Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
18-3,8-2Pac-12
Washington State
15-7,4-5Pac-12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 15 | 10 | 20 | 18 | 63 |
| Washington St. | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 57 |
Buffs Take Care of Business in Pullman
February 02, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Frida Formann ties her career-high with 27 points in the win
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Beasley Coliseum traditionally is a tough place to get a result for Colorado and Friday night was no different. The sixth-ranked Buffaloes had to battle from behind to closeout Washington State by a score of 63-57 in the last regular-season Pac-12 visit to the Palouse.
It's Colorado's (18-3, 8-2 Pac-12) second win in a row in Pullman, improving to 4-8 on the road against WSU. Washington State falls to 15-7 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12.
It was all Frida Formann and Aaronette Vonleh for Colorado, combining for 47 of the team's 63 points. Formann accounted for all six of the Buffs' 3-pointers, knocking down 6-of-9 on the night. She tied her career-high with 27 points, totaling 20 points in the second half alone. Vonleh tallied 20 points along with eight rebounds, her fourth game this season in which she has scored 20 or more.
"Road games are always going to be like that," Formann said following the win. "But I think also, we made it a little tougher for ourselves than we probably needed to, especially in the first half. But I'm proud of us for digging ourselves out of it and playing a really gritty team. They lost one of their best players [Leger-Walker] and we knew they were going to come out and play for her. So just proud that we got out with a dub."
Colorado trailed by as many as six in the third quarter before getting the offense back on track. CU shot just 35.5% (22-62), its third straight game under 40.0%.
"I don't want us to start overthinking anything," head coach JR Payne said postgame. "We have a great team. We have great point guards. We have great shooters with great post play. We have a ton of veterans. We have everything we need to be as good as we want to be but sometimes, are we thinking about it too much? Sometimes that'll mess with you more than missing shots. Everybody just simplify and do your job and I'll keep it simple and I'll make sure I'm doing what I can to be prepared and we're good."
Colorado had nearly double the amount of turnovers as Washington State did (14-8) but outrebounded the Cougars 50-38. Quay Miller was huge for the Buffs on the boards, snagging a season-high 15 rebounds.
Four of the five Washington State starters logged 8 or more points but did not get a single point from its bench. Tara Wallack led the Cougars with 19 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Formann started hot early on for the Buffs, going 2-2 from the floor for five points in the opening quarter. The two teams played to a 15-15 tie in the first period, with the Buffs getting more than half of their points (8) in the paint.
The Buffs and Cougs combined for 23 points in the second quarter, while CU ended the half shooting 1-for-10 from three-point land. Washington State took the lead on the final possession of the half, 28-25, thanks to a 3-pointer from Tara Wallack.
Washington State came out of the break and built its lead to six, 36-30. The Buffs answered with three triples from Formann to jump-start the Colorado offense and regain the lead, 39-38. Vonleh added seven points to the Buffs' scoring, and Colorado finished the quarter with a 45-42 lead.
Formann once again knocked down another basket from distance to go up 51-50 with five minutes left in regulation. She came out of the media timeout with another three-pointer extending the CU lead to four, 54-50.
Jaylyn Sherrod sealed the game for the Buffs, draining a long jumper to go up four, 58-54, with under a minute to go.
Formann closed the game out for the Buffs at the free-throw line, going 5-for-6 in the final 31 seconds to complete the victory.
KEY MOMENT
Trailing 36-30 halfway through the third quarter, sharpshooter Frida Formann found the hot hand, nailing three straight 3-point field goals in as many attempts to give the Buffaloes a one-point lead at that point in the game. She helped Colorado finish the quarter on a 15-6 run to take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
The Buffaloes will head to Seattle on Sunday afternoon to take on the Washington Huskies, looking to close the four-game road trip with three wins.
NOTES
Colorado improves to 11-14 against WSU and 4-8 in Pullman…Second game this season with two players over 20 points (UT Arlington)...25 first-half points were the fewest scored in a half this season…Miller surpassed 100 career assists at CU (101)...Friday was CU's third-lowest shooting percentage of the season...Miller's 15 rebounds were the most by a Buff since she recorded 19 at Oregon State last season...Miller moved past Jamillah Lang for 18th all-time in rebounding now at 628...Kindyll Wetta tied Alexis Robinson for 17th all-time with 162 career steals.
