Buffs fall twice in Oregon, slip to .500
Over the weekend, the University of Colorado women’s basketball team faced a pair of tough conference opponents against Oregon and Oregon St on the road as they looked to keep the momentum from their 2-0 start to the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately for the Buffs, they were not quite able to pull off an upset in either matchup and now stand at .500 heading into the third week of games.
On Friday afternoon, the tenth-ranked Ducks were able to pull away from Colorado for an 82-53 win in Eugene, Ore. Junior Peanut Tuitele and sophomore Charlotte Whittaker led the Buffaloes with 10 points each, while freshman Frida Formann shot 50% from three-point-territory, scoring nine points by the end of the game.
The Buffs could not overcome the 20-point performance of Nyara Sabally, contributing to the Ducks’ 50% (31-62) shooting from the field. Sabally also had support from Erin Boley and Te-Hina Paopao, finishing with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Oregon capitalized on early Colorado mistakes, scoring 16 points off of turnovers and 19 on second chance buckets.
The Buffs got off to a nice start with junior Lesila Finau putting up a quick five points and getting off to a 5-2 advantage, but with that being their only lead of the game with over eight minutes left in the first quarter, Colorado was playing on their heels from the get-go. Colorado then hit a cold streak, coming up empty on their next four possessions. The Buffaloes just never seemed to find any momentum throughout the game, shooting under 40% from the field in every quarter. Oregon also took advantage of the absence of senior Mya Hollingshed, who had to hit the bench after picking up three fouls early in the first quarter.
The Buffs offense found a way to bring themselves within four points of the lead with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter, but the Ducks put an exclamation point on the close of the quarter by hitting five straight field goals and making 34-26 at halftime. At the half, Colorado had only shot 29.7% from the field, and were two-for-eight on three point attempts.
Colorado figured out how to keep pace with the Ducks throughout the first half, keeping the lead under double digits until the third quarter when Oregon pulled away. The two teams went back and forth when Oregon went on an 8-0 run, driving the lead from 39-30 to 47-30. The Ducks caught a little bit of fire during the third quarter, shooting 45.5% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. By the end of the third quarter, the lead found its way to 60-39 in favor of the home team, and they maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter for the final score of 82-53.
On Sunday, the Buffs faced the No. 17 team in the country, as they visited Oregon St. in Corvallis, Ore. This game had a similar feel to it, the score was the same at halftime as it was in the Oregon game (34-26), Colorado scored the same amount of points (53) and the third quarter was when the game got away from them, in what ultimately was a 70-53 loss.
Hollingshed was able to bounce back from her foul-ridden game on Friday by scoring a season-best 21 points, but was the only Buff who finished in double figures, with Charlotte Whittaker finishing with nine points. Aleah Goodman led the hosts with 24 points, including four made 3-pointers, while Sasha Goforth and Ellie Mack chipped in 11 points each of their own.
The team could not get rid of their shooting struggles that plagued them in their previous time out on the court, shooting 29.2% from the field and 3-of-20 from deep. The Beavers, meanwhile, shot 41.8% overall and made 10 of their 27 3-pointers. In total, the Buffaloes shot a combined 30.6% over their two games in Oregon.
Both teams were firing away from behind the arc early in the first quarter, with OSU getting out to a quick 9-3 lead, but Hollingshed and Aubrey Knight closed the quarter with a bucket each and cut the lead to 20-15 at the end of the quarter. Another run at the end of the second quarter made the deficit 34-26 at halftime after falling down 12 earlier in the quarter.
After Jaylyn Sherrod hit a 3-pointer on Colorado’s opening possession of the second-half to make it a five-point-game, the Beavers went on an 11-0 run, extending their lead to 17 by the end of the third quarter and maintaining a double-digit lead from there on out. The Buffaloes could get nothing going from the field, going close to seven minutes without a field goal and going 4-of-14 from the free throw lines.
Colorado and head coach JR Payne will face a quick turnaround as they return to Colorado and head down to Denver to take on the University of Denver Pioneers Tuesday evening, who are coming off back-to-back losses of their own. The Buffs hope that being back in their home state will help get their shooting back on track. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 P.M. Mountain Time.
