Buffs claim third ranked win in OT thriller against No. 8 UCLA
No. 25-ranked Colorado brought down its third ranked opponent of the season Friday night, besting No. 8 UCLA, 73-70, in an overtime thriller as Kindyll Wetta's first career game-winning bucket.
Neither UCLA nor Colorado gave up the fight during those arduous 45 minutes as they battled for every possession and challenged every shot. An explosive third quarter from the Buffs kept them in contention, but the Bruins continued to claw moving into the final period of regulation.
The back-and-forth followed into the 5 minutes of overtime.
UCLA’s Charisma Osborne hit one from downtown to start off, but Wetta and Jaylyn Sherrod delivered in crunch time. Before the game-winning basket Sherrod hit a go-ahead baseline jumper with under a minute to play and fell to the ground. The crowd fell silent, but after taking some moments on the bench, she walked off the cramp back onto the hardwood to finish what they started.
UCLA's Londynn Jones hit the second of two free throw attempts with 42 seconds left to tie the game at 70-70, setting up the dramatic finish for the Buffs.
Sherrod, who scored a team-high 20 points, had the game-winning assist on Wetta's decisive 3-pointer in the final seconds and also hit 400 career assists in Friday’s win.
“Incredible, heady play by her,” Colorado head coach JR Payne said. “She actually called that timeout. She made the basket, felt the cramp, called the timeout which was a really smart play to make. But yeah, she's fine. … We were like, ‘Can you go?’ We didn't know she could go because the defensive possession was going to be so important and if she can't move, you can't defend no matter how much you want it. And she said, ‘Yeah, I can do it.’”
Sherrod and Wetta (13 points, 6 assists) weren't the only stars of the evening. Quay Miller hit her third double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Aaronette Vonleh applied pressure in the backcourt and capitalized on her rim-rolls for 11 points, as the Buffs improved to 16-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference.
They added to a resume that also included back-to-back wins earlier this month over then-No. 8 Utah and No. 14 Arizona.
Colorado’s defense shine Friday, holding UCLA (!7-4, 6-3) to 36.8% from the field. UCLA’s highest scoring guards Kiki Rice (12.4 points per game) and Osborne (16.5 PPG) only hit a combined four shots out of their 25 attempts.
The win was a total team effort.
“Coach T [Toriano Towns] was saying before a game like we've not only earned this respect, but we deserve it,” Miller said. “Like I don't know why, if anyone is counting us out, like I think that we're proven to teams that like we really can compete with anybody, especially on our home floor. It's a pride thing and we own what we wear across our chest. We really take it personal when teams try to show up and try to win against us on our team on our court, like it's just not something we're going for.”
A few free throws made the difference for UCLA in the first half as it took a 33-28 lead. The Bruins capitalized with four 3-pointers.
The Buffs couldn’t find the same success from 3 in the first half, but Miller gave them their first and an additional eight points. Frida Formann, the Buffs' usual downtown shooter, only hit 1-of-8 from the field before halftime, but she was just warming up.
Formann ripped back-to-back 3s to start the third quarter and Sherrod matched the feat a couple minutes later as the Buffs pulled ahead. Miller later hit the Buffs' sixth three, followed by a pair from the line for a 53-48 lead near the end of the third quarter.
“We always try to flush that first half and focus on our third quarter,” Miller said. “The first 3 minutes are key for us, but we're not really looking at the score. We're just trying to keep stepping on their necks. I think that's what keeps us going, and whenever we do have a slip up, that makes us want to cram it down their throat even more.”
The Buffs will try and continue their roll against USC (15-5, 5-4) on Sunday at noon on their home court.
Notable: Shelomi Sanders, Deion Sanders' daughter, sat on the bench during Friday’s game.