No. 21 Colorado takes care of California in the last home game of the regular season

BOULDER – In the last home game of the regular season, the Colorado Buffaloes handled business in a 95-69 win over the struggling California Golden Bears.

The big win added to the festivities as Colorado celebrated senior guard Tayanna Jones after the game. Jones scored four points and snagged four rebounds in the special afternoon win.

Aaronette Vonleh scored a career-high 25 points in the blowout win, accompanied by Jaylyn Sherrod’s 16 points and six assists. Frida Formann added 19 points to the Buffs’ nearly triple-digit total while Kindyll Wetta also dished out six assists of her own.

“I was just pissed off after our last loss,” Vonleh said after the win. “I was just trying to channel that into my energy today.”

Formann also finished the game with a game-high plus-minus of +32. 

Jayda Curry led the Golden Bears’ scoring with 22 points on the afternoon.

Before the opening jump ball, the CU Events Center gave California forward and former Buff Peanut Tuitele a warm introduction in her return to Boulder. Tuitele played the first four years of her career in a Colorado uniform, helping Colorado back to March Madness last season after finishing last in the Pac-12 her freshman year. Tuitele scored four points and grabbed six boards in 21 minutes of play.

“Peanut is a Buff for life,” Colorado head coach JR Payne said about Tuitele. “I know she is playing for Cal, but she was a great Buff.”

After winning the tip, Colorado got going early with an easy bucket on the first possession of the game. Vonleh set up for her career night early, scoring the first six points of the game for the Buffs with a pair of layups and a mid-range jumper.

With the Buffaloes’ offense clicking on all cylinders, the defensive intensity increased, forcing two quick turnovers on a couple of California inbounds passes. Golden Bears’ head coach Charmin Smith had seen enough, calling an early timeout to talk things over with her squad.

California came out of the timeout with two quick buckets of their own, but Colorado extended their lead once more. Still, California remained resilient, cutting the deficit to four to end the quarter.

Despite seven turnovers in the first quarter, the Golden Bears’ shooting kept them in the game as they capitalized on open looks. Sherrod said that the Buffaloes’ defense lacked energy in the first half despite generating turnovers.

“We pride ourselves on defense, our energy comes from our defense,” Sherrod said. “In the first half, we wasn’t really locked into that.”

While the turnovers continued for California in the second quarter, so did their hot shooting.

But with Sherrod heating up after blowing by a California defender for an easy two, Colorado stayed in control, maintaining their lead.

After Sherrod got the crowd going with a few baskets and a jump ball with California guard Karisma Ortiz, Formann got the Colorado faithful on their feet with an and-one as a result of some pretty footwork.

Still, California hung around, heading into the break only down six despite their struggles holding onto the ball. The Golden Bears shot nearly 60% from the field in the first half, making up for their other offensive miscues.

Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, the second half would be a much different story.

“I just said in the locker room, ‘great teams find a way to fix it,’” Payne said. “It wasn’t our best effort in the first half, but I thought we really dug in and played good basketball in the second half.”

As Colorado’s offensive success continued, their performance on the opposite end of the floor stepped up. Due to the change in defensive energy, California found themselves with a number of empty possessions. The Golden Bears failed to penetrate the paint as easily as they did in the first half, resulting in a number of long jump shots early in the shot clock.

Frida Formann epitomized the change in defensive intensity for Colorado, tipping away a pass midway through the third. As Formann raced after the loose ball, California’s Mia Mastrov was right with her as both players dove for the loose ball, resulting in a jump ball. 

Despite the possession staying with the Golden Bears, the crowd was on their feet, the Buffs ready to close them out. The energy had officially shifted.

With the Buffs in full control of the game, Vonleh continued to be too much for California to handle in the paint. Knowing that Vonleh could not be stopped, Sherrod and the other Buffs continued to look for the sophomore center, even making some difficult passes to get her the ball.

As the three-headed dragon of Formann, Sherrod, and Vonleh roared, Colorado had built a 68-50 lead over California heading into the fourth.

With the game seemingly out of reach for the Golden Bears, the Buffaloes continued to pour it on in the fourth with nine different Buffs getting on the board in the game.

After winning in blowout fashion, Colorado celebrated Jones, a fifth-year senior, for her time at Colorado.

“It is always sad to see people go,” Sherrod said about Jones’ time as a Buff. “But, Tay’s progression over the years has been so exciting to see… as a teammate you’re just really proud of her.”

But, as Sherrod commented after the game, the Buffaloes are not ready to let Jones leave just yet. 

“She’s obviously going to be missed in the locker room, but we got a lot of basketball left to play,” Sherrod said with a smile.

The Buffaloes will head to Las Vegas next week for the Pac-12 tournament. After finishing third in the Pac-12 after regular season play, the No. 3 Buffs will get to enjoy a first-round bye. They will have their first game of the tournament on Thursday, March  2, against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 6 USC and No. 11 Oregon State. With momentum on their side, Colorado hopes to make big noise heading into March.