Tuesday, November 12
Stateline, Nev.
8 p.m.
Colorado
3-1,0-0Big 12
75
vs
59
Nevada
1-2,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Nevada
15
11
17
16
59
Colorado
18
16
24
17
75
Photo by: Serena Rodriguez
Buffs Bounce Back in Tahoe
November 12, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Colorado hits nine 3-pointers en route to the win
STATELINE, Nev. – Colorado had three players in double-figures as it wrapped up the road trip with a dominant 75-59 win over Nevada Tuesday night in the inaugural Tahoe Tip Off.
Graduate transfer Johanna Teder led the way with 14 points, her most since scoring 14 for Washington State on Feb. 25, 2023. Senior Kindyll Wetta recorded a season-high 12 points, while junior Jade Masogayo totaled 11 on the night.
Colorado (3-1) led from the opening tip and led by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter. The Buffs responded with nine 3-pointers, following a disappointing 0-for-17 performance Sunday at Boise State.
"We actually had a really good couple of days," head coach JR Payne said following the win. "The last day and a half has been really good. We had great energy and just a really good vibe from the group. I do think the first few minutes helped us, from a basketball standpoint, to calm our nerves even though we were feeling good in warmups and had good energy, just to be able to shots fall early was important for us."
The Buffs led by eight at the half and blew it open with a 24-point third quarter. CU hit four of its nine 3s in the third quarter and went 9-for-17 from the field.
Nevada (1-2) had two players account for 32 of the team's 59 points. Lexie Givens led all scorers with 17, while Kennedy Lee closed the night with 15 points.
All 12 available players for Colorado got into the action on Tuesday. Redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders recorded a season-high eight points in 26 minutes. Grace Oliver scored her first CU points, ending the night 3-for-4 shooting with seven points.
"It felt really good," Oliver said of her night. "Being surrounded by my teammates and coaches who believe in me, it felt very nice being out there again. Being surrounded by such wonderful people really helps. You know you always feel supported, and you know that a lot of people have your back."
How it Happened
Colorado opened the night with baskets from Wetta and Masogayo to take an early 4-0 lead. The Buffs' 3-point shooting woes continued early in the quarter, missing its first three attempts. Teder snapped a 0-for-20 streak with her first 3 of the night, giving the Buffs a 9-4 lead. Teder added one more 3 in the quarter to lead CU with seven points in the opening frame. Colorado led by as many as 11 in the quarter, but Nevada closed with an 8-0 run to cut the CU lead to three, 18-15.
"We have so many great shooters on our team," Oliver added. "Everyone is very versatile, and obviously, we haven't been shooting that great, so to see a couple of them drop today definitely is going to propel us."
The Wolf Pack continued the run to start the second quarter, hitting a pair of free throws at the start to cut the CU lead to 18-17. Colorado opened the second 1-for-5 from the field but got a spark off the bench in Oliver. She snagged an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and got the putback to go for her first career points. She scored four points in a 10-2 run that put the Buffs back up by nine, 28-19. Sanders beat the shot clock late in the period to send the Buffs to the locker room up 34-26.
The Buffs pounced on the Wolf Pack with an 11-4 run to open the third quarter, extending the lead to 45-30. Colorado got back-to-back 3s from Sarah-Rose Smith and hit its first four shots from behind the arc. Tabitha Betson pushed the Buffs' lead to 18, 56-38, with a layup off a Nevada turnover. CU scored seven points off Nevada turnovers in the quarter and took a 58-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
"We talked a lot at halftime about coming out fast," Payne said about the third quarter. "It was our ball to start with, and I thought we executed. I don't know that we scored on that first possession, but we felt we were all on the same page. We were very organized, which, for a group with so many new people, is almost more important than anything."
Baskets from Betson and Sanders started the fourth quarter for the Buffs, growing the lead to 19. Two 3s from Oliver and Teder provided the final blow to the Wolf Pack, putting Colorado ahead 72-48 with four minutes to play.
Colorado played a lineup of all five freshmen for the final three and a half minutes.
"We play with each other a lot in practice," Oliver said about closing the game. "Obviously, Kennedy, being a redshirt freshman, was already here for one year, but I think she's helped all of us freshmen a lot with her experience. Those are the girls that I live with, and we're all very close. It was definitely a really cool moment."
