Back for seconds: Buffs shut down Kansas State, advance to Sweet 16
The second weekend is so sweet, the Buffs had to come back for seconds.
Colorado is headed to the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 21 years after knocking off Kansas State, 63-50, in front of a sold-out crowd at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. The Buffs (24-9) kept pace with the hot-shooting Wildcats in the first half, and then completely shut them down in the second half, quieting the home crowd and marching on to Albany next weekend.
“Wow, so proud of our team for how we played today,” head coach JR Payne said postgame. “The environment was incredible. Shoutout to Manhattan, Kansas. The entire community has welcomed us all week and that’s a great basketball environment, but we love that environment. We love being the underdog, we kind of thrive in that role. So I know that we as a group are very, very comfortable going into such a tough environment. ... Really, really excited to be moving on.”
The big story of the first half was the battle down in the post between Ayoka Lee and Aaronette Vonleh. Lee is one of the top scorers in the Big 12 at over 20 points per game, but for the opening 20 minutes Vonleh wouldn’t even let her get a touch. The Buffs’ center racked up seven steals by halftime, all on entry passes to Lee down in the post, setting a new Colorado NCAA Tournament record. The K-State star only scored four points in the opening half, both off of offensive rebounds.
“I was just trying to be really intentional about getting in the best position to be able to slip around her,” Vonleh said. “I never really look in the steals column when I look at my name, so to see a 7 there is kind of crazy.”
The Buffs' offense was buoyed by the hot shooting of Maddie Nolan in the early going. The senior splashed a pair of 3s near the end of the opening period to temporarily quiet the rowdy crowd, but a Serena Sundell jumper evened things back up at 14 after one.
Kansas State (26-8) was the first team with a big run in it as it stretched its lead up to nine thanks to seven straight points from Sundell. The Buffs immediately answered back with a 9-0 run of their own, boosted by another Nolan 3-pointer, to get back on level terms at 33 apiece.
KSU seized the momentum into the locker room after an incredible heads-up play by Sundell to end the half. Inbounding the ball with just 2 seconds remaining, Sundell bounced the ball off of Bri McLeod’s back, collected it, and laid it in while getting fouled just before the buzzer sounded. Her free throw came up short, and the Wildcats took a 35-33 lead into the break.
Like they did Friday against Drake, the Buffs picked up the pressure on the defensive end coming out of halftime. After great first halves by Sundell and Gabby Gregory in the Wildcats’ backcourt, the K-State guards cooled off coming out of the locker room and the Buffs made their push. Jaylyn Sherrod tied things at 39 with a layup, and then Sundell caught the Buffs’ point guard with an elbow to the face, earning a flagrant foul that shifted the momentum. Nolan sank both of the ensuing free throws to put CU back in front, and then Tameiya Sadler took over.
The Washington transfer probed in the lane, leaned back and sunk a jumper to give the Buffs a five-point lead. Then, a tough left-handed finish on the fast break. Sadler got out in transition again, finishing around the basket on the next possession, and capped her run with another mid-range jumper to put the Buffs up by eight. She scored eight Colorado points in a row, and after a Vonleh bucket in the lane, the Buffs took a 52-42 lead into the fourth.
“It’s funny, because you never know,” Sadler said. “We have so many people on this team that can go for 30 tonight or 10 the next day. It was nice just to know that your teammates are going to instill this type of confidence in you. When they were like, ‘Get Tam the ball,’ I was like 'They believe in me so I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna do whatever I can to help us win tonight.'”
The Achilles' heel of the last month for the Buffs has been those fateful fourth quarters where the offense disappeared and the team started to panic. The early part of Sunday’s final frame was a familiar sight. Colorado’s offense lost all of its flow, as it started to give the ball away and take rushed, ill-advised shots.
Colorado started the fourth 0 for 5 with five turnovers and a pair of missed free throws before Quay Miller finally got it on the board just inside the 4-minute mark. The Buffs’ defense kept them afloat, as Vonleh continued to deny Lee the ball in the post, and the Kansas State guards repeatedly came up empty from downtown.
Shortly following that Miller bucket, Gregory finally found the range from distance, splashing home a 3 that revived the home crowd and cut the Buffs’ lead to just five, and it felt like the momentum was beginning to shift. But Sadler was there to silence it once again, smoothly sinking another jumper off the bounce to quiet the Wildcat supporters.
Kansas State had one last chance to claw back into the contest, but Jaelyn Glenn missed a jumper and then split a pair of free throws, cutting the lead to just six. Miller stretched the Buffs’ lead with two of her own from the line, and the Buffs advanced back to the second weekend.
Sadler was the second-half hero, scoring all 10 of her points after halftime and propelling the Colorado offense forward as it started to stutter late. Maddie Nolan was the leading scorer with 11, and Vonleh finished with nine points, eight rebounds and seven steals after flirting with a triple-double all day. Miller had a very good day as well, notching a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Buffs disrupted the Kansas State offense all day, forcing 22 turnovers and turning those into 19 points.
“When I look at the box score, any coach in the world would love to see a box score like this where you have nine points, 10 points, nine points, nine points, 11 points, 10 points,” Payne said. “The balance on our team is just unreal, and I think that’s really, really hard to guard.”
Gregory led the Wildcats with 12 points, taking 11 shots to get there. Sundell finished with 11 but had a nightmare second half: 0 points and four turnovers while fouling out late in the game. The All-Big 12 performer was under duress all day, giving the ball away nine times in total. Vonleh kept Lee quiet, but she still picked up a 10 point, 11 rebound double-double.
The Buffs now await a Monday matchup between No. 1-seeded Iowa and eighth-seeded West Virginia to determine their next opponent. CU will face the winner of that contest March 30 in Albany.