The No. 3-ranked Colorado women's basketball team couldn’t close out its week at the Paradise Jam with a championship, falling 78-60 to No. 10 NC State in the Island Division title game in St. Thomas on Saturday.

It's the first loss of the season for the 6-1 Buffs.

The Wolfpack controlled the game from the very start, scoring the first nine points of the day and never looked back.

"Anytime you play a really good team, you're going to learn something, good or bad – usually both,” coach JR Payne said postgame. “I think this game was no different. We need to really learn from the mistakes and I think our team does that well. They take constructive feedback and they want to do well. They're going to watch the film and learn from it. We become a better ballclub when we have that mindset."

The Wolfpack jumped all over the Buffs right from the start holding Colorado to just three baskets in the opening period while forcing 10 turnovers. On the other end, they gave the Buffs a taste of their own medicine, getting out in transition and pounding the ball inside to build a healthy 22-6 lead.

The Buffs battled back in the second quarter but couldn’t find any of the easy buckets that they’ve gotten used to converting. The size of the Wolfpack was a major deterrent in the paint, and the Buffs couldn’t pick up the tempo or finish enough looks inside.

Then, the foul trouble set in. Aaronette Vonleh picked up her third foul with over 6 minutes to go in the first half, sidelining her for the remainder of the second quarter. Without Vonleh on the floor, the Buffs failed to get much closer before halftime and trailed by 15 at the break.

"It was definitely the things we talked about going into the game," Payne said. "Transition offense for them and overall pace for us on the offensive side of the floor and the halfcourt. I thought their transition offense was a lot better than our transition defense today. That's what they do. That's their superpower. It opened up really quickly because of that.”

Undefeated NC State (7-0) didn’t ease up one bit after the half. It continued its aggressive attack, getting the ball inside at will and making life difficult on the Buffs on the other end each and every time down the floor. The Buffs still struggled to convert opportunities offensively, and the deficit got bigger and bigger. By the start of the fourth, the Wolfpack lead had grown to 23.

From there, it was smooth sailing for NC State, who picked up its second top three victory of the season after knocking off No. 2 UConn last week.

Jaylyn Sherrod led the way for the Buffs with 20 points and Frida Formann added 14, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the game. The Buffs were crippled by inefficient shooting and foul trouble. In addition to Vonleh’s struggles with the fouls early on (she later fouled out in 23 minutes), Kindyll Wetta also fouled out in the third quarter after just 10 minutes on the court. For the game, the Buffs shot just under 33% from the floor.

The Wolfpack fared much better from the floor, making their shots at just under a 50% clip and going an impressive 20 for 21 from the foul line. The Buffs had no answer for center River Baldwin, who scored a game-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting and added eight rebounds. Baldwin was one of four Wolfpack starters in double figures, and that balanced scoring allowed them to stay comfortably in front of Colorado despite hitting just four 3-pointers.

The Buffs have a pretty quick turnaround from this one, as they head back home to take on Boston University on Tuesday. Tip-off from Boulder will be at 6 p.m. MST.