CU BUFFS TAKE DOWN TOP-RANKED STANFORD»
BOULDER »— My aHol ling shed has been through enough heartbreaking losses that she had to pause for a split second Sunday afternoon to make sure she could celebrate after the final buzzer.
“We were very excited,” she said. “A little bit confused. Did this really just happen?”
Yeah, it did, and it will go down as one of the most remarkable wins in Colorado women’s basketball history.
Hollingshed and the unranked Buffaloes shocked No. 1 Stanford, 77-72 in overtime, on Sunday at CU Events Center.
“I have 1,000 thoughts running through my head; all of them are positive and excited,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I’m just unbelievably proud of our ballclub. I told them that there’s 1,000 reasons I’m proud of them for the way that we performed today and the biggest is just that we really had the right mindset going into this game. There was no fear. We were excited for the opportunity.”
This is not an opportunity that comes around very often, as it marked just the fifth time in CU history it has faced the nation’s No. 1 team – and the first time in 16 years.
This is the first time CU has defeated a No. 1 team and it is the Buffs’ first win against a top-five team in nearly 18 years – the last one coming against No.5 Stanford on March 23, 2002.
“This game was won off our will; our will to not be defeated today,” said CU point guard Jaylyn Sherrod, who had nine points. “We knew that we’ve been in many of these close games to Stanford and we just were not losing today. That was the mentality and I think that’s what won us the game. Our mentality, our will … and a girl named Mya Hollingshed.”
Hollingshed, the Buffs’ star senior forward, poured in a careerhigh 32 points, while adding 10 re
bounds and tying her career high with five steals. It was her sixth double-double of the season for CU (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12), which handed Stanford (11-1, 8-1) its first loss.
Hollingshed had plenty of help, and needed it, as the Buffs didn’t close this one out until the final seconds.
Frida Formann hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 35 seconds to play in overtime to give the Buffs a 7270 lead and then added two free throws 25 seconds later to increase the lead to 74-70.
CU lead 75-72 with 3.8 seconds left, as Stanford had one last chance. The Buffs’ Peanut Tuitele blocked a 3-point attempt by Stanford’s Lexie Hull, and then Hollingshed added a pair of free throws to cap the win.
Formann finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while Tuitele had 10 points and eight rebounds.
A year ago, the Buffs had two heart-breaking losses to Stanford, which was ranked in the top eight both times. The Cardinal needed overtime to win the first meeting and a buzzer-beating 40-footer to win the second one, in Boulder.
“I always say there are certain games that stick with you forever,” Payne said. “There’s some that you truly can’t ever let go of and for us, and for our ballclub, it was our two games last year against Stanford. … We learned a lot from those losses.”
Payne said she wasn’t sure how to describe her emotions after the final buzzer Sunday, but added, “Relief, maybe, because the last two times we played them, we were in the same scenario and had our hearts broken twice.
“I don’t know if it was relief that we finished it or just pure joy for our team to see them celebrating and smiling. It was just incredible to see that and we had some great leadership from our ballclub today.
“I’m just crazy proud of how we played today.”
So was Hollingshed, who had the best performance of her career, yet kept her focus on what it meant for the team.
“It really means a lot,” she said. “Last year, we were upset with the results of how those two games ended, so today was just a day to come back and redeem ourselves from last year. It was possession by possession, but at the end of the day, we just had to do what we do best and execute and stay within ourselves.
“We knew what we were capable of and we wanted this win.”
Notable. This was just the third win over a No. 1 team in CU athletics history, the other team coming by the volleyball team (2006 vs. Nebraska, 2013 vs. Washington). … Hollingshed became the 18th player in CU history to reach 600 career rebounds (606). … CU had lost 19 straight games to top-five opponents.