Sunday, January 7
Tempe, Ariz.
12:00 PM
Colorado
13-1,3-0Pac-12
81
at
68
Arizona State
8-7,0-3Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
25
25
21
10
81
Arizona St.
18
7
24
19
68
Photo by: Serena Rodriguez
No. 5 Buffs Complete Road Sweep With Win Over ASU
January 07, 2024 | Women's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 5 Colorado finished with two wins in the desert this weekend after defeating Arizona on Friday night and Arizona State 81-68 here Sunday afternoon.
The Buffaloes (13-1, 3-0 Pac-12) picked up their seventh straight win behind a dominant second quarter against the Sun Devils (8-7, 0-3 Pac-12), outscoring ASU 25-7 in the period. Colorado shot both 50.0% from the field and three-point range while holding Arizona State to just 8.3% from the field in the quarter.
Aaronette Vonleh erupted early with a 14-point first quarter which led to a team-high 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the game.
"It's kind of like football if you can establish the run as they say," head coach JR Payne said about getting Vonleh going early. "I'm not a football person, but yeah, anytime you can have that balance of inside scoring -and very efficient inside scoring, I think it opens up the perimeter game as well. That balance is important."
Next, it was Maddie Nolan's turn who had nine second-quarter points after cashing in on three 3s. Vonleh and Nolan helped Colorado reach 50 points in a half for the seventh time this season.
"She had a great weekend," Payne said regarding Nolan. "She's incredible. She's a coach's dream. Anyone in the country would love to coach her because she's so unselfish, so hard working and just wants to be a part of a great team. And she contributes in so many ways that don't show up on the stat sheet."
The huge first half from CU allowed the Buffs to accumulate a total of 76 combined bench minutes between seven players this afternoon. Charlotte Whittaker, Sara-Rose Smith and Kindyll Wetta combined for 17 points off the bench with Whittaker leading the group with seven.
Colorado seemed to be extra dialed in after the closely contested one-point win over Arizona by coming out of the gates hot and with 25 points in each of the first two quarters. The Sun Devils did pose a comeback threat late in the fourth as a result of CU turnovers, however, the Buffs managed to pick it up and hang on for the victory.
The Buffs will travel back to Boulder to play the Cal Golden Bears on the night of Friday, January 12th.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs started on a 9-0 scoring run forcing an early Arizona State timeout just over three minutes into the game. Out of the timeout, the Sun Devils responded with an 11-2 run to tie things up at 11-11.
Smith made a layup with three seconds left in the first as Colorado ended the quarter with eight unanswered points. ASU went scoreless in the final 2:44 handing CU the 25-18 advantage heading into the second.
The Buffs caught fire in the second quarter outscoring the Sun Devils 18-2 and forcing an Arizona State timeout after a Nolan 3-pointer with four minutes to go before halftime.
Colorado ended up outscoring ASU 25-7 in the quarter as the Buffs held the Sun Devils to 8.3% (1-12) from the field.
Vonleh led Colorado with 18 points in the opening half while Nolan put in 11 to help the Buffs double up ASU at the half, 50-25.
The Buffs struggled to score to open the second half with just five points in the first 5:05 of the quarter. Frida Formann put Colorado's offense back on track with two 3-pointers approaching the three-minute mark.
Both teams battled back and forth to end the quarter as the Buffs held a 71-49 lead going into the fourth.
Arizona State started a comeback bid Late in the fourth quarter after going on an 11-1 run to come within 10 points.
The Buffs put an end to the Sun Devil run and held on to take down ASU 81-68.
KEY MOMENT
Nolan knocked down two 3s within a minute and a half of each other to extend Colorado's lead to 43-20 and force an Arizona State timeout with four minutes remaining in the second quarter.
NEXT
The Buffs will continue Pac-12 play at home against Cal on Friday, January 12th at 7 p.m. MT.
NOTES
Colorado improves to 14-16 all-time against Arizona State…The Buffs are now 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1996-97…Colorado has now won seven consecutive games, its longest winning streak since eight games from Dec. 16 - Jan. 20 last season…Colorado has also won five straight on the road dating back to the team's win at Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season...Wetta finished with two steals to give her 151 in her career…Nolan finished with 11 points, her second game in double-figures as a Buff…Sherrod closed with three steals and moved into ninth all-time at CU tied with Sandy Bean (1978-82) with 236 steals.
