LAS VEGAS – Colorado didn’t get the conference tournament title it came here to win, but the Buffaloes proved themselves as one of the Pac-12’s top teams during their Vegas run.
Defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Stanford dominated the Buffs, 71-45, in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament at Michelob Ultra Arena on Friday night.
CU (22-8) had its six-game winning streak snapped, as Stanford (27-3) got its 33rd consecutive victory against Pac-12 competition. The Cardinal advanced to the Pac-12 title game for the sixth year in a row and the ninth time in the 11-year history of the conference.
“Disappointed with the outcome of the game,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “Proud of how we battled on the boards. We just had a hard time scoring the ball when we turned it over. Too many turnovers against a team that makes you pay for pretty much every mistake you make, but Stanford’s a great team. I think we’re also a great team. Very competitive game and we just didn’t score the ball the way we needed to.”
Haley Jones – voted Pac-12 player of the year by coaches – had 17 points for Stanford, while Cameron Brink – voted Pac-12 player of the year by media – had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman Kindyll Wetta led the Buffs with 12 points, matching her season high. Jaylyn Sherrod added 10 points and Mya Hollingshed had seven points and 10 rebounds, but the Buffs couldn’t stay with the Cardinal after the first quarter.
The Buffs also lost starting guard Sila Finau to a sprained ankle late in the second quarter.
CU came into the tournament in good position for ending a nine-year NCAA Tournament drought and only strengthened its resume with wins against Washington and 14th-ranked Arizona.
“I don’t know what seed I expect us to get,” Payne said, adding she had been focused only on Stanford. “I think we have proven … we have won seven of our last nine games in one of the best conferences in America. I think we should get a high seed and I think we’ve earned that.”
CU actually went 8-2 in its last 10, but both losses came to Stanford and on Friday, Stanford’s depth and talent took over against the Buffs.
CU started the game with great energy and took a 6-2 lead in the first four minutes. In the last four minutes of the first quarter, the lead changed hands five times and Stanford took an 11-10 advantage into the second.
Early in the second, with Stanford ahead 14-10, Hollingshed and Brink got into a tussle when going for a rebound. Hollingshed shoved Brink and Brink responded by throwing the ball at Hollingshed. Both were hit with intentional fouls, but that incident seemed to spark Brink and her teammates.
“We just got tangled up,” Hollingshed said. “Two personal fouls. It was nothing more than that.”
Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer thought that moment was “a little bit of a turning point” for her team.
Brink said, “I just thought it was a heated moment, but kind of we used it as fuel.”
Over the next 3:13, Brink scored seven points, including a 3-pointer over Hollingshed, for a 26-15 lead. The Cardinal extended the lead to 33-18 by halftime.
“I just don’t think we upped our intensity defensively,” Hollingshed said. “We were starting to get well in our offense and we were trading baskets and one point, but we weren’t doing what we needed to with the stops, so I think thatap what ultimately led to that.”
After the dismal second quarter, the Buffs came out of the break strong. Twice, the Buffs sliced the Stanford lead to nine, the second time on a Hollingshed 3-pointer with 2:58 to play in the third quarter.
Stanford, however, closed the third on a 9-2 run. Anna Wilson had all nine of Stanford’s points in that run, including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. That gave the Cardinal their biggest lead of the night at the time, 53-37.
“When any team goes on a run like that, itap an important stretch because I think, like Mya just said, we weren’t getting stops,” Sherrod said. “We were kind of trading baskets at that point and that wasn’t what we needed to do when we were trying to come back.”
Stanford opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to put the game out of reach.
CU was playing in the semifinals for the first time since 2015. The Buffs have now lost their last five trips to the conference semifinals, dating back to their 1997 Big 12 championship run.
Fast break
What went right: The Buffs had a good start and came into the game with good energy from the jump. They also rebounded well, holding a 33-32 advantage.
What went wrong: CU made just 30.6 percent of its shots (15-of-49) and had 23 turnovers.
Star of the game: Kindyll Wetta. The freshman tied her season high with 12 points and added four rebounds.
Whatap next: CU awaits Selection Sunday and hopes for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 Stanford 71, Colorado 45
COLORADO (22-8)
Tuitele 1-5 0-0 2, Finau 1-4 0-0 2, Formann 3-10 0-0 7, Hollingshed 3-5 0-1 7, Sherrod 1-5 8-10 10, Miller 0-4 2-2 2, Blacksten 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 1-4 0-0 3, Wetta 5-10 1-2 12, Totals 15-49 11-15 45
STANFORD (27-3)
Brink 6-10 1-1 14, Lexie Hull 4-8 0-0 9, Lacie Hull 1-6 2-2 4, Jones 6-14 4-4 17, Wilson 4-6 2-2 12, Belibi 2-5 0-0 4, Jerome 0-0 0-0 0, Prechtel 2-3 0-0 6, Jump 0-1 0-0 0, Bosgana 1-1 1-2 3, Demetre 0-0 0-0 0, Emma-Nnopu 0-0 0-0 0, Iriafen 1-2 0-0 2, Van Gytenbeek 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 27-56 10-11 71
Colorado 10 8 19 8 — 45Stanford 11 22 20 18 — 71
3-Point Goals_Colorado 4-21 (Tuitele 0-2, Finau 0-1, Formann 1-6, Hollingshed 1-3, Sherrod 0-1, Miller 0-2, Blacksten 0-1, Jones 1-1, Wetta 1-4), Stanford 7-13 (Brink 1-1, Le.Hull 1-2, La.Hull 0-2, Jones 1-1, Wilson 2-4, Prechtel 2-3). Assists_Colorado 7 (Formann 2, Hollingshed 2, Miller 2), Stanford 12 (La.Hull 5). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Colorado 33 (Hollingshed 10), Stanford 32 (Brink 9). Total Fouls_Colorado 16, Stanford 16. Technical Fouls_None.
