Colorado
20-6,10-5Pac-12
USC
21-4,11-4Pac-12
No. 11 Buffaloes Come up Short to Start in LA
February 23, 2024 | Women's Basketball
CU drops 87-81 verdict to No. 7 USC
LOS ANGELES – No. 11 Colorado fell short in California, losing 87-81 to No. 7 Southern California at the Galen Center on Friday.
The loss is the Buffaloes' second road loss in a row and their first three-game losing streak since January 2022, dropping the team to 20-6 overall and 10-5 in the Pac-12. USC (21-4, 11-4 Pac-12) splits the season series with CU while notching its seventh consecutive win.
USC led by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, but Colorado hung around until the very end.
JuJu Watkins led the Trojan offense with a game-high 42 points. The USC freshman made 10 field goals and went 18-for-18 from the free-throw line. McKenzie Forbes posted a near double-double, going for 24 points and seven assists while shooting 5-of-6 (83.3%) from long range.
Colorado's offensive efficiency edged out USC, going 57.1% from the floor. CU shot a staggering 72.7% (16-for-22) from the field in the first half, aided heavily by the Buffs' 90.0% (9-for-10) effort in the second quarter.
Foul trouble plagued Colorado early and proved to be influential throughout the night. The Buffs saw both Jaylyn Sherrod and Aaronette Vonleh foul out of the game in the fourth quarter while sending USC to the line 25 times. Colorado missed 10 free throws on the night, while USC didn't miss at the line until midway through the fourth quarter.
"I'm actually really proud of how we played," head coach JR Payne emphasized. "We have to be able to adjust a little bit quicker to how they're [officials] calling games because the foul trouble clearly hurt us throughout the entire game. I thought we played really good basketball – offensively, and at times, defensively."
The Buffaloes had five players finish in double-figure scoring. Vonleh led the bunch with 18 points. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 candidate Jaylyn Sherrod tallied 11 points and a team-high six assists. Quay Miller (12), Kindyll Wetta (11) and Maddie Nolan (11) rounded out the scoring.
"I thought we played much better basketball [than we have recently]," Payne noted. "In some of our other losses – if we had played like that [tonight], we wouldn't have lost. Our competition was great. Our effort was great. The foul trouble certainly hindered us, but I thought we played good basketball. You can learn and continue to improve but there are so many good things we can take from tonight's game."
How It Happened
Wetta, who got her first starting nod of the season, picked up two quick fouls in the first minute of the quarter as the Buffs opted for a more defensive lineup. The junior guard played just shy of three in the frame, while Tameiya Sadler and Frida Formann also recorded two fouls in the opening quarter.
"We've had games where everybody is in foul trouble." Payne expressed when asked about the switch to a more defensively focused lineup. "Kindyll [Wetta] is a great defender, and she played a lot of the game in foul trouble and was able to manage that. That was definitely sort of a gut punch when your best defender is out fifty seconds into the game."
Nolan beat the buzzer with a mid-air layup from Sherrod to go into the second quarter down by just three, 22-19. Watkins accounted for 15 of the Trojans' 22 points in the quarter.
Colorado's offense came out hot in the second quarter, hitting its first five baskets. The shooting streak bled over from the first quarter, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field dating back to the last minute of the first quarter.
USC took its largest lead of the half, 47-34, after a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter. The Buffs battled back with consecutive 3's from Miller, Nolan and Sherrod to get back within four, 47-43, at the half.
The Buffs forced four turnovers at the start of the third quarter and capitalized by going on an 11-0 run. A pair of Formann free throws followed an intentional foul on Watkins to give CU its first lead of the half. Sherrod capped the run with a layup to put the Buffs up 57-53 with 6:47 to play in the quarter.
The Trojans closed the quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 67-61 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Trojan run extended to 20-6 early in the fourth quarter, putting the Buffaloes down 73-63 with 8:47 left to play.
Sherrod fouled out seconds later and the USC lead grew to 15 midway through the quarter.
The Buffs' urgency picked up as they attempted to make a comeback without Sherrod and Vonleh, who fouled out at the 4:57 mark. CU got back within 10 with 1:50 to go and pushed it to six in the final seconds.
Up Next
Colorado stays in California as they take on No. 12 UCLA on Monday on ESPN2.
"We just have to work to play great basketball." Payne said when asked if the UCLA game on Monday is a "must-win". "Execute both sides of the floor. Execute the scout. Play [with] good offensive movement. Let the ball keep moving. Things like that. Win or lose, that's not really the point. If we play great, we'll give ourselves a chance."
Notes
First three-game losing streak since going 0-4 from Jan. 14-23, 2022…Friday was Wetta's first start of the season and second of her career…Wetta's fifth assist with 29 seconds to play marked the 300th of her career…The Buffs had five players score in double figures for the sixth time this season…CU bench outscored USC 22-0…Watkin's 42 points set an opponent record for the most scored against the Buffs (prev. 41, Lindsey Wilson, Iowa State, Feb. 26, 2003)...Colorado outscored USC 36-18 in the paint…The Buffs finished with 22 assists, marking the 16th game of the season with 20 or more assists.
