Tuesday, November 19
7 p.m.
Colorado
5-1,0-0Big 12
95
vs
65
Utah State
1-4,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Utah St.
13
26
3
23
65
Colorado
21
25
27
22
95
Photo by: Serena Rodriguez
Buffs' Offense Breaks Out Against Utah State
November 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Colorado scored a season-high 95 points on Tuesday
BOULDER – Grad transfer Lior Garzon emerged from an early-season shooting slump, letting loose on Tuesday night with a career-high 28 points in Colorado's 30-point, 95-65, win over Utah State.
Colorado (5-1) shot a season-high 55.6% (30-54) and had 25 assists on 30 made baskets. Junior transfer Jade Masogayo (17) and Frida Formann (15) joined Garzon in double figures, while Kindyll Wetta led the team with nine assists.
"I thought that at times we were really good, and at times we were just like, ah, what are we doing?" head coach JR Payne said after the win. "It's early in the season, that's why we play all these different types of games, but definitely lots to build on. It was so wonderful to see Lior knocking down shots like we all know she can and to see Jade come alive and Frida and Kindyll have nine assists. I mean, there's so many great things in the stat sheet. I would say the thing I'm most excited about is 25 assists on 30 field goals is really remarkable. We just have to work on the turnovers and get those down so that we can control the outcomes a little bit more efficiently."
Garzon finished 10-for-14 on the night, totaling 24 of her 28 points over the final three quarters. The Oklahoma State transfer high five 3-points on the night, matching her total through the season's first five games.
"It felt great," Garzon said of her play on Tuesday. "I talked with the coaches before the game, and they said just focus and do the best you can. Don't focus on shooting the ball. If you make it or miss it, just focus on the game. Do the best you can. I think that really helped me take the pressure off of my shoulders. I have to make the shots, and the game will come to me. It felt great, and it always gives you confidence to keep shooting no matter what."
Tuesday marked the 100th birthday of CU superfan Peggy Coppom. She entered the arena to her theme music between the first and second quarter and maybe not coincidently sparked CU's best shooting numbers of the night.
"What a beautiful thing," Payne expressed. "Everybody loves Miss Peggy, but her being here at 9:30 on a night when she's had many long days recently just speaks to the woman that she is. It's just incredible for her to spend this time with us."
The win marked CU's sixth game in the first 15 days of the season and its second in the last three days. The Buffs will have time to decompress before heading to Utah Tech on Nov. 27.
"I think the break is obviously going to be good for us," Garzon added. "But at the same time, we need to lock in on our next games. After this week, we have very tough games. We can take the next two days to recover mentally, physically and emotionally. But after that, it's like business. We have really good games that we need to win and really do our best. Like Coach said we have a lot to improve. It's definitely going to help us focus on ourselves and not the other teams. But I'm definitely looking forward to the next games."
How it Happened
The Buffs used an early 11-0 run, getting five points from Formann, to jump out to an early 13-3 lead. Colorado was on its way, but Utah State put together a 6-0 run to cut the Buffs' lead to 17-12. CU hit its last three shots of the opening quarter to take a 21-13 lead into the second quarter.
Colorado's hot shooting continued at the start of the second quarter, hitting five more shots-in-a-row, capped off by Garzon's first triple of the night to go up 32-23. Both teams were lights out in the quarter, with CU hitting 61.1% (11-18) and Utah State keeping pace at 53.8% (7-13). The Aggies used the free-throw line to their advantage in the quarter, going 7-for-9 from the stripe and outscored the Buffs 26-25 in the period to trim the deficit to 46-39 at the half.
Garzon and Co. put the game to rest in the third quarter, outscoring Utah State 27-3. The sharpshooter totaled 11 points in the quarter and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. CU's defense held USU to 1-for-13 from the floor and forced six turnovers, leading to 12 points off turnovers in the quarter.
"Limit [our] turnovers, make better decisions, make sure passes don't make the 'yeah it's sort of there passes,' Make the clean passes," Payne said about the halftime adjustments. "We wanted to be aggressive. We wanted to contest higher on the perimeter because they were shooting the 3 so well; we wanted to keep rebounding. So yeah, we kind of covered everything."
CU's lead grew to 33 points at the start of the fourth quarter, following a pair of free throws from freshman Erin Powell. The Aggies again outscored the Buffs 23-22 in the quarter, but the spread was too much for the visiting team to overcome.
Notes
Garzon's previous career-high was 26 points with Villanova on Nov. 20, 2021…It was Colorado's first 90-point game since scoring 90 against Oregon (Feb. 9, 2024)…The 95 points were the most by CU since totaling 95 last against UT Arlington (Dec. 5, 2023)…Wetta's nine assists move her into ninth all-time at CU with 364…Colorado has scored 30 or more points off the bench in three straight games…Tuesday was the second game this year CU has forced 20 or more turnovers...Formann's 15 points puts her at 1,350 for her career.
