BOULDER – CU vs Northern Colorado
By: Colin Wagner, CU Athletic Communications Associate
No. 8 Colorado, playing its first game in over two weeks, showed resiliency in a 78-56 win over Northern Colorado after coming out of the gates slowly at the CU Events Center on Thursday.
The Buffaloes (10-1) found themselves in a deep hole early in the opening quarter after the Bears (4-5) came out hot and scored the first 14 points. CU used a 13-0 run late in the second quarter and went into halftime with the lead. Colorado held UNC to just 21 points in the second half, completing its biggest come-from-behind win since a 17-point comeback against Samford in 2017.
“A two-week break, as wonderful as it was, is a really difficult thing to navigate for a team,” head coach JR Payne said after the game. “In 23 years of coaching, I’ve never had to navigate that before so I think we saw that in the first few minutes of the game. It was a little rusty, but I’m definitely proud of how we got rid of that the rust and played really well for the most part.”
After Colorado had been trailing for some time, Quay Miller brought the energy back for the Buffs. She finished with eight points, six rebounds and two assists. Jaylyn Sherrod also had an impressive performance as she showed up when the Buffs needed her most, scoring 16 points, all of which came in the first half. Aaronette Vonleh was Colorado’s second-leading scorer with 14 points, but she was a force on the defensive end as well, recording a career-high five blocks. Vonleh’s five swats marked the most in a game by a Buff since 2017.
Tameiya Sadler and Kindyll Wetta each finished in double-figures with 10 and 11 points, respectively. Sadler led the team with five steals and Wetta led the team with six assists.
The Buffs will enjoy the holidays before taking on No. 11 Utah on December 30 in their first conference matchup of the season.
“The great thing about a veteran team is that everybody in the locker room almost knows what to expect when they come back,” stated Payne. “So I know that they’ll rest and they should rest and really enjoy their time with family and all of that is great, but they also are smart enough to do something over the break.
“Every team in our league is so good and we’re starting with maybe the best. I don’t know, everybody’s good. So we will be super dialed in from the jump. We won’t practice till the 26th and it’ll be a very focused and dialed-in practice. I can guarantee it.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs called an early timeout after finding themselves in a nine-point deficit following three 3-pointers from UNC’s Delaynie Byrne. Shortly after, Colorado scored its first points to get on the board at 14-2.
Miller helped CU to produce a 10-0 scoring run to come within four at 16-12. The Buffs finished the first quarter trailing 21-15 with UNC shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc.
The Buffs and Bears fought back and forth in the second quarter to a six-point game approaching the four-minute mark. Colorado made four straight field goals to come within just two at 35-33. CU totaled 26 points in the quarter, hitting 58.8% (10-17) from the field.
Sherrod made a tough driving AND-1 layup to give the Buffs their first lead of the game in the final minute of the half. She scored the final nine points of the quarter, aiding in a 13-0 run that put the Buffs up 41-35 at the break.
Vonleh and Sadler each had six points in the third quarter as the Buffs outscored Northern Colorado 19-8 to start the second half. Colorado forced eight Bears’ turnovers in the quarter, translating to eight of the team’s 32 points off of turnovers.
Colorado continued its success in the fourth quarter and managed to get deeper into the bench in the final minutes. The Buffs outscored the Bears, 18-13, for the third straight quarter and took down Northern Colorado by 22 points.
KEY MOMENT
Sherrod converted an AND-1 layup to give the Buffs their first lead of the game late in the second quarter. The bucket was part of a 13-0 Colorado scoring run and helped the Buffs regain control of the game.
NOTES
Colorado is now 14-6 all-time vs Northern Colorado … the Buffs have now won 11 straight against the Bears … CU has double-digit wins in non-conference play for five consecutive non-COVID seasons (went 2-1 in 2020-21) … CU has now had 20+ assists in nine games this season … Colorado shot 51.6%, recording its fifth game of the season over 50% … Colorado finished with a season-low 28 rebounds … CU’s 14-point first-quarter deficit was its largest comeback win trailing by 17 at halftime against Samford (Nov. 10, 2017) … Wetta’s six assists marked a new season-high … the last time Northern Colorado won against the Buffs was on January 27, 1998 … Vonleh’s five blocks are the most in a game by a Buff since Janea Bunn’s five vs Mississippi Valley State on November 24, 2017
UP NEXT
The Buffs will open up conference play at home against Utah on Saturday, December 30 at 1 p.m. MT.
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