Stanford tops Colorado in devastating double overtime loss

Senior guard Jaylyn Sherrod sets up a play during the third quarter at the CU Events Center. Feb. 23, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)

In the final 30 seconds of regulation, Jaylyn Sherrod put up a layup to tie No. 21 Colorado and No. 3 Stanford at 48-48, sending the match-up into overtime. Sherrod had yet another crucial moment near the end of the first overtime with two free throws adding another five minutes to the board.

Stanford took hold of the matchup in the second overtime where they outscored the Buffaloes 13-2. The Cardinal left the CU Events Center with a 73-62 win and extended a five-game win streak.

“I’m incredibly proud of every single member of our team and program,” said head coach JR Payne. “Anyone who watched this game saw it on full display. It wasn’t a bunch of superstars, it was a team that’s tough and gritty, fights and scraps for every single possession.”

Colorado (21-7 overall, 12-5 conference) hosted the third-ranked team in the country, Stanford (27-3 overall, 15-2 conference), Thursday afternoon in Boulder. Despite being a rare afternoon match-up, the Buffs saw one of their largest attendances of the season nearing 3,000.

Sherrod led the Buffs in points with 19 overall with 17 coming from the second half and overtime. The senior guard also had four assists and five rebounds. Quay Miller followed closely behind Sherrod with 17 points, three assists and eight rebounds. Aaronette Vonleh also showed out on the stat sheet marking the third and final double-digit Buff. Vonleh had 11 points, one assist and eight rebounds.

Colorado was down a key player with Frida Formann being out due to illness. Formann is third on the team averaging 11.1 points per game behind Vonleh and Miller. The junior guard leads the Buffaloes with 58 3-pointers and 38 percent beyond the arc. In Formann’s absence, junior Tameiya Sadley stepped up and got her first start of this season.

Fifth year guard Tayanna Jones celebrates after hitting a three-point shot during the second quarter at the CU Events Center. Feb. 23, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)

“Frida is one of the best shooters in the country,” Payne said. “She’s one of our best players. She scores, she defends and she rebounds. She’s second on the team in rebounding right now in the last five or six games. There were a lot of things we missed, just kind of her steady presence, but it was cool to see other people step up. Jada [Wynn] comes in and hits a big three, Tay [Jones] as we’ve already talked about, people having to play heavier minutes than usual. We have that philosophy just next player up.”

The Buffs got off to a quick start leading Stanford 13-0 for the majority of the first quarter. The Cardinal got their first two points on the board with only 1:14 left in the quarter. Stanford’s Haley Jones went two-for-two from the line followed by a three from Cameron Brink. Stanford went 6.84% from the field going 1-for-16. The Cardinal slimmed the Buffs’ lead to eight by the end of the first quarter.

Colorado yet again dominated in the second quarter. Tayanna Jones put up a jump shot and 3-pointer to extend the Buffaloes’ lead to 14. Stanford’s struggles bled into the second quarter as they continued their shot inconsistencies. In the final two minutes of the half, the Cardinal put out a 6-2 run to close out the Buffs’ margin. Despite going 38 percent from the field, the Cardinal managed to slim Colorado’s lead to six. Headed in to the intermission, Colorado held on 24-18.

The first two minutes in the second half of regulation were scoreless. Stanford stepped up and matched pace scoring on their next three possessions putting the Cardinal up 25-24. The Cardinal went on a 9-0 scoring run extending their lead to three, 27-24 by the quarter half. Less than a minute later, Sherrod went 2-for-2 from the line and had a fastbreak layup to give the Buffs the lead once again 30-29. Colorado’s lead was short-lived after a Cardinal 7-0 scoring run concluding the quarter 38-32.

Senior guard Jaylyn Sherrod celebrates as the Buffs head into overtime aginst the Stanford Cardinals at the CU Events Center. Feb. 23, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)

The final quarter was nothing short of exciting. Stanford’s Brink extended the Cardinal lead to eight after a jump shot which was the largest lead of regulation. In the final four minutes, Stanford had two fouls on Miller setting her up for four scoring opportunities. Miller went back-to-back, sinking four free throws and tying the game 46-46 with 2:40 left. Stanford’s Lauren Betts put up two from the line putting Stanford back in the lead 48-46 less than a minute later. As time was ticking out on the clock, fans took to their feet. With thirty seconds left, Sherrod made a layup which tied the game 48-48. Stanford called a timeout to set up a buzzer-beater play as no shot clock remained. Jones missed the jump shot and the matchup was sent into its first overtime.

Vonleh set the pace for the first overtime, scoring a layup and giving Colorado the edge. Stanford went on a 4-0 run in an attempt to gain the lead but Miller tied the game soon after off a layup 52-52. Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen saw a foul giving the Buffs the opportunity to clinch the win. Sherrod made her two free throws and gave Colorado the lead by one, 60-59 with 29 seconds remaining. Miller picked up a foul in the final three seconds, giving Stanford two opportunities. Betts made the first free throw, tying the game. As Betts took to the line again, the student section caused as much chaos as possible, which proved successful. Betts missed her second shot, setting up for yet another overtime.

Stanford put the nail in the coffin early on when they went on a 5-0 scoring run. Sherrod sunk two free throws which would be the Buffs’ only points for the remainder of the game. The Cardinal put up another 8-0 run and ended the game 73-62.

“For me, it just hurts because I came here so I could compete with teams like Stanford,” said Miller. “This is probably the closest I’ve been to them in my whole college career. Being able to play with this team and to compete and to not have it come out the way we want to hurt because you want to [win] so badly.”

Freshman guard Jada Wynn celebrates with fifth year guard Tayanna Jones after going into overtime at the CU Events Center. Feb. 23, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)

Jones led Stanford with 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Hannah Jump of Stanford followed closely behind with 14 points and two rebounds.

“They’re No.3 in the country, so it’s hard to say if we’re on par with them,” said Payne. “I definitely think we’re all at the top of the conference, us, Stanford, and Utah. We’re all worthy and we’ve worked really hard to be one, two, and three in the conference. We just want to compete, wherever we play, whoever we play, whenever we play, we just want to go at people and be aggressive and play well and make sure that every possession is contested.”

The Buffs have one more game before heading off to the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. Colorado will host the Cal Golden Bears (13-15 overall, 4-13 conference) Saturday, Feb. 25. Tip-off between the Buffs and Bears will be at 12 p.m. MST.