Fast break
Why the Buffs won: Their defense, particularly in the final three quarters, was stellar, holding the Cowgirls to just 46 points and only 44 shots attempted. The Buffs also had 10 steals and forced 17 turnovers.
Three stars:
1. CU’s Zyanna Walker: Scored a game-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds.
2. CU’s Desiree Wooten: Continues to be a steady performer, posting 12 points, two rebounds and three steals.
3. CU’s Logyn Greer: The freshman scored nine points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Up next: The Buffs host Miami of Ohio at the CU Events Center on Dec. 14 (1 p.m., ESPN+).
Offensively, the Colorado women’s basketball team isn’t always sharp.
Defensively, however, the Buffaloes have been on their game most of the year, and that was the case once again Sunday.
CU locked down on defense and coasted past Wyoming, 58-46, at the CU Events Center.
“Lots of good things that we did tonight,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “Obviously not the best fourth quarter … but I thought we did some really good things.
“We knew it would be like a really tough, gritty game, because every game with Wyoming is tough and gritty. And so no real surprise that we weren’t able to open it up further than we wanted to, but proud; just a real collective effort.”
Zyanna Walker had 14 points, Desiree Wooten added 12 and the Buffs (7-3) overcame a subpar performance offensively by shutting down the Cowgirls (3-5).
The Buffs hit just 36.1% of their shots, but had a season-low eight turnovers, forced 17 turnovers and held Wyoming to just 40.9% shooting on only 44 attempts.
“It was critical,” Payne said of allowing just 44 shots. “We believed that we could pressure and be disruptive defensively, and the 17 turnovers and only 44 field goal attempts, I think, speaks to that. So it was good team effort in that regard.”
This was the third time in four games that CU shot under 40%, but it never really let Wyoming get momentum offensively. The Buffs have held every opponent to 42.2% or worse, and Sunday was the eighth consecutive time they forced at least 17 turnovers.
“We got some great defenders,” said Walker, who was on the Big 12’s all-defensive team last year while at Kansas State. “We’re long and we can really get after it. So I really like when we pick up full (court) and then we’re just really aggressive on the defensive end.”
CU had a rocky start, hitting just five of 16 shots in the opening quarter. Wyoming’s Henna Sandvik scored five points in a 10-2 run late in the quarter that gave the Cowgirls a 15-13 lead going into the second.
The Buffs cranked up their defense in the second quarter, though, outscoring Wyoming 17-4 and taking a 30-19 lead into the break.
“Every quarter we want to hold them to a low number, but, I mean, that was something that we were very happy that we did going into halftime,” Walker said.
Logyn Greer hit two 3-pointers in a 10-0 surge to close the quarter, including a buzzer beater, to give the Buffs some momentum.
“It was real big for sure,” Greer said. “I was just happy we got a shot off (at the end).”
In the third, Walker scored six straight points for the Buffs to help extend the lead even more. The Buffs’ took their biggest lead, 45-26, after a Wooten 3-pointer with 2:06 to play in the third.
Wyoming got within 11 early in the fourth, but CU closed strong to finish off the win.
“We needed the cushion (in the second half),” Payne said. “It was great because we were able to play different people at different times. And, you know, people that have just been out for quite a while were able to get them a little bit of minutes, just to get some live experience, which I think is important moving forward.”
Notable
CU’s Jade Masogayo (knee) and Claire O’Connor (feet) both missed the game with injuries. Payne said Masogayo could have played if needed, but the Buffs took an opportunity to rest her sore knee. … Freshmen Jade Crook and Sophie Zadel made their first career starts for the Buffs. … Senior center JoJo Nworie, who has been out while recovering from a knee injury, made her season debut for the Buffs and posted six rebounds.
Colorado 58, Wyoming 46
WYOMING (3-5)
Alvar 4-6 2-2 10, Muma 2-4 0-0 5, Symons 0-3 0-0 0, Pedersen 4-8 1-2 11, Sandvik 5-11 0-0 11, Rumpf 1-5 1-2 4, Eyango 0-1 0-0 0, Beslic 0-4 0-0 0, Karlsdottir 1-1 0-0 2, Wohlford 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 18-44 4-6 46.
COLORADO (7-3)
Walker 7-14 0-1 14, Sanders 1-5 4-4 6, Crook 1-9 0-0 2, Dutat 3-6 1-2 7, Zadel 0-2 0-0 0, Gooden 0-0 2-2 2, Wooten 4-9 2-2 12, Nworie 1-3 0-0 2, Hamalainen 0-1 0-0 0, Greer 3-7 1-1 9, McErlane 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 22-61 10-14 58.
Wyoming 15 4 13 14 – 46
Colorado 13 17 15 13 – 58
3-point goals – Wyoming 6-17 (Pedersen 2-3, Rumpf 1-5, Muma 1-3, Sandvik 1-3, Wohlford 1-1, Alvar 0-1, Beslic 0-1), Colorado 4-16 (Greer 2-5, Wooten 2-2, McErlane 0-3, Crook 0-2, Walker 0-1, Dutat 0-1, Nworie 0-1, Hamalainen 0-1). Rebounds – Wyoming 29 (Symons, Sandvik 5), Colorado 37 (Nworie 7). Assists – Wyoming 12 (Symons 4), Colorado 8 (Sanders 3). Steals – Wyoming 4 (Muma 2), Colorado 10 (Sanders, Wooten 3). Turnovers – Wyoming 17, Colorado 8. Total fouls – Wyoming 12, Colorado 12. Fouled out – None. Attendance – 2,394.
