead over an 8-3 run. CU tied the game at 40-40 thanks to a pair of Tameiya Sadler free throws and would retake the lead, 42-41, on a jumper by Sadler. Sadler led the Buffs with four points in the low-scoring quarter that finished with UCLA taking a 49-48 lead.
UCLA got to the free-throw line 13 times in the final 10 minutes, starting with a pair of makes from Osborne to take a 51-48 lead. Sherrod answered back for the Buffs with a tough jumper leading to an AND-1 to knot things up at 51 apiece. Falling behind by three, Sadler hit a key 3-pointer to tie things back up at 56-56 with 6:43 to play
The Bruins outscored the Buffs 20-12 in the final 6:43, going 7-for-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line.
KEY MOMENT
UCLA held a 63-62 lead before going on a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter that put the Buffs down 70-62 with 1:42 to play. CU's offense wouldn't recover, finishing the game 1-for-6 shooting.
UP NEXT
The Buffs will once again face another top-10 team on Sunday at home, where they will take on the No. 6 ranked USC Trojans at 1:00 p.m.
NOTES
CU is now 8-15 all-time against UCLA…Miller's 10 points pushed her past 1,300 career points with 1,307 (946 at CU)…Sherrod moved into a tie for 19th with Alexis Robinson on CU's all-time scoring list (1,285)...CU's 68 points were the second-lowest of the season...CU's bench outscored UCLA's 15-8...The Bruins outscored CU 38-22 in the paint...CU's four steals were the fewest this season...Colorado is now 2-2 against top 10 opponents this season and 3-2 against top 25 teams...the team was again without the services of Sara-Rose Smith for the third straight game (mild concussion).