The Buffaloes (13-1, 3-0 Pac-12) picked up their seventh straight win behind a dominant second quarter against the Sun Devils (8-7, 0-3 Pac-12), outscoring ASU 25-7 in the period. Colorado shot both 50.0% from the field and three-point range while holding Arizona State to just 8.3% from the field in the quarter.
Aaronette Vonleh erupted early with a 14-point first quarter which led to a team-high 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the game.
"It's kind of like football if you can establish the run as they say," head coach JR Payne said about getting Vonleh going early. "I'm not a football person, but yeah, anytime you can have that balance of inside scoring -and very efficient inside scoring, I think it opens up the perimeter game as well. That balance is important."
Next, it was Maddie Nolan's turn who had nine second-quarter points after cashing in on three 3s. Vonleh and Nolan helped Colorado reach 50 points in a half for the seventh time this season.
"She had a great weekend," Payne said regarding Nolan. "She's incredible. She's a coach's dream. Anyone in the country would love to coach her because she's so unselfish, so hard working and just wants to be a part of a great team. And she contributes in so many ways that don't show up on the stat sheet."
The huge first half from CU allowed the Buffs to accumulate a total of 76 combined bench minutes between seven players this afternoon. Charlotte Whittaker, Sara-Rose Smith and Kindyll Wetta combined for 17 points off the bench with Whittaker leading the group with seven.
Colorado seemed to be extra dialed in after the closely contested one-point win over Arizona by coming out of the gates hot and with 25 points in each of the first two quarters. The Sun Devils did pose a comeback threat late in the fourth as a result of CU turnovers, however, the Buffs managed to pick it up and hang on for the victory.
The Buffs will travel back to Boulder to play the Cal Golden Bears on the night of Friday, January 12th.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs started on a 9-0 scoring run forcing an early Arizona State timeout just over three minutes into the game. Out of the timeout, the Sun Devils responded with an 11-2 run to tie things up at 11-11.
Smith made a layup with three seconds left in the first as Colorado ended the quarter with eight unanswered points. ASU went scoreless in the final 2:44 handing CU the 25-18 advantage heading into the second.
The Buffs caught fire in the second quarter outscoring the Sun Devils 18-2 and forcing an Arizona State timeout after a Nolan 3-pointer with four minutes to go before halftime.
Colorado ended up outscoring ASU 25-7 in the quarter as the Buffs held the Sun Devils to 8.3% (1-12) from the field.
Vonleh led Colorado with 18 points in the opening half while Nolan put in 11 to help the Buffs double up ASU at the half, 50-25.
The Buffs struggled to score to open the second half with just five points in the first 5:05 of the quarter. Frida Formann put Colorado's offense back on track with two 3-pointers approaching the three-minute mark.
Both teams battled back and forth to end the quarter as the Buffs held a 71-49 lead going into the fourth.
Arizona State started a comeback bid Late in the fourth quarter after going on an 11-1 run to come within 10 points.
The Buffs put an end to the Sun Devil run and held on to take down ASU 81-68.
KEY MOMENT
Nolan knocked down two 3s within a minute and a half of each other to extend Colorado's lead to 43-20 and force an Arizona State timeout with four minutes remaining in the second quarter.
NEXT
The Buffs will continue Pac-12 play at home against Cal on Friday, January 12th at 7 p.m. MT.
NOTES
Colorado improves to 14-16 all-time against Arizona State…The Buffs are now 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1996-97…Colorado has now won seven consecutive games, its longest winning streak since eight games from Dec. 16 - Jan. 20 last season…Colorado has also won five straight on the road dating back to the team's win at Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season...Wetta finished with two steals to give her 151 in her career…Nolan finished with 11 points, her second game in double-figures as a Buff…Sherrod closed with three steals and moved into ninth all-time at CU tied with Sandy Bean (1978-82) with 236 steals.
Team Stats
CU
ASU
FG%
.500
.345
3FG%
.300
.313
FT%
.594
.767
RB
37
41
TO
13
16
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
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