Buffs ready to take on Oregon State in Pac-12 quarterfinals
LAS VEGAS >> A common theory in sports is that it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season.
Colorado women’s basketball coach JR Payne doesn’t buy into that theory. She just knows her team has to show up ready to go on Thursday when it battles Oregon State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament.
Fifth-seeded CU routed Oregon, 79-30, on Wednesday to set up a rematch with the fourth-seeded Beavers. OSU, ranked No. 13 nationally, went 2-0 against the 18th-ranked Buffs this season, a big reason why it finished ahead of the Buffs.
“At this point in the season, I don’t think anybody’s doing anything different,” Payne said of preparing for OSU. “We’re not adding any new offense or defense and neither are they. So it’s just being able to feel really good about who you are, what you can do. Understanding strengths and weaknesses of both ball clubs and just playing very free and very loose. Really, really excited that we got a chance to play today like that.”
Wednesday was CU’S most dominant win since it routed the Ducks, 9057, in Boulder on Feb. 9. In between those games, CU went 1-5, a stretch that was kickstarted by a 65-59 home
Colorado head coach JR Payne shouts instructions to her team against Oregon on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
loss to OSU on Feb. 11.
The Beavers led by 25 at one point in that game. They also beat the Buffs, 6862, on Jan. 26 in Corvallis, Ore.
In both games, CU shot the ball poorly while OSU hit shots. The Beavers also haven’t allowed the Buffs many opportunities to shoot 3-pointers. The only two times this year CU has attempted fewer than 12 3-pointers were the two games against OSU, when it had 10 and 11.
A key factor for CU, though, is its confidence and it regained quite a bit of it this week in practice and in the dominant win against Oregon.
“Everyone’s playing really well right now,” Payne said. “Everyone just knows who they are. I think the team that knows who they are and feels really good about who they are is a team that’s very dangerous this time of year. Certainly we are that team. We showed that today. … (Against OSU), we just want to do our job, play great, stay together.”
Custom fit
After breaking her nose against Washington last Thursday, CU guard Jaylyn Sherrod wore a mask on Saturday against Washington State but ditched it after a couple of minutes.
On Wednesday, she wore a custom-fitted mask and kept it on the entire game. She was sensational in the 18 minutes she played, scoring nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, dishing out eight assists and pulling down five rebounds.
Sherrod’s eight assists set a team record for a Pac-12 tournament game, topping the seven that Lexy Kresl had against USC on March 5, 2015.
Load control
Although CU had been fighting all season for a topfour finish and first-round bye, it ultimately felt that landing at No. 5 and playing Wednesday was a good thing.
“Frida (Formann) and I were just talking about the fact that we’re really happy we played today,” Payne said. “It’s really cool. We’ve experienced the court, we’ve felt the (game) balls, we’ve seen it go through the hoop. So all of that is great.”
Even better was that the Buffs dominated and didn’t have to put a lot of minutes on the legs of their starters. Formann led the team with only 22 minutes played. Sherrod played 17 minutes, 45 seconds, while center Aaronette Vonleh played 13:40 and forward Quay Miller 13:39.
“The numbers were very low for a lot of key contributors,” Payne said. “A lot of good experience and minutes for Mikayla (Johnson) and Sara (Rose Smith) and Jadyn (Atchison) and Bri (Mcleod) and lots of people that don’t always get quite as many minutes, so really good for us.”
Whittaker OK
Backup center Charlotte Whittaker had a nice game for CU, with six points, four rebounds, two blocks and a career-high four assists. However, she rolled her ankle with 3:27 to go.
“Charlotte is fine,” Payne said. “I think she rolled her ankle but she’s one of the toughest gals you could ever meet. So she’ll be fine.”
Notable
On Wednesday, Sherrod and Vonleh were named first-team All-pac-12 in a vote by media members, while Sherrod was also named to the All-defensive team. … CU went 3-0 against Oregon this season. It’s just the second time in the Pac-12 era that CU went 3-0 against an opponent, with the other time being 2014 against UCLA.