Colorado (5-1) shot a season-high 55.6% (30-54) and had 25 assists on 30 made baskets. Junior transfer Jade Masogayo (17) and Frida Formann (15) joined Garzon in double figures, while Kindyll Wetta led the team with nine assists.
"I thought that at times we were really good, and at times we were just like, ah, what are we doing?" head coach JR Payne said after the win. "It's early in the season, that's why we play all these different types of games, but definitely lots to build on. It was so wonderful to see Lior knocking down shots like we all know she can and to see Jade come alive and Frida and Kindyll have nine assists. I mean, there's so many great things in the stat sheet. I would say the thing I'm most excited about is 25 assists on 30 field goals is really remarkable. We just have to work on the turnovers and get those down so that we can control the outcomes a little bit more efficiently."
Garzon finished 10-for-14 on the night, totaling 24 of her 28 points over the final three quarters. The Oklahoma State transfer high five 3-points on the night, matching her total through the season's first five games.
"It felt great," Garzon said of her play on Tuesday. "I talked with the coaches before the game, and they said just focus and do the best you can. Don't focus on shooting the ball. If you make it or miss it, just focus on the game. Do the best you can. I think that really helped me take the pressure off of my shoulders. I have to make the shots, and the game will come to me. It felt great, and it always gives you confidence to keep shooting no matter what."
Tuesday marked the 100th birthday of CU superfan Peggy Coppom. She entered the arena to her theme music between the first and second quarter and maybe not coincidently sparked CU's best shooting numbers of the night.
"What a beautiful thing," Payne expressed. "Everybody loves Miss Peggy, but her being here at 9:30 on a night when she's had many long days recently just speaks to the woman that she is. It's just incredible for her to spend this time with us."
The win marked CU's sixth game in the first 15 days of the season and its second in the last three days. The Buffs will have time to decompress before heading to Utah Tech on Nov. 27.
"I think the break is obviously going to be good for us," Garzon added. "But at the same time, we need to lock in on our next games. After this week, we have very tough games. We can take the next two days to recover mentally, physically and emotionally. But after that, it's like business. We have really good games that we need to win and really do our best. Like Coach said we have a lot to improve. It's definitely going to help us focus on ourselves and not the other teams. But I'm definitely looking forward to the next games."
How it Happened
The Buffs used an early 11-0 run, getting five points from Formann, to jump out to an early 13-3 lead. Colorado was on its way, but Utah State put together a 6-0 run to cut the Buffs' lead to 17-12. CU hit its last three shots of the opening quarter to take a 21-13 lead into the second quarter.
Colorado's hot shooting continued at the start of the second quarter, hitting five more shots-in-a-row, capped off by Garzon's first triple of the night to go up 32-23. Both teams were lights out in the quarter, with CU hitting 61.1% (11-18) and Utah State keeping pace at 53.8% (7-13). The Aggies used the free-throw line to their advantage in the quarter, going 7-for-9 from the stripe and outscored the Buffs 26-25 in the period to trim the deficit to 46-39 at the half.
Garzon and Co. put the game to rest in the third quarter, outscoring Utah State 27-3. The sharpshooter totaled 11 points in the quarter and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. CU's defense held USU to 1-for-13 from the floor and forced six turnovers, leading to 12 points off turnovers in the quarter.
"Limit [our] turnovers, make better decisions, make sure passes don't make the 'yeah it's sort of there passes,' Make the clean passes," Payne said about the halftime adjustments. "We wanted to be aggressive. We wanted to contest higher on the perimeter because they were shooting the 3 so well; we wanted to keep rebounding. So yeah, we kind of covered everything."
CU's lead grew to 33 points at the start of the fourth quarter, following a pair of free throws from freshman Erin Powell. The Aggies again outscored the Buffs 23-22 in the quarter, but the spread was too much for the visiting team to overcome.
Notes
Garzon's previous career-high was 26 points with Villanova on Nov. 20, 2021…It was Colorado's first 90-point game since scoring 90 against Oregon (Feb. 9, 2024)…The 95 points were the most by CU since totaling 95 last against UT Arlington (Dec. 5, 2023)…Wetta's nine assists move her into ninth all-time at CU with 364…Colorado has scored 30 or more points off the bench in three straight games…Tuesday was the second game this year CU has forced 20 or more turnovers...Formann's 15 points puts her at 1,350 for her career.
Team Stats
USU
CU
FG%
.317
.556
3FG%
.343
.556
FT%
.682
.806
RB
27
44
TO
20
26
STL
17
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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