MANHATTAN, Kan. – The No. 17-ranked and fifth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season with a 63-50 win over fourth-seeded Kansas State here on the Wildcats’ home court Sunday afternoon.
“I’m just so proud of our team for how we played today,” head coach JR Payne said after advancing past the second round. “The environment was incredible. Shout-out to Manhattan, Kansas. The entire community has welcomed us this week, and that’s great. That’s a great basketball environment, we love that environment. We love being the underdog. We kind of thrive in that role so I know that as a group, we are very, very comfortable going into such a tough environment.”
Similar to Colorado’s first round game, the Buffs (24-9) caught fire in the third quarter to take the lead and pull away from the Wildcats (26-8). Kansas State scored 14 points in the first quarter and 21 in the second, however, Colorado held the Wildcats to just 15 total points in the entire second half.
The Buffs saw offensive production all across the board in the victory, having three players score in double-digits and three players just one point shy of double-digits. Maddie Nolan led the charge with 11 points on three 3-pointers, all of which came in the first half.
Quay Miller put together a double-double performance with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Four of her 10 boards were on the offensive end. Miller also tallied two assists and three steals while shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Aaronette Vonleh had nine points, eight rebounds and seven steals, a new CU record for a post player and all seven of her steals were in the first half, another CU record.
Tameiya Sadler also played a huge role in the win, scoring 10 points off the bench on 5 of 8 shooting from the field. Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Formann joined Vonleh with nine points apiece to help push the Buffs past the Wildcats.
“I think one of the best things about our team, we’ve said for a long time that, nobody really cares who gets the shine,” Payne said. “We have a lot of different players. We don’t have a single five-star recruit. We don’t have a single McDonald’s All-American, but we have a group of young women that are willing to fight and compete every day that they take the floor.
“I think that leads to a group that really wants to see each other succeed,” Payne continued. “I think it leads to a group that really loves to feed the hot hand no matter who it is, where it is, what it is, they try to get that person the ball and it’s just a really fun way to play.”
While the offense made plays when it needed, Colorado’s defense was all over the Wildcats from start to finish, recording 17 total steals. That is the second most steals in a game for the Buffs all season and one shy of tying their season-high of 18.
Colorado’s pesky defense led to 16 fast break points and 19 points off turnovers which ultimately took Kansas State out of the game.
The Buffs are back in the Sweet 16 and will play on Saturday, March 30. in what could be a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 match-up between the Buffs and Iowa Hawkeyes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first quarter was back-and-forth as neither team held a lead larger than four. In an 8-8 tie, Nolan knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Buffs up three. Just over a minute later, she hit another shot from behind the arc to make it a 14-10 advantage for CU.
The Wildcats responded by scoring on their final two possessions of the first quarter, making it 14-14 heading into the second.
Back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a layup gave Kansas State a 22-15 lead just a few minutes into the quarter.
Near the end of the first half, the Buffs went on a 9-0 run as Vonleh converted a layup to tie it at 33-33 with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter.
The Buffs had nine steals in the first half which led to 10 fast break points. Colorado trailed 35-33 at halftime after Kansas State made a layup with time expiring to take the lead.
Scoring slowed down to start the third as the Buffs scored six and the Wildcats scored four within the first five minutes. While leading 41-39, Colorado went on a 7-2 run to force a Kansas State timeout.
The Buffs carried a 10-point lead, 52-42, heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Colorado struggled to put points up on the board, going scoreless for the first six minutes. While the Buffs couldn’t produce much on offense, Kansas State cut into the CU lead to come within five at 54-49.
Colorado managed to hang on and knock down its free throws to get the second round win
KEY MOMENT
The Buffs ended the third quarter on an 8-1 run to gain some separation from Kansas State and go into the fourth with a 10-point lead over the Wildcats.
UP NEXT
The Buffs will play the winner of No. 1-seeded Iowa and No. 8-seeded West Virginia in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, March 30. Iowa takes on West Virginia on Monday, March 25 at 6 p.m. MT.
NOTES
This is the 21st all-time NCAA tournament win (21-15)…CU is now 34-35 all-time against Kansas State but met the Wildcats for the first time in 13 years ahead of becoming conference rivals again next season …Colorado is heading to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row and eighth time in program history, also doing so in 1993, ’94, ’95, ’97, 2002, ’03 and ’23 previously This is just the third time CU will go to the Sweet 16 in back to back seasons, joining three straight appearances from 1993-95 and back-to-back in 2002-03 … CU is 3-4 in the Sweet 16 round, advancing to the Elite Eight in 1993, ’95 and 2002 …All seven of Vonleh’s steals came in the first half and she CU records for most steals in a half (first) and by a post player in a game, and it’s a CU individual high for the season … CU’s 17 steals as a team was one off the season high (18 vs. Boston U, 12/28) and the ninth time CU has had 15-plus steals this season … Miller surpassed 700 rebounds at CU and now has 706… Miller had 10 points and 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season and 21st of her CU career, hitting double figures in scoring for the 16th time and rebounds for the 12th time this season… Nolan hit double figures in scoring for the ninth time this season and second time in two NCAA Tournament games, and CU is now 8-1 in those games … This is the seventh game Nolan has hit three or more 3-pointers… Sadler went for double figures in points for the sixth time this season and CU is now 6-0 in those games, scoring all 10 of her points in the second half … CU held Kansas State to 15 points in the second half, the lowest second half output for any CU opponent this season (17, LeMoyne) and second fewest of any half (Oregon, 11 points, first half in the Pac-12 Tournament) …CU’s bench outscored Kansas State 15-6…CU outscored Kansas State in fast-break points 16-2…CU led for 19:08 of the game and trailed for 14:13 with the game tied for 6:39… Two key runs for the Buffs came at the end of the second and third quarters, in the second down 33-24, CU used a 9-0 run to tie the game at 33-33 before K-State hit a layup at the buzzer … Vonleh had two buckets, Sherrod two free throws and Nolan had a 3-pointer in that run … In the third, down 39-37, CU outscored K-State 15-3 over the final 6:41 of the third quarter to lead 52-42 … Sadler had eight of her 10 points in that run.
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Story by Colin Wagner, Athletic Comunications Associate, for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.