SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 6 Colorado women's basketball team completed a road sweep of the Washington schools this past weekend, dismantling the Washington Huskies (13-8, 3-7) 80-57 on Sunday afternoon.
The win improved CU's record to 9-2 in conference play and 19-3 overall. These records are the best in program history through 22 games since the 1994-95 season.
While the Buffs' last few victories have not come without worry about their offensive struggles (62.3 points/game in their last four games), Sunday was a much different story. The black and gold put up 20 or more points in each of the contest's opening three quarters, the first time doing so since against Arizona State on Jan. 7.
"I thought we really, really tried to simplify everything we were doing coming into today’s game and just sort of let the ball find the shot," Colorado head coach JR Payne said following the victory. "And I thought we did that almost as well as we could have in the first half."
Leading the way was the experienced frontcourt of Aaronette Vonleh and Quay Miller, who both played arguably their most efficient games of the season. Vonleh scored 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting in just 22 minutes of play, while Miller snapped a personal cold streak to add 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Miller, a former Husky and Seattle native, added 10 rebounds en route to her eighth double-double of the season. The graduate forward is averaging 9.1 rebounds per game (when playing 12 or more minutes) since the start of Pac-12 play.
While Frida Formann failed to replicate her career-high-tying performance on Friday in the scoring column, she set a new career-high to lead CU with nine assists.
The Buffs' other top shooter, Maddie Nolan, came through in the first half to score 11 on perfect 4-for-4 shooting after scoring just nine points in her previous five games combined. She also added six rebounds and a season-high four assists.
From the opening tip, Colorado's offense looked vastly improved from their recent rough patch. They shot a wildly efficient 65.2% from the field through three quarters and racked up 48 points in the paint. The Buffaloes led by as many as 32 points late in the third quarter.
"I think we just came out from the jump just ready to go, executed really well, which is something that we’ve struggled with in the past just starting off that way," Vonleh mentioned. "I think that was new for us and something we need to keep doing."
Pace and ball movement, which head coach JR Payne has preached throughout this season, was heavily on display. CU's 25 assists were the most they have had since the start of conference play, as well as since December 5 against UT Arlington (28).
The Huskies were held to just 31.8% shooting on the afternoon, led by junior forward Dalayah Daniels with 14. After starting the season 11-0, Washington has now dropped eight of their last 10 games, sitting in ninth place in the Pac-12.
Following a 3-1 road trip to the Pacific Northwest, the black and gold remains atop the Pac-12 alongside No. 4 Stanford. It will be interesting to see where CU places in next week's Associated Press poll, likely finding a spot back in the top five after No. 2 Kansas State's 0-2 weekend.
The Buffs now venture home for a brief homestand next weekend, starting on Friday against the Oregon Ducks (11-11, 2-7). This matchup will be CU's first against an opponent they have already faced this season, having already beaten the Ducks 61-48 on January 28. Friday's tipoff from the CU Events Center is set for 7 p.m. MT.
Cover photo by CUBuffsWBB/X
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