Colorado
16-3,6-2Pac-12
Oregon State
16-3,5-3Pac-12
No. 3 Colorado Falls on the Road at No. 25 Oregon State
January 26, 2024 | Women's Basketball
CORVALLIS -- No. 3 Colorado dropped its first road contest of the season Friday night at Gil Coliseum. The Buffaloes, making their last conference trip to Oregon State, couldn't overcome a rough offensive night, dropping the weekend opener, 68-62, to the No. 25 Beavers.
Colorado (16-3, 6-2 Pac-12) finished the night with a season-low 19 field goals, marking the first time the team had 20 or fewer field goals since going 19-for-66 against Stanford last February.
"It played out similarly to what I might have envisioned, just two really good teams in a very difficult environment," head coach JR Payne said after the game. "The foul trouble was definitely a challenge, but I thought thought we competed. We never quit. We battled and did a lot of things with different players that haven't played in a couple of weeks and sometimes that feels a little bit discombobulated."
Three different Buffaloes logged double-digit points with Jaylyn Sherrod recording a game-high 19. Frida Formann accounted for 13 and Aaronette Vonleh was close behind with 12 points of her own.
"We'll be fine," Payne stated. "This is a group that loves to learn. This is an opportunity and of course, we wanted to win the game, but we're going to be able to watch the film and be a better basketball team by tomorrow afternoon because of the experience we had tonight. That doesn't mean all of a sudden we make all of our shots, but if our execution can be a little bit better when it's crunch time or if we can communicate a little more effectively on ball screen coverage or all of those areas. Maybe it would have been a different outcome."
Oregon State (16-3, 5-3 Pac-12) was led by Donovyn Hunter and Talia Von Oelhoffen, who had 16 points each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After trading buckets to start the game the two teams were knotted at 9-9 until the Buffs would go on a 11-5 run to end the quarter. Formann was key for Colorado in the run, going 3-for-3 from the floor with seven points.
The Buffs shot 61.5% (8-13) in the opening quarter, but couldn't maintain the early offensive efficiency.
Oregon State used a 10-0 run in the middle of the second quarter to erase a 10-point deficit. The Colorado offense became stagnant in the second quarter, hitting just 3-of-14 in the period. The Buffs got outscored 14-2 in the final 6:19 of the quarter, going 0-for-9 shooting to close the half.
Colorado claimed a 30-28 lead in the second quarter, despite the team's offensive woes. The two-point advantage proved to be the last of the night, as OSU took a 32-30 lead at the half.
Both teams struggled to find points early in the third quarter, with CU's shooting slump hitting 0-for-12. Vonleh scored six of CU's 10 points in the quarter and tied the game up twice with the last coming at 38-38 with 1:53 to go. An intentional foul on a half-court shot ended the quarter, giving the Beavers three free throws and a 46-40 lead.
The final quarter saw each team post a game-high 22 points but it wouldn't be enough for the Buffs after scoring just 20 points between the second and third quarters. Sherrod scored 11 of her 19 points in the final frame and the Buffs got as close as three but couldn't get over the final hump.
The game closed out at the free-throw line with the Buffs going 11-for-13 and the Beavers hitting 9-of-10 from the line.
KEY MOMENT
Oregon State's 10-0 run in the second quarter proved a catalyst for the Beavers to rest of the night. The Beavers outscored CU 50-34 from the 6:19 mark of the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Colorado will square off against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
NOTES
CU is now 9-15 all-time against OSU…Sherrod moved into 4th all-time with her 118th career start…CU's 62 points were the lowest of the season…Fewest FGM since Stanford (19) on Feb. 23, 2023…CU's bench outscored OSU 13-11…The Beavers outscored Colorado 34-24 in the paint…CU is now 4-3 against top-25 teams this season…Sherrod moved past Sandy Bean (1,317) for 18th in program history with 1,321 career points…Miller surpassed 600 career rebounds at CU now with 605...Sara-Rose Smith returned to the lineup after missing the last four games.
