As they make their way through arguably the toughest stretch of schedule in the brutal Pac-12 this season, the Buffs have started to lose their way.
After dropping consecutive games against Oregon State and Utah, No. 11 Colorado dropped its third straight contest Friday at Galen Center, as JuJu Watkins scored 42 points and USC caught fire from the perimeter, racing to an 87-81 win over the Buffs. The win evened the season series at 1-1 after Colorado picked up a 63-59 win over the Trojans last month in Boulder.
Most people expected to see something similar to the first meeting: slow, methodical possessions and plenty of gritty, stifling defense. Instead, it was just the opposite. The Buffs and the Trojans raced out of the gates, pushing the pace and scorching the nets whenever they got the chance. Watkins was excellent in the first quarter for USC scoring 12 of the Trojans’ final 14 points of the frame and tallying 15 overall.
Colorado (20-6, 10-5 Pac-12) did its best to hang around while withstanding USC’s scoring onslaught, answering every run with a little spurt of its own to stay attached. CU took what the elite USC defense gave it, pushing the tempo when it was available and staying patient and finding Aaronette Vonleh in the post in the half court.
USC (21-4, 11-4 Pac-12) appeared to create some cushion in the final minute of the first with a Watkins 3-pointer that put it up by seven, but Vonleh calmly answered with a bucket. Then, Jaylyn Sherrod stripped Watkins, ran the fastbreak, and found Maddie Nolan with a beautiful lob to cut the USC lead to 22-19 after one.
Colorado was able to hang around despite a plethora of foul trouble. JR Payne inserted Kindyll Wetta into the starting lineup to guard Watkins, but she picked up two fouls just 51 seconds into the contest. Shortly thereafter, Tameiya Sadler and Frida Formann also picked up two personals, limiting the Buffs’ rotation options for much of the first half.
In the second quarter, the already-rapid pace reached breakneck speed. The two teams began trading buckets seemingly every time down the floor, with both of them barely missing at all. At first, it was Watkins and McKenzie Forbes getting in on the action for the Trojans, and then Kayla Padilla chimed in with three triples of her own.
As the Buffs do, they continued to battle. The third Padilla 3 put USC up by 13 points with under two minutes until the half, but CU had one more answer in the dazzling first half. Quay Miller poured in a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10, and Nolan backed it up with one of her own. Then, after a Nolan steal, Sherrod nailed an end-of-clock triple, closing out a 9-0 run that brought the Buffs within just four points, 47-43, at halftime. In the second quarter, both teams combined to shoot 12 for 12 from the 3-point line.
The third quarter started the same way that the first half ended — with both teams trading triples. After an and-one from Forbes, Miller and Padilla traded blows from the outside, but that Padilla triple started a Colorado run. The Buffs rattled off 11 straight, buoyed by a Watkins elbow to the face of Sherrod for a flagrant foul, to give the Buffs their first lead since the opening minutes at 57-53.
To the Trojans’ credit, they responded immediately. A jumper by Forbes put USC back in front, and then the foul trouble really began to catch up to the Buffs. Sherrod picked up her second, third, and fourth fouls in a 2-minute span near the end of the third forcing her to the bench for the remainder of the quarter. While Sherrod sat due to the fouls, the Trojans extended their lead from two to 10, and took a 73-63 lead with just under nine minutes to go in the game.
Payne gambled, putting Sherrod back on the floor with four fouls to try and finish things out. It backfired immediately. The Buffs’ point guard got caught scrambling for a loose ball, barreling into a USC ball handler and picking up her fifth, sending her to the bench for the rest of the game. Shortly thereafter, Vonleh hacked Watkins on a drive to the rim, picking up her fifth to send her right next to Sherrod on the bench. Immediately after Vonleh’s fifth foul, Forbes knocked down a dagger 3-pointer, her fifth of the night, putting USC up by 15 and effectively ending the Buffs’ hopes of a road win.
Vonleh led the Buffs in scoring with 18 points before fouling out with five minutes to go. She was one of five Buffs in double figures, joining Sherrod, Wetta, Miller and Nolan. The Buffs shot the ball very well from the floor as a team, knocking down 57% of their shots and shooting 7 for 13 from 3. Colorado also got a ton of contributions from its bench, outscoring USC 25-0 in reserve scoring.
Watkins set a school record by eclipsing 30 points for the 11th time this season, and efficiently scored her 42 points on 10-for-19 shooting. The Buffs were able to speed her up and make her uncomfortable at times, forcing the freshman phenom into 10 turnovers, but her shotmaking and ability to get to the free-throw line was a safety valve that the Trojans could lean on throughout the night. Forbes was excellent as well, notching 24 points and shooting 5 for 6 from beyond the arc. As a team, USC shot lights out, finishing 13 for 19 from downtown.
The Buffs are now in serious danger of losing their top-four seed and first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. They now sit in a tie for fourth with UCLA at 10-5 in conference play. The Buffs and Bruins will settle the score Monday night in a massive contest as it relates to the conference standings. Tipoff in Westwood will be at 7 p.m. MST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
