Published Dec 5, 2023
Buffs stars shine in big win over UT Arlington
Troy Finnegan
CU Sports Report

Colorado had no trouble putting points on the scoreboard in front of the kids on field trip day in Boulder, knocking off UT Arlington 95-74 to improve to 9-1 on the season.

“A lot of great things and a lot of areas to continue to work on,” Buffs head coach JR Payne said postgame. “Throughout the season, you’re trying to get better, every day you’re trying to be better. As coaches, we’re kind of wired to look at the weaknesses or look at the areas we can improve. But I’m also smart enough to be able to celebrate the really great things that we did as well. So proud of a lot of things in the stat sheet and excited for some opportunity to focus on ourselves in the next couple weeks.”

The Buffs came out scorching the nets from everywhere on the floor, and the Lady Mavs were helpless on the defensive end. Colorado constantly moved the ball, and seemingly everyone was knocking down shots when they got their opportunities.

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In the first quarter, UT Arlington was in a similar flow offensively, and was able to keep up with the Buffs in the opening 10 minutes. Despite trailing almost the whole period, the Lady Mavs stayed right there at arm’s length, trailing by just four at the end of the opening period.

In the second, Payne’s squad started to pull away. It locked in defensively, giving up just a pair of buckets over the opening five minutes of the second frame, and was able to keep the momentum rolling on offense to get a healthy lead. To end the half, Frida Formann drained a stepback three and gave a little shrug on her way back down the floor. It was Formann’s sixth three of the first half, giving her 20 points at the break and tying a school record for 3-pointers in a half as the Buffs took a 51-36 lead into the locker room.

“I was just feeling it,” Formann said.

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The second half was more of the same for Colorado, and Formann’s hot shooting became contagious. First, it was Quay Miller knocking down a pair of threes, her third and fourth of the game, to extend the Colorado lead. Then, Michigan transfer Maddie Nolan got hot with back-to-back triples near the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was smooth sailing for the Buffs, who tailed off a bit from the field and ultimately fell just short of the century mark on the scoreboard, but still were able to secure a routine win.

Formann finished the day with a game-high 23 points and shot 7 for 10 from 3-point range, tying the school record for threes in a game (she also had seven in the season opener vs LSU). She is now shooting 35 for 72 from three on the season, up at 48.6% on the highest volume of her career.

“It’s not that I have that different of a skillset,” Formann said. “I think it’s also growing and maturing and getting more comfortable, also just knowing that whenever it hits my hands and I’m open that’s a good shot for us. I think in other years I might have doubted if that’s the shot or if that’s what we really want, but the last couple of games I’ve tried to just not worry about it too much.”

The Buffs also had a pair of double-doubles from Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod. Miller had her best scoring day of the year, notching 21 points to go with 11 rebounds. Sherrod, as usual, was the table-setter, setting a career-high with 13 assists and adding 11 points.

All season, the Buffs have moved the ball well, maintaining a spot in the top 10 in the country in assists. They certainly didn’t hurt that number today, as they racked up 28 assists on 37 made field goals. Five Buffs recorded multiple assists, led by Sherrod’s 13.

For the Lady Mavs, Keiori Lee had 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting off the bench to lead the team, and Gia Adams wasn’t far behind with 15. UT Arlington was able to stay in the game early with some hot 3-point shooting of their own, finishing 8 for 17 from beyond the arc for the game.

In the second half, starting guard Tameiya Sadler went down with an apparent ankle injury. She was helped off the court and returned to the bench in the fourth quarter on crutches, but Payne said “she’ll be fine” after the game that the injury was not serious.

The Buffs now have a long layoff before their next game as they finish up academics for the semester. They aren’t back in action until Dec. 21 in Boulder, where they will take on Northern Colorado.