The season opener for Colorado women’s basketball resembled some of the games of a few years ago: slow, gritty, physical.
Thursday night’s home opener looked completely different. The Buffs broke out in a big way on the offensive end, as they notched 26 assists on 32 baskets en route to an 81-66 win against Northern Colorado.
“This group, above any team maybe I’ve ever coached, has really poured into each other away from basketball,” head coach JR Payne said. “They were super intentional all summer long about spending time together, learning each other, knowing each other, which with so many new players was gonna be really important to our success. I think we’re seeing that translate to the basketball court pretty quickly, and it’ll just be something that’ll keep getting better and better.”
After surviving a 56-50 rock fight Monday night against Wyoming, all eyes were on the Colorado offense out of the gate in its first game in front of the CU Events Center crowd this season. The Buffs (2-0) came soaring out of the gate, jumping out to a very quick 12-2 lead. The ball was popping early, as Kindyll Wetta racked up three quick assists and the Buffs generated a ton of easy buckets. Starting forward Jade Masogayo got off to a fast start, knocking down all four of her shots in the first quarter.
After an early timeout, Northern Colorado (1-1) steadied itself thanks in large part to guard Neenah George. George came in off the bench for UNC and scored eight quick points, helping the Bears keep the deficit at just 10 after one quarter.
The Buffs took their foot off the gas a bit in the second quarter as the jump shooting dried up and the turnovers started to appear a little bit too often. CU made a concerted effort to get Oklahoma State transfer Lior Garzon involved after her huge 20 point outing in her Colorado debut, but she didn't have the touch from the outside.
Instead, it was forward Nyamer Diew with the hot hand from the 3-point line in this one. Diew knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter to fend off a pesky Northern Colorado team that had found a groove offensively.
Following a heartwarming ceremony honoring legendary head coach Ceal Barry at halftime, the Buffs came out in the second half focused on shutting the Bears’ water off. UNC generated just 10 points and made two shots from the field in the third quarter while turning the ball over five times, and the Buffs turned that into a barrage of easy transition buckets to extend their lead to 16 heading into the fourth.
Northern Colorado had one more run in the tank in the fourth quarter, as back-to-back layups from London Gamble and Tatum West cut the Colorado lead to just nine with under four minutes to go. The Buffs quickly responded after a timeout with a bucket by Masogayo that reset the momentum, and a Sara-Rose Smith 3-pointer put the game away for good.
“It was pretty up and down,” Payne said. “Lots of good things, lots to learn still. I think I’ll probably say that for the next month of the season. But I’m really proud of our ability to weather the storm. … I thought we did a great job really sticking together.”
Masogayo left a strong impression on the Boulder crowd in her first home game as a Buff, finishing with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Diew added 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Wetta notched a career-high 10 assists.
In addition to their 26 assists, the Buffs were consistently able to stop Northern Colorado’s momentum by forcing turnovers. They finished the night with 22 takeaways, leading to 22 points on the other end.
The Buffs will now head out on the road for a pair of games against Mountain West competition. First up is Boise State on Sunday, followed by Nevada next Tuesday. Tipoff against the Broncos will be at 2 p.m. MST.
