Happy homecoming for Miller
Seattle native returns with Buffs in Sweet 16
It won’t be the first time Quay Miller and Tameyia Sadler, both formerly players at the University of Washington, have returned to Seattle.
It will, no doubt, be the most memorable.
Despite Miller and Sadler spending the past two seasons at Colorado, a quirk of the schedule has meant only one return trip so far to Seattle, Miller’s hometown. That changes this week, as the sixth-seeded CU women’s basketball team returns to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years against second-seeded Iowa on Friday evening (5:30 p.m., ESPN).
“It’s all been very exciting, getting into the Sweet 16,” Miller said. “But everyone knows that we have more to do. It’s just really exciting, especially playing in my hometown. I’m just expecting my mom and my sister to be there for sure. That’s all I’m really worried about. I’ve had other people hit me up and stuff, but I’m trying to limit the distractions. I just really care about my mom and my sister being there.”
Both players transferred to CU following the 2020-21 season, but thanks to the timing of the Pac12’s rotating schedule, the Buffs didn’t visit UW last year.
Miller and Sadler finally got a chance to return to their old school on Dec. 30, when CU posted a 64-56 road win against the Huskies. Miller turned in a strong outing in her first collegiate game as a visiting player in her hometown, going 6-for-19 with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Sadler turned in a solid 24 minutes off the bench, earning a team-high rating of
plus-13 with three points, three rebounds and six steals.
“I would say it’s a really surreal moment, honestly,” Sadler said. “Especially since it’s my first time ever playing in the NCAA Tournament in general. I’m really happy for what we could do out there. It was a bit overwhelming just after the first win. Everything just started getting so much bigger. But I feel like we just aren’t focused on that. It’s always just going to be us. We appreciate all the support, but the job’s not over yet. We’re just locked in on what’s next.”
The Buffs’ odds at continuing their stirring postseason run improved dramatically with Miller’s bounce-back performance in CU’S second-round win at Duke. The Buffs’ leading scorer (13.1) and rebounder (8.7) had shot just .154 (8for-52) in the previous five games while tallying a total of 15 points in the previous four.
Miller got back on track against Duke, posting her eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds, both game-highs. Miller went 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free throw line, adding three assists and a steal.
It’s certain to be an emotional moment for Sadler and especially Miller when they take the floor at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on Friday. Yet as the Buffs met the local media on Wednesday before hitting the road, reminders that this is a business trip was a consistent theme.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure at all. I just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Which is staying locked-in with the work,” Miller said. “I think we really look back on that Spain trip we took (last summer), that’s where we really, really grew a lot. We came together. There’s been a lot of ups and downs throughout the season, but I think our biggest thing is that at the end of the day, we understand where we’re coming from and we all have the same goal, which is to win.”