WATCH: Colorado takes down the Air Force Falcons on the road, their eighth win in nine games to start the season. (Video by BuffsTV/YouTube)
COLORADO SPRINGS — On Saturday, the Colorado women's basketball team (8-1) went on the road and notched another game in the win column, this time over the Air Force Academy Falcons (4-4) at Clune Arena by a score of 74-58.
Senior guard Frida Formann led the way with 23 points, her most since the season-opening upset win over No. 1 Lousiana State University Tigers (27). Sara-Rose Smith added a season-high 11 points off the bench, along with eight rebounds. Quay Miller led the Buffs with nine rebounds. She and Kindyll Wetta scored eight points each.
While it was an off-beat day for point guard Jaylyn Sherrod and center Aaronette Vonleh offensively (just eight points combined), CU's defense forced a rough shooting game from the Falcons to remain in the lead. Air Force shot just 33.8% from the field and 13.6% from three on the afternoon.
Formann's scoring effort was just the latest in a career year, as she's now up to a 14.1 point per game average on 47.4% from the field, 43.4% from three, and a perfect 100% at the free throw line. On Saturday, the senior shot 8-for-17 from the field and hit five threes on nine attempts. She also passed Jenny Roulier and moved into fifth place on CU's all-time list with 206 made threes in her career.
Despite her hot three-point shot and elite efficiency, Colorado head coach JR Payne was quick to point out the other ways she has contributed on the court after the win.
"Hitting the threes is fantastic and that's what most people see," said Payne. "I see the fact that she opens up lanes for other people. I see that she's an incredible screener and it's very hard to leave her so she can get other people open. Besides hitting shots, she's just one of those players that makes everybody's life a little bit easier."
Despite just four fastbreak points and 21 turnovers on a sloppier day for the Buffs' offense, CU remained efficient in the halfcourt (47.6% from the field) and limited Falcon points off of their mistakes (15). The black and gold also continued this season's dominance on the interior, winning the rebound battle 49-30 and scoring 40 points in the paint to Air Force's 26.
After a tightly-contested first quarter that ended 19-13 in Colorado's favor, a 13-0 run in the last 5:44 of the first half opened up a 40-21 Buffalo advantage that would never relinquish. Wetta and Smith added eight combined points during the run.
The Falcons battled back a bit to start the second half through their aggressive, press-heavy defense that forced many of the Buffs' turnovers, but CU stayed the course to finish the third quarter up 20. The lead grew to as much as 22 in the fourth before finishing with a 16-point victory.
"We knew they were going to be a no-quit type of team," noted Sara-Rose Smith on the Air Force team. "We just had a big emphasis on working out how we can get each other open and not let them speed us up. We just had to stick to what we do."
14 different Buffs spent time on the floor during the win, including redshirt freshman Shelomi Sanders, who made her debut with the Buffs. Shelomi joined CU midway through last season from Jackson State and is the daughter of head football coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders. She also scored her first points in black and gold, an emphatic three-pointer in the game's closing minute.
Senior guard Taylor Britt led Air Force with 13 points and seven rebounds. The loss was the Falcons' third straight, dropping their record to 4-4.
For Colorado, they end their quick, in-state road trip and return to the CU Events Center for a clash with the UT Arlington Mavericks on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. MST.
Cover photo by University of Colorado Athletics
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