Up Next
The Buffs return home to take on Southern on Sunday, Nov. 17 (5 p.m. MT).
Notes
CU is now 3-1 all-time against Nevada…The Buffs' nine 3FGM were the most since hitting nine in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament against Oregon last year (9-18)…Colorado scored 36 points in the paint and has scored 30 or more points in the paint every game this season…Sara-Rose Smith made her first career start at CU…Smith made a career-high three 3-pointers… CU's bench scored a season-high 34 points…Colorado has held opponents to under 60 points in three of its four games this season…Lior Garzon went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and has hit seven consecutive from the line.
Quotes
Head Coach JR Payne
On Grace Oliver – "Grace is a great player. She was a great high school player and is very savvy. We just haven't had her in the rotation yet for whatever reason. Sara-Rose has been phenomenal on the glass; it's just different things coaches go through. But I told her before the game, 'You're going in early. I know you haven't played much yet, but be ready because it could be two minutes into the game, and you're going in at the four,' I kind of prepped her ahead of time so she wasn't taken off guard, and I thought she was ready, mentally and physically. I thought she came in and did such a great job, very calm, very poised and did a really good job."
On the all-freshman lineup – "That was 'Super fun,' as Lova would say. I thought they did a great job. They were double our point guard, and those guys on the fly made the adjustment to bring Tabitha back to help with the pressure and got some looks at the basket. I thought they did a great job. And to be able to do it for some sustained minutes was cool.
On returning home – "We're very excited. We had a pretty good crowd for our first game; having two games this week will be awesome. We just want to get people out and are excited to be home."
Freshman Grace Oliver
On the team's start – "I think it was really good. We had a tough one on Sunday, but I think we knew the stakes. We've had a long road trip. We've been away for five days and wanted to come off on a good note. So the energy was really high before the game. We all knew what we needed to do, individually and as a team. I think just the energy we brought in was great."
On her growth this season – "I think I've grown a lot. Props to everyone pushing me in practice and believing in your part. This team is so close, and the coaches—I talk with T [Toriano Towns] and JR every single day. Just knowing that everyone has your back, it's really great. I think that's been able to help me gain some more confidence and be ready to step on and fill my role when I need to."
Graduate transfer Johanna Teder led the way with 14 points, her most since scoring 14 for Washington State on Feb. 25, 2023. Senior Kindyll Wetta recorded a season-high 12 points, while junior Jade Masogayo totaled 11 on the night.
Colorado (3-1) led from the opening tip and led by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter. The Buffs responded with nine 3-pointers, following a disappointing 0-for-17 performance Sunday at Boise State.
"We actually had a really good couple of days," head coach JR Payne said following the win. "The last day and a half has been really good. We had great energy and just a really good vibe from the group. I do think the first few minutes helped us, from a basketball standpoint, to calm our nerves even though we were feeling good in warmups and had good energy, just to be able to shots fall early was important for us."
The Buffs led by eight at the half and blew it open with a 24-point third quarter. CU hit four of its nine 3s in the third quarter and went 9-for-17 from the field.
Nevada (1-2) had two players account for 32 of the team's 59 points. Lexie Givens led all scorers with 17, while Kennedy Lee closed the night with 15 points.
All 12 available players for Colorado got into the action on Tuesday. Redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders recorded a season-high eight points in 26 minutes. Grace Oliver scored her first CU points, ending the night 3-for-4 shooting with seven points.
"It felt really good," Oliver said of her night. "Being surrounded by my teammates and coaches who believe in me, it felt very nice being out there again. Being surrounded by such wonderful people really helps. You know you always feel supported, and you know that a lot of people have your back."
How it Happened
Colorado opened the night with baskets from Wetta and Masogayo to take an early 4-0 lead. The Buffs' 3-point shooting woes continued early in the quarter, missing its first three attempts. Teder snapped a 0-for-20 streak with her first 3 of the night, giving the Buffs a 9-4 lead. Teder added one more 3 in the quarter to lead CU with seven points in the opening frame. Colorado led by as many as 11 in the quarter, but Nevada closed with an 8-0 run to cut the CU lead to three, 18-15.
