WATCH: Terris Harris analyzes the Buffs' tough loss to Oregon State.
BOULDER – For the second time in just over two weeks, the fourth-ranked Colorado basketball team met their match. Despite a vigorous late comeback, a putrid opening three quarters of offense sunk the Buffs against No. 17 Oregon State on Sunday afternoon, 65-59.
"I'm really proud of how we battled, competed and fought down the stretch of the game," CU head coach JR Payne opened with after the loss. "I'm also equally frustrated with how we started the game. I thought we got decent looks, but I also thought we went back to talking ill-advised early shots, which we know doesn't work for us."
The loss drops CU's record to 20-4 and 10-3 in conference play, with two of those three Pac-12 losses coming to the Beavers. They now sit one full game back of No. 6 Stanford for first place in the conference.
Oregon State improves to 20-3, just half a game back of the Buffaloes in conference play (9-3). They have now won eight of their last nine games, surging ahead into the mix for the regular season crown.
The Beavers' defense played too physical for Colorado to handle most of the way, limiting the frontcourt tandem of Quay Miller and Aaronette Vonleh to just 5-for-19 shooting. Aggressive closeouts and high energy along the perimeter held Buff shooters Frida Formann and Maddie Nolan to just three attempts from beyond the arc.
The Buffs also struggled mightily at the rim, especially early on. Sophomore center Reagan Beers deterred many of CU's efforts to get to the basket, particularly guarding Vonleh, who started the game just 1-for-8. The Littleton native racked up three blocks along with a 12 points, 12 rebound double-double.
Overall, the black and gold shot just 36.9% from the field, but the fourth quarter push hid an uglier 15-for-48 (31.2%) through the first three quarters.
"It's really studying the film, you know, 'what were we seeing here, what were we thinking here,' to make sure that we're all totally on the same page," noted Payne on the struggles. "It takes the entire program to take a really honest look at what the film tells us, and what are we gonna do to make sure that we don't play like that again."
Colorado's leading scorer was Jaylyn Sherrod with 14 points. Similarly to how the previous matchup with the Beavs played out, she was forced to will the black and gold back into the contest. She tallied three steals, six rebounds, and countless energy plays, though poor shot selection and limited off-ball opportunities held the graduate guard without an assist for the first time since her freshman year.
On the other end, the Beavers' offense was clicking. They ran set after set to slow the game down and stay in control, resulting in one open look after another. OSU shot 47.6% from three, including a blistering 7-for-8 in the second quarter alone.
Junior guard Talia van Oelhoffen led an efficient day with 18 points, and sophomore forward Timea Gardiner shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc to score 12. While Colorado limited them to just 18 points in the paint and forced 14 turnovers, perimeter scoring was all the Beavs needed.
"To hold a really good team to 65 points is not a bad thing," Payne mentioned. "That's pretty good. You should be able to win games if you hold people to 65 points. It's the percentages. 10-for-21 from 3."
With Oregon State firmly out in front, up 64-42 with as late as 6:13 to play, CU's role players were the ones to finally find paydirt. Charlotte Whittaker, Maddie Nolan, Brianna Mcleod and others sparked a 17-1 run to finish the contest. As the Buffaloes inched closer though, there simply wasn't enough time to overcome their porous start.
The Buffs may consider this loss a missed opportunity to rise to unprecedented heights in next week's Associated Press poll, with No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 NC State also suffering upset losses this weekend. Now, a ranking drop back to the latter half of the top ten is likely to come.
Colorado's matchup with the Beavers is the first in a gauntlet of four-straight against ranked conference opponents. On Friday, a three-game road trip starts in Salt Lake City against No. 20 Utah (18-7, 8-5). CU's chance to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season tips off at 6 p.m. MT.
Cover photo by CUBuffsWBB/X
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