LAS VEGAS – The walls of Colorado’s locker room couldn’t contain the volume from the celebratory cheers Thursday afternoon.
A 45-43 upset of No. 14 Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament at Michelob Ultra Arena was worthy of celebration. Yet, as CU continues to do things it hasn’t done in years, the Buffaloes are enjoying the moment while never losing sight of their goals.
“For me, it definitely feels good,” said senior Mya Hollingshed, who had 12 points and nine rebounds. “But like I talked about last season, itap just unfinished business and I think we have a lot more in our tank. We have a lot more to prove. We have a lot we’re fighting for right now.”
On Thursday, CU (22-7) fought for every second before knocking off the Wildcats (20-7).
Arizona stole the ball on an inbounds pass with 2 seconds to play and called a timeout. The Wildcats’ Shaina Pellington got a good look on a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but was off the mark as the buzzer sounded, sparking CU’s celebration.
The fifth-seeded Buffs have won six consecutive games and eight of their last nine and have advanced to the Pac-12 semifinals for the first time since 2015. The Buffs will face No. 2 and top-seeded Stanford (26-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. MST. Stanford routed Oregon State, 57-44, on Thursday.
“I think now that we’re on a roll and we’re finally getting in a rhythm with our program, I think we’re just getting more comfortable with doing what we do and not really thinking about the other team,” Hollingshed said. “We talk about it every day before our game, we’re taking it one game at a time. We’re not looking ahead, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. And the more that we do that and the more we stay in the present, I think the farther we’ll go.”
CU stayed on task Thursday, despite some shaky moments.
The Buffs made just 32.6 percent of their shots, had 21 turnovers and posted the lowest point total for a winning team in Pac-12 Tournament history.
Five consecutive CU turnovers sparked a 10-0 Arizona run that gave the Wildcats a 41-38 lead with 6 minutes to go.
CU then buckled down. The Buffs responded to Arizona’s run with a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Frida Formann 3-pointer, to take a 45-41 lead with 1 minute, 59 seconds to play.
“I think that was the key,” Hollingshed said of the Buffs regrouping after Arizona’s run. “We talked about how we’ve been in this situation before and we needed to learn from the previous games and just slow it down.”
Despite not scoring after Formann’s 3-pointer, CU’s lead held up because of its defense. Arizona went 0-for-9 from the floor with three turnovers in the final 6 minutes.
For the game, CU held Arizona to 25 percent shooting, including 2-for-24 (8.3%) from 3-point range. Arizona, which played without leading scorer Cate Reese, was never able to figure out CU’s zone defense.
“Great job by Colorado,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said. “I think they did a tremendous job of putting us in tough situations and exploiting some of our weaknesses and staying in that zone for a long time and we just weren’t able to hit shots. I think thatap how it goes sometimes, but credit to them. They did a great job and I think they came here and they beat us.”
In addition to Hollingshed, the Buffs got a full stat sheet from freshman Kindyll Wetta (six points, season-high eight rebounds, four assists and three steals) and eight points each from Jaylyn Sherrod and Formann.
“I looked at (the box score) and said, ‘Okay, we out-rebounded them, we turned it over and we played defense.’ I think that about sums up the game,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I’m proud of our team for how we played and how we battled. We were up, we were down, we came back up, came back down. Definitely a defensive effort from both teams as we knew it would be and in the end, I think we just handled our business.”
In beating the Wildcats, the Buffs solidified a likely trip to the NCAA Tournament, but CU isn’t looking past one more day in Vegas.
“We very much stay in the moment, no matter what is on the horizon, or what potentially is on the horizon,” Payne said. “Today the job at hand was Arizona and that was our sole focus. But we’re very proud and excited to be where we are. I would say we expected it, but we don’t even think that long term. I think we expect to be excellent every single day. We hold each other to that standard.
“We have been excellent and we find ourselves here. We’re just happy to be here.”
Fast break
What went right: CU’s defense locked down on Arizona all day, holding them to 25 percent shooting. The Buffs also out-rebounded the Wildcats 38-31 and kept their composure on crunch time.
What went wrong: Offensively, CU made only 32.6 percent of its shots and had 21 turnovers.
Star of the game: Mya Hollingshed. She posted 12 points and nine rebounds and added two blocked shots.
Whatap next: The Buffs will play Stanford in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. MST in Las Vegas.
Colorado 45, No. 14 Arizona 43
COLORADO (22-7)
Tuitele 1-7 4-4 6, Finau 0-2 2-2 2, Formann 3-6 0-0 8, Hollingshed 5-10 0-0 12, Sherrod 3-7 1-4 8, Miller 1-3 1-2 3, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Wetta 2-8 2-2 6, Totals 15-46 10-14 45
ARIZONA (20-7)
Thomas 1-8 0-0 3, Ware 3-7 9-10 15, Pellington 3-8 2-2 9, Pueyo 1-6 0-0 2, Yeaney 1-3 2-2 4, Love 2-7 0-0 4, Chavez 0-4 2-2 2, Conner 0-4 2-2 2, Vonleh 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 12-48 17-18 43
Colorado 9 15 9 12 — 45 Arizona 10 12 4 17 — 43
3-Point Goals – Colorado 5-17 (Tuitele 0-2, Finau 0-1, Formann 2-3, Hollingshed 2-4, Sherrod 1-3, Miller 0-1, Wetta 0-3), Arizona 2-24 (Thomas 1-8, Pellington 1-5, Pueyo 0-3, Love 0-1, Chavez 0-4, Conner 0-3). Assists – Colorado 10 (Wetta 4), Arizona 7 (Pueyo 3). Rebounds – Colorado 38 (Hollingshed 9), Arizona 31 (Ware 8). Steals – Colorado 7 (Wetta 3), Arizona 9 (Chavez 3). Turnovers – Colorado 21, Arizona 15. Total Fouls – Colorado 19, Arizona 17. Fouled out – None. Technical Fouls – None.
