POWERING THROUGH
Buffs fighting through midseason grind
In the world of college basketball, January might be the most difficult month.
November has the energy of a new season. December has builtin breaks. February has the anticipation of the upcoming postseason. And March is what defines every team’s season.
As for January, it’s a grind. “Yeah, January’s tough,” Colorado point guard Jaylyn Sherrod said. “January is always tough, especially when you’re in the (Pac-12), because it’s tough game after tough game.”
Sherrod and the CU women’s basketball team have completed the January portion of the schedule, but it didn’t come without some ups and downs.
The Buffaloes (17-3, 7-2 Pac12) lost two of their last four games in January, albeit to great teams — No. 7 UCLA and No. 18 Oregon State. They also had struggles offensively at times and have dealt with the mental grind of the schedule, which doesn’t ease up with the calendar flipping to February.
“I think we’re handling it as well as anyone can,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I mean, it is a really long season and everyone’s tired and you don’t have championships on the horizon. … Every game feels like a mustwin game and every day we’re practicing and training. You try to keep it light and try to mix things up but in the end, it’s a lot of work.”
The Buffs haven’t really hit a slump, given that they went 6-2 in January and could have won the two games they lost, but they’ve certainly experienced the ups and downs that hit almost every team. The current Associated Press Top 25 combined for 41 losses in January with 21 of the 25 teams losing at least once.
CU is also in the midst of a four-game road swing that continues Friday at Washington State and Sunday at Washington.
“We’ve talked about just being consistent in our effort, attitude — the things that you can control,” guard Kindyll Wetta said. “That should be enough most nights.”
How a team handles this stretch of the season is crucial and CU having a veteran roster is paying off in that regard.
“I think what a veteran group does is what we did (after a 68-62 loss at Oregon State),” Payne said. “Everyone was mad and frustrated after Friday, but what are you gonna do about it? That’s where veterans come in. If you have a really veteran group, you become analytical, what didn’t go well? What do we need to fix and what was in our control? And how do we make sure that we can try that next time out?”
Although open shots didn’t fall as often as normal two days later at Oregon, the Buffs were much better all-around in a 6148 win against the Ducks.
Off the court, the Buffs took some time last weekend to refocus together.
“It was a time for us to get a lot of stuff off our chest and we all were able to realize where each other is at in this moment and how we can pour into each other to help each other out,” Sherrod said. “That’s good, too, to know what your teammates need from you in this moment because it’s tough for everybody.”
Strong team chemistry has helped the Buffs succeed and it’s helping them get through the grind.
“We all do genuinely have good relationships with each other,” Wetta said. “So, yeah, we might be struggling with the grind, but at least we’re still somewhat cohesive and I think that’s very beneficial to being able to make it through.”
The grind isn’t all bad, though. CU played four top 25 opponents in January and faces four in February and this, after all, is what the Buffs signed up for in coming to CU.
“It never stops, but it’s also important to just kind of enjoy it, too,” Sherrod said. “Have fun with it. I mean, these are some high level games that I think anybody would love to play in. So I think it’s just about enjoying those moments, too.”