WATCH: No. 8 CU's comeback falls just short as No. 22 Utah wins it on the final shot, 77-76. (Video by Pac-12 Networks/YouTube)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The eighth-ranked Colorado women's basketball team suffered a downright soul-crushing defeat on the road to No. 22 Utah (19-7, 9-5 Pac-12) Friday night by a score of 77-76. After surging back from down 18 to leading on the game's final possession, the Buffs allowed a buzzer-beating, game-winning floater by senior Ute forward Dasia Young.
For the first time this season, CU's loss was their second in a row. Their conference record now stands at 10-4 (20-5 overall), and now has the Buffs at third place in the Pac-12 and two full games out of first.
While the fourth-quarter comeback was extremely promising in terms of being able to battle until the end, Colorado was simply outplayed by the Utes for three and a half quarters of play. The forward duo of Alissa Pili and Jenna Johnson led a strong, efficient Utah first half with 11 and 10 respective points to lead 39-24 through two periods. Pili led the squad overall, finishing with 18 points.
While CU came alive to shoot 62.9% in the second half, junior guard Ines Viera came alive to prevent any massive swing. She put up 10 of her 16 points in the closing 20 minutes to go along with a season-high-tying eight rebounds and seven assists. Young added 13 more points and five rebounds in addition to her game-winning shot, as it was the Buffs' inability to stop opposing secondary options that once again severely hampered their chances.
"We totally did not execute the scout [report] collectively in the first half," a much angrier than usual Buffs head coach JR Payne noted after the loss. "Every possession is crucial, so I don't understand how we can just not do what we're supposed to do for longer periods of time than maybe just one possession. It’s just not good enough."
Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Formann led the black and gold with 15 points each. Formann put up 10 of her 15 in the fourth quarter alone, shining the brightest during the comeback push but poorly executing a closeout to open up space for Young's game-deciding shot.
"Obviously a lot of things I would have done differently now on that play and maybe just forced her to take a contested 3," Formann said of the play. "But, yeah those are things that make you better next time we’re in a situation like that."
Junior center Aaronette Vonleh added eight of her own 14 points during the fourth, putting back a missed Sherrod layup for the lead with nine seconds left. She along with Quay Miller led an otherwise porous effort on the boards, combining for 12 of just 28 Colorado rebounds.
Throughout the second half, generating rim pressure was a priority, and it led to 32 Buff points in the paint. Zone defense, a scheme rarely seen by JR Payne's group, was also installed as the contest wore on, and it helped to keep the Buffaloes in it.
"We talked about being aggressive [and] getting downhill – attacking their feet. In the second half, we did that a lot." added Payne. "That got us free touches and good looks at the rim. I thought overall aggressiveness on both sides helped us."
Down the stretch, CU cranked their intensity up tenfold, trailing 65-50 with as little as 8:56 left but scratching and clawing their way back into the game. In the fourth, they forced seven Ute turnovers on five steals and finally found clean looks from the beyond the arc to go 3-for-7 after just five attempts through three quarters.
At the last possible moment, the Buffaloes strung together a run to put the game within reach. Formann swiped away a steal and put in a layup for CU's first lead of the night with 19.2 seconds left, but a poorly-timed foul on the following inbound by Kindyll Wetta allowed two Ute free throws to take the lead back amidst a wild last-second sequence.
The last two losses have been a killer in what has otherwise been a season of extreme success for Colorado, regressing to follow a dismal historic trend that has followed them away from home over the last two decades. Friday's loss pushed the Buffs' 58-game losing streak against AP Top 25-ranked conference opponents on the road to 59. Overall, CU is 1-54 in their last 55 true road games vs. AP Top 25 foes, with the only win coming in last year's NCAA Tournament against Duke.
Four regular season games remain for the black and gold, with the next two also being on the road against Top 25 Pac-12 opponents. They play No. 10 USC (19-4, 9-4) next Friday, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. MT.
"We just have to be better at our basics – our execution at this point in the season," mentioned Formann of the Buffs' homestretch. "These games really matter. We're going to have some good practices. We really have to dial in."
Cover photo by Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
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