The Colorado Buffaloes (15-6, 6-4 Big 12) won 67-51 against the Texas Tech Lady Raiders (14-10, 3-8 Big 12) to advance to 5-0 against conference opponents at home this season.
The Buffs were short-handed and forced to run an eight-man rotation on Sunday with four players out, including leading scorer Frida Formann.
Despite the injuries, the Buffs shot 51% (25-for-49) from the field. Lior Garzon had a team-high 17 points, and Jade Masogayo tallied 14 points, six rebounds and two assists. Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tabitha Betson had a career-high of 11 points. The Buffs had to rely on freshman Grace Oliver who finished with seven total points and a team-high eight rebounds. Colorado outrebounded Texas Tech 38-31.
Defensively, the Buffs only allowed 17 Texas Tech field goals and held the Lady Raiders to 32% shooting from the field
“Really impressive, just a testament to our team’s ability to dig in,” head coach JR Payne said of the win. “They didn’t let fatigue, foul trouble or any frustration really bother them. They stayed very level-headed and very connected, which is what a great team needs to do whether you have 15 [players] healthy or eight [players] healthy.”
Without Formann, the Buffs' offense started stagnant, allowing the Lady Raiders to take an early 8-3 lead. However, once the Buffs took the lead in the first quarter, they never gave it back. The Buffs went on a 14-0 run over nine minutes between the first and second quarters to take a comfortable 22-10 lead. They ended the first half up 31-21.
In the first half, the Buffs imposed their will, tallying 16 points in the paint. Betson and Masogayo led the charge in the first 20 minutes, scoring seven points each. Colorado had nine turnovers but allowed only two points off them. Turnovers plagued both teams, with a combined total of 35 in the game, but only 14 points were converted from the miscues.
Sunday’s game included a celebration of the program’s 50th anniversary, with alumni from all eras of Colorado gathering on the court for a special ceremony at halftime.
The second half started much like the first, with the Buffs' offense appearing lifeless for the first two minutes until Garzon hit a 3-pointer. The senior went on to score 15 second-half points. Texas Tech managed to cut the lead to five before the Buffs responded with a 6-0 run in just 14 seconds, sparked by a Masogayo and-one and another Garzon 3 off a Raider turnover. The Buffs closed the third quarter on a 6-2 run, extending their lead to 14.
Texas Tech never got closer than that five-point deficit, as the Buffaloes extended their lead to a game-high 18 points within the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. The rest was window dressing, as the Buffs secured a 16-point victory.
Following the win, Payne revealed that Formann was dealing with a stress fracture in her foot and will be out indefinitely. Ayianna Johnson, Kennedy Sanders and JoJo Nworie also missed the contest with undisclosed injuries.
Colorado’s win over Texas Tech was the first of a two-game homestand, as they are set to face the Arizona Wildcats (14-9, 5-5 Big 12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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