Monday, November 4
Laramie, WY
5:30 p.m.
Colorado
1-0,0-0Big 12
56
at
50
Wyoming
0-1,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
10
8
20
18
56
Wyoming
15
9
10
16
50
Photo by: Serena Rodriguez
Buffs Score 900th Program Win in Season Opener
November 04, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Lior Garzon leads the Buffs to the win in Laramie
LARAMIE, Wyo. – The new-look Colorado women's basketball team took some time to get warmed up in Monday night's season opener at Wyoming. The Buffaloes started slow on offense but overcame a seven-point first-quarter deficit to pick up the 56-50 win over the Cowgirls.
The win marks the program's 900th.
Colorado started a brand new starting lineup with Nyamer Diew, Lior Garzon, Jade Masogayo, Tabitha Betson and Kindyll Wetta opening up the night. For Wetta, it was her fourth career start and her 100th career game. The Buffs only returning starter from last season, Frida Formann, was unavailable on Monday.
CU, which trailed 24-18 at the half, shot just 25.0% from the floor and was 0-for-5 from 3-point distance in the first 20 minutes.
"I was very proud of our team tonight," head coach JR Payne expressed after the win. "This is a very tough environment. Not a lot of teams come here and win, and not a lot of teams will come here and win this year because of their [Wyoming's] veterans. They are very well-coached and play unbelievably hard. They've got all the different pieces to win their league this year.
"I was proud of how we were resilient because the first half was really bad," Payne continued. "On the boards, and we couldn't make a shot. We were missing layups and free throws. It just felt like we couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. But some nights are like that. With all of these new players, this is what we need. We have to figure out who are we when we're down? Who are we when our backs are against the wall? How will we respond? This actually provided us a really incredible opportunity.
Garzon had the best of the debuts for the Buffs. She totaled 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half to pace Colorado's offense. The Oklahoma State transfer hit the Buffs' lone 3-pointer of the night, giving the Buffs a 38-34 lead going into the fourth quarter. Fifth-year Sara-Rose Smith snagged 11 rebounds and helped the Buffs to 12 second-chance points on the night.
"The great thing about Lior is she's totally unafraid of it," Payne commented. She wants the ball when the game's on the line. She wants the ball when we need a bucket and things like that. I thought so many different people did so many great things. I could probably go down the entire roster and talk about something they contributed to help us win tonight."
Wyoming was led by co-Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Allyson Fertig, who had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
How it happened
Colorado couldn't shake its offensive struggles in the first half. Betson scored the game's first basket, but the Buffs couldn't get a shot to fall. Wyoming used a 9-0 early on and led 15-10 at the end of the quarter.
CU hit 26.7% in the first quarter, converting on just 4-of-15 attempts. The woes continued into the second quarter, seeing the Buffs go 4-for-17, including a 1-for-11 finish to the half.
CU's defense kept things close in the opening half, forcing nine Wyoming turnovers.
"There were times that our backside help was not what it needed to be, so they just threw it over to Fertig," Payne noted. "I thought we provided good ball pressure, and we were a little bit disruptive on post-entry passing. It was a group effort. Jade [Masogayo] was down there battling. AJ [Johnson] and Tabitha were battling. It was good team D in that effort."
The Buffs' offense finally seemed to click, returning to the quarter in the third quarter. Early baskets from Masogayo helped CU mount a 6-0 run to tie the game at 24-24. A second-chance putback from Smith gave the Buffs a 31-30 lead with 3:25 to play in the quarter, and Garzon drilled the lone 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the frame to give the Buffs the four-point lead going into the final quarter.
"I really want to win," Garzon explained. "I'm like, 'Hey, if I need to take it [the shot], I'm just going to take it.' I'm not going to wait for anyone to tell me. I think that's what the team needed today."
The Buffs went on another 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 44-36, the largest of the night. Wyoming used a 12-6 run over six and half minutes to cut the CU lead down to two, 50-48, with 1:51 to play.
