Published Dec 30, 2023
Buffs use late push to knock off No. 12 Utah in conference opener
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Troy Finnegan  •  CUSportsReport
Staff Writer
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@troyfinnegan

The No. 8-ranked Colorado women’s basketball team tipped off its final season in the Pac-12 with a blockbuster matchup (the first of many on the schedule) against No. 12 Utah on Saturday.

After a back-and-forth affair that was incredibly tight for all 40 minutes, a decisive closing run and 19-point swing led by a dominant performance from Jaylyn Sherrod pushed the Buffs over the top, 76-65.

Colorado (11-1, 1-0 Pac-12) closed the game on a 23-4 run to seize the important victory over the Utes (10-3, 0-1) inside the CU Events Center.

“Our upperclassmen, Jaylyn in particular, talked a lot to the group this week about playing in the Pac-12 everything is harder,” coach JR Payne said postgame. “You’ve gotta have a more focused mindset, a more disciplined approach, just everything has to be elevated. Our team, I think, really did that whether we were up or down, it didn’t really matter. We stayed locked in. So, super proud of our team. Great win. We’ll enjoy it for about a day.”

In a matchup that featured the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year in Utah’s Alissa Pili, Sherrod was the best player on the floor. The senior point guard took over the game and dominated on both ends, finishing with a career-high 34 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals. In the fourth quarter alone, she scored 13 points and didn’t miss a single shot from the field, putting the Buffs over the top after carrying them for stretches of the game.

From the opening tip, this one was back-and-forth. The two teams constantly made mini runs, exchanging leads as they jockeyed for position. Sherrod and Pili were in control from the very beginning, getting their teams off the ground early. Sherrod found Aaronette Vonleh with a savvy feed right at the end of the quarter, and the Buffs’ center laid it in to give Colorado a 16-15 lead after one.

In quarter two, Pili really started to establish her dominance, showing why she is one of the top scorers in America. The Utes star sliced and diced the Buffs defense with a collection of dazzling spin moves and powerful rim attacks, showing deft touch around the basket to keep the Utah offense afloat. But Sherrod and the Buffs, despite losing Quay Miller to foul trouble early in the half, hung around, as Sherrod and a few big contributions from Sara-Rose Smith kept the game all square at 33 heading into intermission.

As the second half wore on, Utah began to make its run. Another difficult finish from Pili followed by a huge 3 on the move by Kennady McQueen gave Utah its first real separation of the day at 59-51.

From there, it was all Buffs. Sherrod took over, along with Vonleh, who had 10 fourth-quarter points of her own. Smith was held out of the scoring column in the final 10 minutes but had earned the trust of Payne to close the game and collected seven boards in the final frame.

In the end, it was the Buffs’ defense that made all the difference during their decisive run. Colorado turned the Utes over 12 times in the second half, turning those into 14 points. The Buffs repeatedly got out in transition where Sherrod thrives, finishing with a 29-5 fastbreak point advantage. Offensively, it was Sherrod and Vonleh, who scored 23 of the Buffs' final 25 points to carry them to victory.

“I wouldn’t even say our defense changed, we just kept the same intensity for 40 minutes,” Sherrod said. “It was just about going out there and doing our jobs. At the end of the day, no matter what’s on the scorecard, everybody did their job today for the most part. I think that’s what got us through. But our defense, I think that was the best defensive 40-minute game we’ve had all year and that’s what we need to do. We’re getting back to Colorado basketball.”

Pili still had an excellent statline, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but the Buffs made life much tougher for her in the second half. The Utah star turned the ball over six times, five of them in the final 20 minutes, and shot just 3-for-7 with 10 points after halftime. They sent constant traps and doubles at her and it completely changed the calculus of the Utah offense.

“I thought in the first half she got a lot of easy drives to the rim and open shots,” Vonleh said of Pili. “The adjustment was just to be more aggressive and make her have to make a different decision than what she wants to do.”

For the game, Vonleh finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, all while having to guard Pili on the other end. Smith recorded her first double-double as a Buff, notching 11 points (5-for-5 shooting), 12 rebounds and four steals in 23 minutes off the bench.

Pili was the only double-figure scorer for Utah, who desperately missed point guard Gianna Kneepkens after she suffered a season-ending right foot injury on Dec. 2. The Buffs did a good job of running Utah off of the 3-point line, holding the Utes to just 5-for-20 shooting from outside. The Utes entered Saturday averaging over 13 makes per game from distance on almost 43% shooting, both first in the Pac-12 by a wide margin.

The Buffs are not back in action until next weekend, when they head to Arizona for a two-game road trip against Arizona and Arizona State. They’ll kick off that stretch in Tucson against the Wildcats on Friday, Jan. 5. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. MST.

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