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Fast break
Why the Buffs won: They kept their composure late, played solid defense throughout the night and hit some big shots when needed.
Three stars:
1. CU’s Maddie Nolan: Had a season-high 20 points, including six 3-pointers.
2. CU’s Aaronette Vonleh: Finished with only 10 points offensively, but had seven rebounds and a steal.
3. Washington’s Lauren Schwartz: Scored 18 points and hit all four 3-point attempts.
Up next: CU will host Washington State on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network).
Colorado didn’t dominate in its return home, but the No. 13 Buffaloes found something it had been sorely missing: a victory.
Maddie Nolan got hot from 3-point range early and the Buffs had just enough in the tank late to hold off Washington 68-62 on Thursday night at the CU Events Center.
CU (21-7, 11-6 Pac-12) snapped a four-game losing streak and kept slim hopes alive for a top-four seed – and first-round bye – for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament.
“I was just really excited to win again,” said Nolan, who went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc and had a season-high 20 points. “After the game, I was jumping around and I was like, ‘Guys, we won!’ The season is so long and you get so caught up in different things and then the losses, it can be hard, but just remembering to celebrate every win, whether it’s against a top-five team or whoever. So just excited to be back in the win column, for sure.”
CU head coach JR Payne often expresses the idea that being great on a given day is the main goal more so than getting a win. The Buffs weren’t great against the Huskies (15-13, 5-12), but she was more than happy to celebrate the much-needed win.
“Absolutely,” she said. “We definitely needed to be in the win column again, because even though we played really well at times – we played really well offensively at USC and really, really well defensively at UCLA – it still didn’t translate into a win. Certainly we are all going to feel better with getting that sort of out of the way and now we just want to really dial in and continue to get better.”
In addition to Nolan’s big game, Frida Formann had 12 points and Aaronette Vonleh finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Buffs, however, had to thwart a late Washington rally.
CU never trailed in the final 36 minutes and led by as many as 15 in the third quarter. The lead was still 12 midway through the fourth when the Buffs went cold, failing to score a single point for 5 minutes, 23 seconds while Washington pulled within five, at 64-59.
Buffs point guard Jaylyn Sherrod, who went down with a face injury early in the third, then returned to the game with 36.1 seconds left to boost the Buffs. She was able to hit 2-of-4 free throws and help with CU’s ball control down the stretch to hold off the Huskies.
The close-game experience of Sherrod and other veterans played a role in holding off the Huskies.
“I don’t know how well we executed down the stretch but I mean, yeah, just trying to get the ball in out of bounds, know who to get it to, stuff like that, you kind of learn along the way and knowing how many timeouts you have,” Formann said. “We’ve been practicing some late game situations. So just being aware of clock and score and all that is super important. So it’s always good to get practice with that in a live game.”
Ultimately, it wasn’t the prettiest of games for the Buffs, who had just two days of rest before this one (Washington had three), but they got the job done after a three-game road trip.
“Just really happy to be back at home,” Payne said, “and I’m really happy with how we played in spurts; certainly not 40 minutes but we played really, really well in some spurts on both sides of the floor. Just pushing through fatigue and some injury and things like that. I knew we’d be tired. We had the longest trip, we played a day later than they did and all of that, so I was really happy with how we responded.
“A lot of people came in and really contributed at different times. Even played through frustration, maybe missing some shots we normally make, but kept their head in the game so that when the game was on the line, we were able to execute and do some good things.”
Notable
In the NCAA committee’s second Top 16 reveal on Thursday evening, the Buffs were tabbed as a No. 4 seed, and No. 13 overall. In the previous reveal, on Feb. 15, the Buffs were a No. 1 seed, and No. 4 overall. The nine-spot drop matches the largest in the eight-year history of the Top 16 reveals. In 2022, Tennessee went from No. 4 to No. 13. However, it keeps CU in line to host during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 13 Colorado 68, Washington 62
WASHINGTON (15-13, 5-12)
Sellers 5-12 2-2 13, Stines 1-2 0-0 2, Schwartz 7-9 0-0 18, Daniels 6-15 1-4 13, Ladine 5-8 5-6 16, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Briggs 0-4 0-0 0, Long 0-3 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 8-12 62.
COLORADO (21-7, 11-6 Pac-12)
Sherrod 1-3 4-6 6, Formann 4-9 2-2 12, Miller 1-4 3-4 5, Vonleh 4-9 2-2 10, Nolan 7-8 0-0 20, Sadler 2-6 2-2 6, Smith 1-6 1-2 3, Wetta 2-6 1-4 6, Whittaker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 15-22 68.
Washington 12 16 19 15 – 62
Colorado 18 21 20 9 – 68
3-point goals – Washington 6-16 (Schwartz 4-4, Sellers 1-5, Ladine 1-3, Long 0-3, Briggs 0-1), Colorado 9-20 (Nolan 6-7, Formann 2-6, Wetta 1-3, Smith 0-2, Miller 0-1, Sadler 0-1). Rebounds – Washington 28 (Daniels 8), Colorado 35 (Miller, Vonleh 7). Assists – Washington 10 (5 players with 2), Colorado 13 (Sadler, Wetta 5). Steals – Washington 7 (Sellers 3), Colorado 6 (Miller 2). Turnovers – Washington 16, Colorado 17. Total fouls – Washington 17, Colorado 15. Fouled out – None. Attendance – 4,203.
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Brian Howell
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