Garzon again provided the big shot in a key moment, drilling a long two-pointer to get the Buffs' lead back to two possessions with 44 seconds to play. She scored seven points in the quarter, going 2-for-3 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.
"At that moment in our offense, nothing was really flowing," Garzon added. "I believe in my shot because I know I put the work in."
Up next
Colorado returns to Boulder for its home opener on Thursday, hosting Northern Colorado at 7 p.m.
Notes
Colorado improves to 46-5 all-time in season-openers and hasn't lost since 1999…CU is now 39-11 all-time against Wyoming…Monday's game was the earliest start in program history…CU is now 900-615 all-time…Kennedy Sanders made her collegiate debut after redshirting last season…Wetta finished with 3 points, 5 assists and six rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter…The 6 rebounds give her 299 in her career…Monday was Garzon's 11th career 20-point game.
Quotes
Head coach JR Payne
On Kindyll Wetta – "I'm really excited to see what kind of season Kindyll is going to have because she is just the ultimate tough kid on the floor. She will do whatever it takes to help the team win. Six rebounds, five assists and just makes big plays. She kept us calm when things were rocky. She got us into good action. She kept people organized. We just have to keep her on the floor."
On Sara-Rose Smith – "Sara was phenomenal. We started kind of flat, or maybe just feeling everything out in the environment. But Sara really gave us a lift when she came in. She brought good energy and was tremendous on the glass. It was aggressive, attacking a little bit. That spark of the bench, as you know, is always something I love to have. I think she can be that for us."
On the 3-point shooting – "We're a really good 3-point shooting team. Maybe it was nerves or the environment; maybe we felt rushed. Some of us felt kind of sped up. I'm not really too worried about that. But, of course, you study the film and figure out why did we go 1-for-10. Were they good shots? Were we on balance? Basic stuff."
Sara-Rose Smith
On the win – "We knew it was going to be a tough environment. It's just one of those that grinding it out is ok. Is that how we wanted to play the game? No, but it's ok. We came out with a win and can move on to the rest of the week."
On her play – "It feels pretty good knowing that our coaches broke down our individual jobs. My job, simply, is to rebound. I can take my hat off knowing I did my job, and I did my job for my team. That's something I really want to hold myself to. Something I will pride myself on for the rest of the season."
The win marks the program's 900th.
Colorado started a brand new starting lineup with Nyamer Diew, Lior Garzon, Jade Masogayo, Tabitha Betson and Kindyll Wetta opening up the night. For Wetta, it was her fourth career start and her 100th career game. The Buffs only returning starter from last season, Frida Formann, was unavailable on Monday.
CU, which trailed 24-18 at the half, shot just 25.0% from the floor and was 0-for-5 from 3-point distance in the first 20 minutes.
"I was very proud of our team tonight," head coach JR Payne expressed after the win. "This is a very tough environment. Not a lot of teams come here and win, and not a lot of teams will come here and win this year because of their [Wyoming's] veterans. They are very well-coached and play unbelievably hard. They've got all the different pieces to win their league this year.
"I was proud of how we were resilient because the first half was really bad," Payne continued. "On the boards, and we couldn't make a shot. We were missing layups and free throws. It just felt like we couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. But some nights are like that. With all of these new players, this is what we need. We have to figure out who are we when we're down? Who are we when our backs are against the wall? How will we respond? This actually provided us a really incredible opportunity.
Garzon had the best of the debuts for the Buffs. She totaled 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half to pace Colorado's offense. The Oklahoma State transfer hit the Buffs' lone 3-pointer of the night, giving the Buffs a 38-34 lead going into the fourth quarter. Fifth-year Sara-Rose Smith snagged 11 rebounds and helped the Buffs to 12 second-chance points on the night.
"The great thing about Lior is she's totally unafraid of it," Payne commented. She wants the ball when the game's on the line. She wants the ball when we need a bucket and things like that. I thought so many different people did so many great things. I could probably go down the entire roster and talk about something they contributed to help us win tonight."
