No. 5 Colorado vs California | Pac-12

No. 5 Colorado vs California | Pac-12 | 1.12.24

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BOULDER - Colorado vs Cal
Written by Colin Wagner | CU Athletic Communications Associate
No. 5 Colorado returned home to the CU Events Center and continued its best start to conference play since the 1994-95 season. The Buffaloes kicked off their season-long four-game homestand with a 76-61 win over the visiting California Golden Bears.
The Buffs (14-1, 4-0 Pac-12) shot 52.6% from the field and 50.0% from 3-point range while holding the Golden Bears (12-4, 2-2 Pac-12) to under 37.0% in both categories.
"I thought we really took hold of the momentum," head coach JR Payne said after the win. "I thought we started being more aggressive in transition. Aaronette [Vonleh] running [to the] rim, and transition we're able to draw a couple of players on most possessions. Then if you leave Frida [Formann] open she's going to make you pay for that. But I thought we did a great job of putting our foot on the gas pedal, being more aggressive in transition and shooting with confidence. We did a great job on the glass. I think we hit five 3s in the third quarter. So that's nice too."
The duo of Quay Millerand Aaronette Vonleh led Colorado in the paint tonight combining for 31 total points. Miller recorded her second straight double-double, and fifth of the season, with 12 points and 12 rebounds as Vonleh scored 19 to surpass 700 career points.
Frida Formannwas the second-leading scorer for the Buffs with 14 points and hitting four 3-pointers, all in the second half. Jaylyn Sherrod and Kindyll Wetta facilitated the offense nicely, combining for nine of the team's 20 assists.
Colorado went on multiple 10-point scoring runs tonight which shut down Cal's comeback threats throughout the game. The Buffs' ability to share the ball was apparent in the win as CU recorded 12 more assists than the Bears.
Colorado hopes to bring the momentum into Sunday when the Buffs are faced with a top-10 opponent in No. 8 Stanford. The Cardinal are also 4-0 in Pac-12 play and have won seven straight games.
"We know who they are," said Payne regarding Stanford. "They're really good and they're coming on Sunday. That's all we need to know. But if we didn't handle our business and keep all of our effort and focus on Cal, then we probably wouldn't have played the way we played tonight so I'm really proud of our team."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After Vonleh gave CU a 5-2 lead, Colorado gave up seven unanswered points to trail Cal 9-5 early in the game.
The Buffs responded well and finished the first quarter on a 10-0 run with five different scorers to lead 15-9 heading into the second.
Just 90 seconds into the quarter, Cal hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to stay within five. Colorado started to lock up the Bears on defense as Cal went on a scoring drought for over three minutes.
Later in the quarter, Vonleh hit a smooth one-legged fade away to put the Buffs up 27-18. Wetta knocked down a 3-pointer to make it six-straight points for Colorado, going into the half with a 34-26 lead.
Cal cut into its deficit and trailed by just four, 37-33, within the first three minutes of the second half. The Golden Bears stayed within four throughout much of the quarter before Formann cashed in on her second 3-pointer of the game, putting the Buffs up 45-38.
Cal wasted no time answering with a 3-pointer of its own on the very next possession. Colorado ended the third quarter on an 8-0 and got a jumper from Vonleh to open the fourth quarter on a combined 10-0 run to go up by 14, 59-44.
Vonleh and Formann combined for an 11-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Buffs their largest lead of the night, 72-52.
Colorado's lead hovered around 20 until a late CU foul on a late 3-point attempt gave Cal three free throws to finish the game.
KEY MOMENT
The Buffs ended the third quarter with eight unanswered points made up of 3-pointers from Maddie Nolan and Tameiya Sadler before Nolan converted on a fast-break layup. The scoring run put Colorado up by 12 points, its largest lead of the game at that point.
NEXT
No. 8 Stanford caps the weekend at the CU Events Center on Sunday (Noon MT). It will be the first top-10 matchup at the CU Events Center since the No. 8 Buffs took on No. 1 Tennessee on Dec. 17, 1994.
NOTES
CU improves to 15-12 all-time against Cal…Colorado's first 4-0 start to conference play since going 14-0 in 1994-95…The Buffs extend their season-long winning streak to eight games, its longest since going 13-0 to start the 2021-22 season…Vonleh scored her 700th career point on her first basket of the night…Vonleh finished 7-for-10 shooting, marking her fifth game of 70% or better…Sherrod moves up to seventh all-time in steals now with 239 passing Sandy Bean (236), Brittany Spears (237) and Kennedy Leonard (239)...