As the honors kept rolling in for Colorado point guard Jaylyn Sherrod earlier this week, her teammates were thrilled.
“I think everyone’s loving it,” senior Sara-Rose Smith said. “We were laughing in the locker room, like they might be making up awards at this point for how many she’s gotten. She’s just racking them up, not leaving any to anyone else. Itap so awesome. Itap just such a good feeling.”
After scoring 34 points in CU’s 76-65 win against then-No. 12 Utah on Saturday, Sherrod, a fifth-year senior, was named Pac-12 player of the week, as well as national player of the week by the Associated Press, ESPN and the USWBA.
True to the nature of Sherrod and the fifth-ranked CU women’s basketball team, however, there hasn’t been much basking in the glow of the Utah win or the recognition that has come with it.
“You wouldn’t know that she’s gotten those awards with the way that she carries herself,” Smith said.
As the Buffs’ emotional leader, Sherrod knows the Utah win, while important, doesn’t matter this week. The Buffs have enough to worry about with a trip to the Grand Canyon State. They visit Arizona on Friday and Arizona State on Sunday.
“We’re really focused,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “Utah’s way in the rearview mirror. We’re really focused on just doing what we’re supposed to do, having great practices, bringing great energy. All of that stuff is the same.”
For now, the focus is squarely on Arizona, which isn’t enjoying the same type of success as in previous seasons, but is nonetheless a dangerous opponent for the Buffs.
ESPN currently projects eight Pac-12 teams to make the NCAA Tournament, with Arizona on the outside looking in. But the Wildcats, national runner-up in 2021 and a top-four finisher in the Pac-12 the past four seasons, certainly have Payne’s attention.
“They’re really athletic,” Payne said. “They want to make athletic plays. They’re very disruptive defensively, they rebound well. I think their identity is the same, they just have different pieces.”
Arizona has just three active players back from last year, only one of which was a starter. Of the 10 active players on the roster, seven are new to the team, including three transfers, three true freshmen and a walk-on recruited from the track and field team last month.
Itap a growing team, though.
Payne said of Wildcats’ fifth-year senior Helena Pueyo, who does a bit of everything, “I’ve always thought (she) is one of the best players in our conference.”
Point guard Kailyn Gilbert and forward Esmery Martinez are also experienced Wildcats who are helping their teammates get acclimated as the season goes along.
“They brought in some transfers that have played a lot,” Payne said. “A team that has that many transfers is going to keep getting better as the year goes on because they get more and more comfortable with each other. So I definitely think they’re a dangerous team. And anytime they play in Tucson, they have five or six thousand of their closest friends in the building and they are difficult to play in front of.”
The Wildcats are averaging a conference-best 6,981 fans at home games, which will test the Buffs’ mental toughness.
“We just have to really prioritize staying together, executing the scout, things like that,” Payne said.
Led by Sherrod, however, the veteran Buffs are not fazed by the road. They’re 12-5 in true road games (and 18-8 overall away from Boulder) since the start of the 2022-23 season, in part because they actually like being on the road together.
“If you want to be successful, you have to win games on the road, so it just takes more focus, more attention to detail,” Payne said. “It gives you an opportunity to kind of tune out anything outside of basketball, which I think is a good thing.
“Itap just you and your team and that ends up being a good thing for us usually.”
No. 5 CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. Arizona Wildcats
TIPOFF: Friday, 6 p.m. MT, McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz.
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Network/630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 11-1 (1-0 Pac-12); Arizona 9-4 (1-0 Pac-12)
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 8th season (130-94; 231-207 career). Arizona — Adia Barnes, 8th season (141-87).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Frida Formann, 5-11, Sr. (14.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.7 spg, .467 FG%, .463 3PT%, 1.000 FT%); C Quay Miller, 6-3, Sr. (9.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg); G Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Sr. (14.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.3 spg, .500 FG%); C Aaronette Vonleh, 6-3, Jr. (15.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, .645 FG%); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, .484 FG%). Arizona — C Breya Cunningham, 6-3, Fr. (8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.4 bpg, .638 FG%); G Kailyn Gilbert, 5-8, So. (15.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, .462 3PT%); F Salimatou Kourouma, 5-11, Jr. (9.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .495 FG%); F Esmery Martinez, 6-2, Sr. (10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.2 spg); G Helena Pueyo, 6-0, Sr. (6.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.7 spg, .364 3PT%).
NOTES: CU hits the road in conference play for the first time this season. … The Buffs are seeking just their second 2-0 start to conference play in the past 17 years (they started 2-0 in 2021-22). … Under Payne, the Buffs are 1-8 in the state of Arizona, including 0-4 in Tucson. … Overall, CU has lost five straight in Tucson, the last win coming on Feb. 27, 2015. … CU leads the all-time series 19-10, but Arizona is 6-3 in the last nine meetings. The teams split last year, with home team winning both games. … Arizona beat rival Arizona State in its conference opener, 91-52, on Dec. 17, in Tempe, Ariz. … CU and Arizona have typically been known for their defense, but both rank at the bottom of the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense, with Colorado 12th (.410) and Arizona 11th (.399). … On the other hand, the two teams lead the conference in steals, with Arizona at the top (12.54 per game) and CU second (12.25). … This game features three of the top-10 scorers in the Pac-12 with CU’s Vonleh (eighth) and Sherrod (10th) and Arizona’s Gilbert (ninth). Formann isn’t far behind, at 12th. … Starter Maya Nnaji, who was Arizona’s third-leading scorer, left the team last month to focus on academics. The Wildcats are also playing this year without freshman Montaya Dew, the highest-rated recruit in program history. She is out for the year with a knee injury.
