Buffs through to first Sweet 16 since ‘03 after OT thriller - The Bold CU
It’s a sweet time to be a Buff.
Colorado is headed to their first Sweet 16 since 2003 after knocking off No. 3 seed Duke at a hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday night. The Buffs needed five extra minutes to get the job done, but pulled off the upset in overtime, 61-53.
“I freaking love my team,” said head coach JR Payne postgame. “I love each and every one of them so much, I’m so unbelievably proud of our tenacity, our ability to just never wilt. When things get hard, we dig in, we lean into each other, and we just continue to fight and compete every single possession.”
CU came into Monday night’s round of 32 clash as the clear underdogs, but they did not seem to care, throwing the first punch early in the first quarter. In the first five minutes, the Buffs had already raced out to a 15-2 lead, silencing the famed “Cameron Crazies” and showing that they were here to fight.
“Even though the crowd was going against us, it was a beautiful environment,” said Quay Miller. “We thrive off that. We’ve been the underdogs all season, so having a gym full of people and a band yelling at us and not going for us is what we’re used to. I think we actually play better in those environments.”
“I love hostile environments,” Jaylyn Sherrod added with a smile. “I love being the bad guy.”
The Buffs offense executed poetically in the first quarter, getting the ball inside for easy baskets, drawing fouls, and crashing to offensive glass to earn extra possessions. Miller, who had been struggling over the last few weeks, came flying out of the gates with 11 first quarter points, matching Duke’s total as a team.
To start the second, already facing a 10-point deficit, the Blue Devils began to weather the storm, tightening the screws defensively and throwing in a 1-2-2 press to alter the CU rhythm. It worked, as the symphony of offense that the Buffs orchestrated in the first 10 minutes disappeared, and was replaced by late-clock prayers and sloppy turnovers.
Fortunately for the Buffs, they continued their elite defense from the first quarter despite some better shot-making from Duke, forcing eight second quarter turnovers to maintain a 32-26 lead heading into halftime.
“We want to be highly disruptive, we want to pressure,” said Payne. “It is our mindset. We’re the ultimate underdog.”
In the third quarter, Duke took control. Thanks to some more lockdown defense and two big threes by sophomore guard Reigan Richardson, Duke pulled in front for the first time all night. Duke also reversed the rebounding numbers from the first half, eliminating the Buffs’ second chance opportunities and grabbing a few of their own.
Despite continuing to turn the ball over in the fourth, the Buffs continued to hang around by forcing tough shots and not giving the Duke offense any breathing room. Then, coming as no surprise to Buff fans, the final minutes were Sherrod’s time.
Trailing by four, the senior guard drove right and finished at the rim, bringing the deficit to two. After a Buffs stop and a timeout, Sherrod needed one more bucket to tie the game.
As she has done so many times, she got in the lane with a quick crossover, pump faked to create some space, and finished through contact, plus the foul, to tie the game at 50.
“When I got downhill I knew that my man had gotten screened off, and I had 6’6” on me,” said Sherrod. “I knew, nine times out of 10 if you give a 6’6” player a pump fake when you’re 5’6”, they’re gonna want to swat it into the stands. Also, knowing we needed a score, I was either gonna get fouled or I’m gonna get the layup.”
Sherrod missed the free throw to take the lead, but CU got yet another stop, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period, the Buffs dominated. Frida Formann hit a tough fadeaway to give CU the lead, and Aaronette Vonleh followed it up with two buckets to push it to five. From there, they were able to salt away the win from the free throw line. Duke scored just three points in overtime, shooting 0-for-7 from the field and turning the ball over twice.
After the game, an emotional Sherrod fought back tears, sorting through her thoughts and her journey to this point on the ESPNU broadcast.
“Colorado was my only Power Five offer,” Sherrod said as her teammates swarmed her. “My senior year (of high school) I had a hip injury, I ended up having season-ending hip surgery. Coach J just never wavered. She always believed in me. I was told I was too small, I was told I didn’t have the skills to play point guard at the Power Five level, and she really just believed in me. She stayed with me through it all. So, I think that loyalty is the reason I committed here, it’s the reason I stayed for four years, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Miller led the way for the Buffs with 17 points and 14 rebounds, both game-highs. Sherrod added 14 points along with six assists and two steals, and was the driving force for the Buffs on both ends late.
On the Duke side, senior forward Elizabeth Balogun led the way with 14 points, and star guard Celeste Taylor had an incredible game despite a poor shooting night. Taylor finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and an astonishing 10 steals, the only player in NCAA Tournament history to put up those numbers, per the team on Twitter.
“It was an unbelievable performance by her,” said Duke head coach Kara Lawson. “I mean, it’s crazy… She’s the definition of laying it out there. That’s what elite competitors do, and she’s not scared of doing that.”
The Buffs now head into uncharted territory for this group, their first Sweet 16 appearance as a program in 20 years. The road doesn’t get any easier from here, as they head to Seattle to take on No. 2 seed and Big Ten Champion Iowa. Tip-off will be on Friday at 5:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN.
