BOULDER-- The Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball (16-6, Big 12 8-6) defeated the Houston Cougars (5-20, 1-13) 83-60 Saturday evening.
Each team was short-handed in the matchup, with Houston having only six players eligible to play for the fifth straight game. The Buffs were without their two leading scorers, Frida Formann and Jade Masogayo, along with their assist leader, Kindyll Wetta and leading rebounder, Sara-Rose Smith.
The Buffs overcame their injuries with strong performances from their freshmen and sophomores. Erin Powell and Grace Oliver got active in the scoring and rebounding department, each recording a double-double. Powell finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Oliver tallied 16 points and 14 rebounds. Ayianna Johnson was Colorado’s leading scorer with 20 points off the bench and red-shirt freshman Kennedy Sanders also had 18 as a reserve.
However, what set the Buffs apart was their dominance in rebounding and paint scoring. Colorado posted season highs in rebound margin and paint scoring, doubling Houston’s 24 rebounds with 48 and tallying 50 points in the paint.
“I am so proud of our team, a lot of teams are going through [injuries] this time of year but we are really going through it,” Payne said. “A lot of injuries, unexpected things…overall fantastic team effort and team win.”
Without their two leading scorers, the CU’s offense was sluggish to start, shooting three-of-10 in the first five minutes allowing the Cougars to take a six-point lead early in the first quarter. However, the Buffs overcame their shooting struggles by capitalizing on Houston’s miscues with nine second-chance points and eight points off Houston’s five first-quarter turnovers.
A Johanna Teder hit a deep-range three-pointer and Oliver made two from the charity stripe to give the Buffs a 21-15 lead to end the first.
The Buffs’ offense started to click in the second quarter with Colorado extending their lead to 11 points. Shots began to fall for Colorado as they shot 10-for-17 from the field and scored 16 points in the paint.
To end the first half, Sanders had a buzzer-beating assist to Powell, extending Colorado's Lead to 19. Oliver recorded her career high at halftime with 12 points along with the Buffs having 24 first-half points in the paint.
Houston came out of the tunnel strong, going on a quick 5-0 run, but Powell reignited the offense with a bucket from beyond the arc. Sanders and Powell led the charge for CU in the third with 17 of Colorado’s 19 points.
Colorado continued to dominate down the stretch as Houston never got closer than a 13-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Johnson had 14 fourth-quarter points, and a 10-0 run in the final two minutes sealed the Buffs’ 23-point victory.
Colorado hopes to follow up their Saturday evening victory with another win as they take on No. 25 Baylor at home on the 19th. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT at the CU Events Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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