Senior guard Sara-Rose Smith goes in for a lay-up against the University of Oregon at the University of Colorado Event Center on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 (Sage Phelps-Fast/CU Independent)
The Colorado women’s basketball team kicks off the end of their regular season this weekend with a trip to California to take on No. 7 University of Southern California and No. 12 University of California Los Angeles. Colorado, ranked No. 11, enters these matchups with top 15 ranked opponents amid a successful season for the women’s basketball program. However, as both games are away and immediately follow Colorado’s back-to-back losses to ranked opponents, the California gauntlet is expected to be a daunting task for the Buffs.
Colorado clashed with both teams in late January in Boulder, coming away with a win against USC and a loss against UCLA. Splitting games against these storied basketball programs with home-field advantage was one thing, but an away win would be a different story. That being said, if Colorado goes undefeated these next two games, it will set them up as top contenders for the NCAA tournament in March.
USC Preview:
When these teams last met on Jan. 21, Colorado came away with a narrow 63-59 win. Forward Quay Miller and Guard Jaylyn Sherrod proved to be the difference makers for Colorado, combining for 36 points on the night. Miller’s 19 points were especially crucial. She went 3-4 from the three-point range and provided Colorado with virtually their only source of long-distance shooting the entire night; Tameiya Sadler contributed the only other three-point make. Nevertheless, Colorado was able to pull away from a 56-56 tie in the final minute, and the Trojans missed a game-tying layup on their last possession to seal the Colorado win.
The overarching story of the game on the USC side was freshman sensation JuJu Watkins, who fouled out with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Despite exiting the game early, Watkins still led USC with 20 points on the night and might’ve made a difference down the stretch if she were on the floor.
Colorado Head Coach JR Payne addressed Watkins fouling out after the game, “JuJu is one of the best scorers in America, but they’re a really good team, and they have a lot of fifth-year veterans that have played a lot of basketball. People outside of us might’ve thought [when JuJu fouled out] that ‘oh great, we got it!’ but we knew they could still win the game.”
The University of Colorado Boulder’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach JR Payne instructs her team during a time out at the game against Oregon State University on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. (Clementine Miller/CU Indepenedent)
Since losing to Colorado, Watkins has been on a tear, leading all players in points for 14 of the next 15 games USC played. In that stretch, USC has gone 13-2.
The keys to the game on Friday for Colorado will be getting the main four of Sherrod, Miller, Frida Formann and Aaronette Vonleh all active on the scoreboard. Formann and Vonleh were well below their season averages in the first game against USC, with only eight points each. Colorado boasts a roster that sees four players average double digits. On the other hand, much of USC’s scoring comes from Watkins’ 27.5 points per game average. If Colorado can use their superior depth to test the highly Watkins-dependent Trojans, a win might be in order.
On Friday, Colorado lost 81-87 to USC, with Watkins scoring 42 of her team’s points.
UCLA Preview:
In the first edition of this matchup on Jan. 19, Colorado and UCLA played in front of a record-setting crowd at the CU Events Center. Sherrod led the Buffs in scoring with 17 points despite a rough 5-16 night from the field, and Formann found her stroke from the three-point line, finishing with three made triples en route to a 16-point game. Yet, the main story of the night was UCLA’s size advantage that they rode to a 76-68 victory. Not only did 6’ 7 Colorado native Lauren Betts dominate with 20 points and 13 rebounds, but UCLA’s athletic guard Charisma Osborne consistently outmuscled the smaller Colorado guards for free drives to the basket during her 22-point night.
In all, UCLA out-rebounded Colorado 44-27 for the game, a disparity that any team would have a tough time overcoming. However, the fact that Sherrod, Formann and Miller all were in foul trouble, with Miller fouling out in the fourth quarter, was a huge reason for this.
Junior guard Tameiya Sadler signals to her teammates during the game against UCLA at the CU Events Center on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
Regardless, coach Payne showed frustration after the game on rebounding.
“I’m very, very disappointed and frustrated by our rebounding because I do think that determined the outcome of the game. If we weren’t exceptional in our discipline and boxing out, this is what they do to people. Gotta be better next time,” Coach Payne said.
Looking ahead to Monday’s game, Colorado will face a UCLA team that has largely struggled since they last met, with a 5-4 record over that period. If Colorado can play the Bruins physically, avoid foul trouble and Vonleh and Miller can be more productive than they were in the first game in the series, then the Buffs could steal an away win in Los Angeles.
Colorado will play UCLA on Monday at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Charlie Hewitt at charlie.hewitt@colorado.edu