"We have so many great shooters on our team," Oliver added. "Everyone is very versatile, and obviously, we haven't been shooting that great, so to see a couple of them drop today definitely is going to propel us."
The Wolf Pack continued the run to start the second quarter, hitting a pair of free throws at the start to cut the CU lead to 18-17. Colorado opened the second 1-for-5 from the field but got a spark off the bench in Oliver. She snagged an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and got the putback to go for her first career points. She scored four points in a 10-2 run that put the Buffs back up by nine, 28-19. Sanders beat the shot clock late in the period to send the Buffs to the locker room up 34-26.
The Buffs pounced on the Wolf Pack with an 11-4 run to open the third quarter, extending the lead to 45-30. Colorado got back-to-back 3s from Sarah-Rose Smith and hit its first four shots from behind the arc. Tabitha Betson pushed the Buffs' lead to 18, 56-38, with a layup off a Nevada turnover. CU scored seven points off Nevada turnovers in the quarter and took a 58-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
"We talked a lot at halftime about coming out fast," Payne said about the third quarter. "It was our ball to start with, and I thought we executed. I don't know that we scored on that first possession, but we felt we were all on the same page. We were very organized, which, for a group with so many new people, is almost more important than anything."
Baskets from Betson and Sanders started the fourth quarter for the Buffs, growing the lead to 19. Two 3s from Oliver and Teder provided the final blow to the Wolf Pack, putting Colorado ahead 72-48 with four minutes to play.
Colorado played a lineup of all five freshmen for the final three and a half minutes.
"We play with each other a lot in practice," Oliver said about closing the game. "Obviously, Kennedy, being a redshirt freshman, was already here for one year, but I think she's helped all of us freshmen a lot with her experience. Those are the girls that I live with, and we're all very close. It was definitely a really cool moment."
Up Next
The Buffs return home to take on Southern on Sunday, Nov. 17 (5 p.m. MT).
Notes
CU is now 3-1 all-time against Nevada…The Buffs' nine 3FGM were the most since hitting nine in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament against Oregon last year (9-18)…Colorado scored 36 points in the paint and has scored 30 or more points in the paint every game this season…Sara-Rose Smith made her first career start at CU…Smith made a career-high three 3-pointers… CU's bench scored a season-high 34 points…Colorado has held opponents to under 60 points in three of its four games this season…Lior Garzon went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and has hit seven consecutive from the line.
Quotes
Head Coach JR Payne
On Grace Oliver – "Grace is a great player. She was a great high school player and is very savvy. We just haven't had her in the rotation yet for whatever reason. Sara-Rose has been phenomenal on the glass; it's just different things coaches go through. But I told her before the game, 'You're going in early. I know you haven't played much yet, but be ready because it could be two minutes into the game, and you're going in at the four,' I kind of prepped her ahead of time so she wasn't taken off guard, and I thought she was ready, mentally and physically. I thought she came in and did such a great job, very calm, very poised and did a really good job."
On the all-freshman lineup – "That was 'Super fun,' as Lova would say. I thought they did a great job. They were double our point guard, and those guys on the fly made the adjustment to bring Tabitha back to help with the pressure and got some looks at the basket. I thought they did a great job. And to be able to do it for some sustained minutes was cool.
On returning home – "We're very excited. We had a pretty good crowd for our first game; having two games this week will be awesome. We just want to get people out and are excited to be home."
Freshman Grace Oliver
On the team's start – "I think it was really good. We had a tough one on Sunday, but I think we knew the stakes. We've had a long road trip. We've been away for five days and wanted to come off on a good note. So the energy was really high before the game. We all knew what we needed to do, individually and as a team. I think just the energy we brought in was great."
On her growth this season – "I think I've grown a lot. Props to everyone pushing me in practice and believing in your part. This team is so close, and the coaches—I talk with T [Toriano Towns] and JR every single day. Just knowing that everyone has your back, it's really great. I think that's been able to help me gain some more confidence and be ready to step on and fill my role when I need to."
Team Stats
Nevada
CU
FG%
.385
.474
3FG%
.318
.310
FT%
.923
.600
RB
25
40
TO
12
12
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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