Unselfish play the catalyst for CU
Numbers haven’t been sparkling, but Buffs matching grit with grit
In some ways, Quay Miller’s performance on Friday night in Pullman, Wash., epitomized the 2023-24 Colorado women’s basketball team.
Miller didn’t display the offensive firepower that she possesses (going 1-for-4 with two points), but she pulled down a seasonhigh 15 rebounds and added a pair of assists in a 63-57 win against Washington State.
“Quay’s very unselfish, like most of the players on our team — just really unselfish and want to win,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “Some nights, Quay is going to have her double-doubles like she’s had for four straight games, and then some nights she’s not going to get those looks. But if she doesn’t get those rebounds, we probably don’t come out of here with a win tonight.”
Pac-12 wins, especially on the road, are difficult to secure and on Sunday afternoon, Miller and the Buffaloes will again try to do whatever it takes to get a victory at Washington.
The rugged path through the Pac-12 schedule continues against a Huskies team that is in the bottom half of the standings but that has proven capable of beating good teams. Washington, which jumped to No. 23 in the AP Top 25 for a week in December, is 3-6 in conference play but that includes wins at then-no. 21 Washington State and at then-no. 11 USC.
“I think they’re a very gritty team this year, playing a ton of guards and a post that’s not too big,” CU guard Frida Formann said. “So, it’s like a different type of team than what we’re maybe used to seeing and another very defensive-minded team. It’s gonna be a fight again. It’s gonna be gritty and everyone wants an upset (of the Buffs), so we’re just gonna have to come there ready for a fight.”
The Buffs are also still trying to fight their way through an offensive slump.
After shooting .417 or better in 17 of the first 18 games (including 13 times over .450), the Buffs have finished at .396, .346 and .355 the past three games. They haven’t scored more than 63 points in any of the last four games — but have
won three of them.
“I think we need to just really kind of go back to the basics,” Payne said. “We’re trying to add in some new stuff. We’re trying to make sure our spacing is good. I really think we just need to simplify and get back to just, ‘What is my role in this action’ and do that. … I don’t want us to start overthinking anything.
“We have a great team. We have great point guards. We have great shooters. We have great post play. We have a ton of veterans. We have everything we need to be as good as we want to be, but sometimes are you thinking about it too much? Sometimes that’ll mess with you more than missing shots.”
To their credit, the Buffs finished strong on Friday. After scoring just 30 points in the first 26 minutes, 30 seconds, they had 33 points in the last 13:30, while hitting 41% of their shots in that stretch.
Ultimately, however, the Buffs will continue striving to do what Miller did on Friday in finding the best way to contribute to a victory.
“(Miller) knows that everybody has a job to do and sometimes that job changes from night to night,” Payne said. “But I love that our team is very willing to do whatever it takes to secure the victory.”