Buffaloes welcome new year with first conference win over Arizona
- Xavier Michnewicz
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
New York wasn’t the only place rockin’ this New Year’s Eve.
The CU Events Center was the place to be, as Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball took its first Big 12 win against the Arizona Wildcats in its conference home opener on Wednesday, 75-56.
CU had four of five starters in double digits, with freshman forward Logyn Greer leading the charge. In her second Big 12 game, the former four-star recruit tallied 14 points and six rebounds. Rhode Island transfer Anaelle Dutat posted a double-double, pulling down beaucoup rebounds with 12 and scoring 10 points.
Overall, Colorado out-rebounded Arizona 41-30 with 15 from the offensive glass alongside 15 second-chance points. Colorado forced 18 Arizona turnovers and scored 28 points off them, while committing only 13 of its own.
“To have four starters and double figures and then your fifth starter with seven assists and no turnovers, is unbelievable team effort," head coach JR Payne said. "Our stat sheet will hopefully continue to look like this with a lot of balance and just a lot of different people contributing in different ways. So, a really fun game tonight.”
Colorado came out of the tunnel on fire, taking the lead and never giving it back. The Buffaloes went on a 7-0 run in the first three minutes before Arizona knocked down its first 3-pointer to end the quick start.
At the media timeout, Colorado would hold a 9-3 lead after two Dutat offensive boards, with the discombobulated Bobcats allowing an easy layup. The Buffaloes followed up their 9-3 start with an 8-0 run to push their lead 17-3. The Wildcats ended the flurry with a layup at the end of the first.
“I mean, everybody wants to start a game like that, right?” Payne said of the fast start. “Scoring well, getting good looks at the basket, getting stops … Our preparation leading into this game allowed us to be really confident.”
Arizona didn’t break double digits until after the second quarter’s media timeout, nearly seven minutes into the period. Colorado took a 26-9 lead off 2-for-7 shooting in that stretch. The Buffaloes knocked down four straight shots to push their lead to 19, forcing Arizona to take a timeout. Arizona then went on a quick 5-0 run, forcing a 14-point Colorado lead at halftime.
The Buffaloes opened the second half by pushing their lead to 18 off a Wildcat turnover and second-chance layup. However, Arizona went on an 11-1 run over two minutes, forcing Payne to take a timeout.
“During that run, we were getting stops, we were boxing out, we were getting rebounds,” Arizona guard Noelani Cornfield said. “But just like that, we weren’t.”
Colorado responded by going on a 7-0 run over three minutes to push its lead back to 15. The Wildcats and Buffaloes ended the third by trading points, with Colorado’s Jade Crook knocking down a 3 with 20 seconds left to keep a 15-point lead.
The fourth quarter was window dressing as Colorado pushed its lead to 21 late in the game. Colorado played all available players, with Jade Masogayo leading the charge with seven fourth-quarter points, including five from the charity stripe.
The Buffaloes stay at home to face the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-9, 0-2 Big 12) on Saturday. Tip-off from the CUEC is set for 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+).