Wyoming was led by co-Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Allyson Fertig, who had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
How it happened
Colorado couldn't shake its offensive struggles in the first half. Betson scored the game's first basket, but the Buffs couldn't get a shot to fall. Wyoming used a 9-0 early on and led 15-10 at the end of the quarter.
CU hit 26.7% in the first quarter, converting on just 4-of-15 attempts. The woes continued into the second quarter, seeing the Buffs go 4-for-17, including a 1-for-11 finish to the half.
CU's defense kept things close in the opening half, forcing nine Wyoming turnovers.
"There were times that our backside help was not what it needed to be, so they just threw it over to Fertig," Payne noted. "I thought we provided good ball pressure, and we were a little bit disruptive on post-entry passing. It was a group effort. Jade [Masogayo] was down there battling. AJ [Johnson] and Tabitha were battling. It was good team D in that effort."
The Buffs' offense finally seemed to click, returning to the quarter in the third quarter. Early baskets from Masogayo helped CU mount a 6-0 run to tie the game at 24-24. A second-chance putback from Smith gave the Buffs a 31-30 lead with 3:25 to play in the quarter, and Garzon drilled the lone 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the frame to give the Buffs the four-point lead going into the final quarter.
"I really want to win," Garzon explained. "I'm like, 'Hey, if I need to take it [the shot], I'm just going to take it.' I'm not going to wait for anyone to tell me. I think that's what the team needed today."
The Buffs went on another 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 44-36, the largest of the night. Wyoming used a 12-6 run over six and half minutes to cut the CU lead down to two, 50-48, with 1:51 to play.
Garzon again provided the big shot in a key moment, drilling a long two-pointer to get the Buffs' lead back to two possessions with 44 seconds to play. She scored seven points in the quarter, going 2-for-3 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.
"At that moment in our offense, nothing was really flowing," Garzon added. "I believe in my shot because I know I put the work in."
Up next
Colorado returns to Boulder for its home opener on Thursday, hosting Northern Colorado at 7 p.m.
Notes
Colorado improves to 46-5 all-time in season-openers and hasn't lost since 1999…CU is now 39-11 all-time against Wyoming…Monday's game was the earliest start in program history…CU is now 900-615 all-time…Kennedy Sanders made her collegiate debut after redshirting last season…Wetta finished with 3 points, 5 assists and six rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter…The 6 rebounds give her 299 in her career…Monday was Garzon's 11th career 20-point game.
Quotes
Head coach JR Payne
On Kindyll Wetta – "I'm really excited to see what kind of season Kindyll is going to have because she is just the ultimate tough kid on the floor. She will do whatever it takes to help the team win. Six rebounds, five assists and just makes big plays. She kept us calm when things were rocky. She got us into good action. She kept people organized. We just have to keep her on the floor."
On Sara-Rose Smith – "Sara was phenomenal. We started kind of flat, or maybe just feeling everything out in the environment. But Sara really gave us a lift when she came in. She brought good energy and was tremendous on the glass. It was aggressive, attacking a little bit. That spark of the bench, as you know, is always something I love to have. I think she can be that for us."
On the 3-point shooting – "We're a really good 3-point shooting team. Maybe it was nerves or the environment; maybe we felt rushed. Some of us felt kind of sped up. I'm not really too worried about that. But, of course, you study the film and figure out why did we go 1-for-10. Were they good shots? Were we on balance? Basic stuff."
Sara-Rose Smith
On the win – "We knew it was going to be a tough environment. It's just one of those that grinding it out is ok. Is that how we wanted to play the game? No, but it's ok. We came out with a win and can move on to the rest of the week."
On her play – "It feels pretty good knowing that our coaches broke down our individual jobs. My job, simply, is to rebound. I can take my hat off knowing I did my job, and I did my job for my team. That's something I really want to hold myself to. Something I will pride myself on for the rest of the season."
Team Stats
CU
UW
FG%
.339
.388
3FG%
.100
.200
FT%
.542
.600
RB
45
34
TO
12
19
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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