Sherrod disappointed in her performance after Buffs’ loss
LAS VEGAS >> In the eyes of Colorado senior Jaylyn Sherrod, there weren’t enough good numbers on the stat sheet to make up for the one that stood out the most to her on Thursday afternoon.
Sherrod scored 23 points, setting a CU record for Pac12 tournament games. She also had seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and hit all six of her free throws.
But after the 18th-ranked Buffaloes fell to No. 13 Oregon State, 85-79 in double overtime, in the quarterfinals of the tournament, Sherrod pointed at herself.
“I’m just really upset with how I played, to be honest with you,” Sherrod said. “Too many turnovers and I don’t think I managed the game well down the stretch.”
Sherrod’s day, unfortunately, included a seasonhigh seven turnovers, the most she’s had in a game since eight against Arizona State on Jan. 21, 2022. All seven came in the fourth quarter or overtime.
“I think we’re playing really good basketball right now,” Sherrod said. “We’ve just gotta clean up some things and I think I gotta do a better job personally managing a game better.”
While Sherrod put blame on her own shoulders, there were a number of reasons CU came up short, including the fact that Oregon State is a really good team that made key plays down the stretch.
“Jaylyn and I talk about this fairly often that coaches and point guards get all the blame and all the glory,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “And so anytime things don’t go our way, it’s hers and my fault usually. And when things go well, we also get a pat on the back. Jaylyn is very smart young lady; as we all know, she has multiple degrees and she’s very smart, but she’s also very passionate about this game and our team and wants to win and so of course she’s going to take responsibility, which in time she’ll realize that that is not the case.
“There was 100 different plays that happened tonight that could have changed the outcome of the game. But she also is ultimately very competitive and is going to want to be able to attack whatever didn’t work. Whatever didn’t work, watch it, own it, fix it. I know we’ll do that collectively as a group moving forward.”
Physical battle
CU’S Aaronette Vonleh and OSU’S Raegan Beers are two of the best post players in the Pac-12 and they had quite a battle on Thursday.
Beers scored 27 points — tied for the most ever by a CU opponent in the Pac-12 tournament — and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. She also had two blocks.
Vonleh,
meanwhile, started hot and finished with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks before fouling out in the second overtime. It’s one of just seven 20-point games by a Buff in their Pac-12 tournament history.
“Just trying to match her physicality,” Vonleh said. “She’s a really strong, physical, dominant player. So just trying to match that and just keep her away from the basket, make her do things that she doesn’t want to do. Keep her off the boards.”
Goodbye, Pac-12
With CU heading to the Big 12 next year, this was its last women’s basketball game in the Pac-12.
The Buffs wrapped up the Pac-12 era going 10-13 in the tournament and reaching the tournament semifinals four times. They won at least one game in eight of the 13 tournaments, going 4-3 the past three years.
CU and Oregon State also played in the first-ever double overtime game in the history of the Pac-10/12 tournament, which began in 2002.
Overall, counting regular season and tournament games, CU went 100152 against Pac-12 competition. In the past four years, the Buffs went 45-31.
Notable
With three 3-pointers on Thursday, Frida Formann tied the Buffs’ career record for 3s, with 257. Bianca Smith had 257 from 200610. … Formann also topped the 1,300-point mark for her career (1,303), moving into 20th place on CU’S alltime scoring list. … Kindyll Wetta moved into 15th on CU’S career list for assists (320). … The previous best individual scoring today for CU in the Pac-12 tournament was 21, set by Brittany Wilson in 2012 and tied by Kennedy Leonard (2016) and Haley Smith (2017).