Sour tasting Sweet 16 for CU
Iowa ends Buffs’ season as Clark and Hawkeyes roll
ALBANY, N.Y. >> It really wasn’t fair to Colorado head coach JR Payne to see tears drip down the faces of Quay Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod, watch them leave the podium and then have to field a question about what they and other seniors have meant to the program.
“See I was up here to hold their hand while they were crying and then they left me,” Payne joked through her own tears following CU’S 89-68 loss to Iowa in the Sweet 16 at MVP Arena.
“Yeah, there really are no words to describe the impact that Jaylyn, Quay, Maddie, Charlotte, Sophie — all of our seniors have had on this program. The coolest thing about it, I was saying to Jay and Quay is just a lot of people talk about family in their programs, and sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t, but these guys are family forever.
“In 20 years when they’re going through something, we’ll be the first ones that they call for support. And when I’m going through something 10 years from now, they’ll be the first ones that I call. That relationship is what makes what we do so special. The basketball is just the fun part. But the things that we have last forever, and no, I have no words to describe exactly what that means.”
While the lifelong relationships Payne has with Miller, Sherrod, Maddie Nolan, Charlotte Whittaker and Sophie Gerber, as well as the rest of her team, will continue, the sting of knowing the basketball part is over was painful.
A sold-out crowd of 13,878 — the second-largest crowd ever for a CU women’s game — got what it came to MVP Arena to see, and
that wasn’t good for fifth-seeded Buffaloes.
The stands were filled with No. 22 Iowa jerseys, and the No. 22 on the court was sensational — as usual. Megastar Caitlin Clark finished with 29 points, 15 assists and six rebounds to lead the top-seeded Hawkeyes.
CU (24-10) was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by the Hawkeyes (32-4) for the second consecutive season. Iowa advances to Monday’s Elite Eight against LSU in a rematch of last year’s national title game. LSU, the defending champion, knocked off UCLA 78-69 earlier on Saturday.
“I mean, yeah, it is tough,” Sherrod said. “You never want to go out like that. But there was some things that we can all look back at it now and say there was some things we could have done better. But at the end of the day, I’m proud of this team, proud of how we came out. No quit whatsoever in this ballclub. There’s always things to be critical of after the