Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: CU dug itself a huge hole early in the game, sputtering in the first half for the second game in a row and falling behind by as many 18 points. The Buffs nearly got the win anyway, but were unable to get a stop in the closing seconds.
Three stars:
1. Utah’s Ines Vieira: Tenacious point guard finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
2. Utah’s Alissa Pili: One of the top scorers in the country finished with 18 points and six rebounds, as well as three assists and fueled Utah’s fast start.
3. CU’s Jaylyn Sherrod: Posted 15 points, nine assists and two steals.
Up next: Colorado will visit No. 10 USC on Feb. 23.
Colorado got just about everything it needed to pull off a miraculous comeback in Salt Lake City.
The fact that the Buffaloes needed a furious rally, however, didn’t sit well with head coach JR Payne, especially after that rally fell short.
The Utes’ Dasia Young bounced in a driving layup at the buzzer to hand the CU women’s basketball team a 77-76 defeat at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday.
“To be honest, I’m pissed,” Payne said. “I’m very frustrated. I thought we played a tremendous second half, obviously, but I’m beyond frustrated with the first half.
“I think it felt like Sunday’s game (a 65-59 loss to Oregon State), which is totally … I don’t even know the word. I can’t understand how that’s possible. Very disappointed in the first half, very proud of the second half.”
For the first time this season, the eighth-ranked Buffaloes (20-5, 10-4 Pac-12) have lost two in a row. Led by Ines Vieira and Alissa Pili, who combined for 34 points and 14 rebounds, the 22nd-ranked Utes (19-7, 9-5) won for the fourth time in five games.
CU fell two games behind league-leading Stanford with only four games to play – two of those on the road against No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 USC, which are right with the Buffs and Oregon State in the standings.
After a miserable first half, the Buffs trailed by as much as 18 points Friday before surging back. They took their first lead of the game, 74-73, on a Frida Formann layup with 19.2 seconds left.
Vieira hit a pair of free throws for Utah regain the lead with 14.2 seconds left, but the Buffs’ Aaronette Vonleh hit a put-back with 9.4 seconds left for a 76-75 lead.
The Utes went right down the court. Formann ran out to Young behind the 3-point arc, but Young blazed past her and Euro-stepped through the defense by Vonleh and tossed up a shot as the clock hit zero. The ball bounced twice on the rim before rolling in.
“We got blown by and (Young) got into the paint and made a really tough circus shot,” Payne said.
Formann said she should have played better defense on that play.
“Obviously a lot of things I would have done differently now on that play and maybe just forced her to take a contested 3,” Formann said. “But, yeah those are things that make you better next time we’re in a situation like that.”
It was the first half that truly cost CU in this one, though.
The Buffs had their lowest-scoring half of the season in the first half against Oregon State (24 points) on Sunday and matched it in the first half Friday, going into intermission trailing 39-24. The deficit reached 18 points early in the third quarter.
“One, we just want to play great basketball and we didn’t,” Payne said. “Two, we totally did not execute the scout, collectively, in the first half. And then third, yeah, I mean, every possession is crucial. So I don’t understand how we can just not do what we’re supposed to do for longer periods of time then maybe just one possession. … It’s just not good enough.”
The Buffs did rally, however, and pulled within seven late in the third before Utah used an 8-0 run to build the lead back to 15, 65-50, with 9:23 to play in the fourth quarter.
Formann scored 10 of her 15 points in last 6:20 to spark a rally that nearly made up for the rough start. Jaylyn Sherrod also had 15 points, while Vonleh had 14 (eight in the last three minutes), but it wasn’t enough.
“I think just we got more urgency and we started to get some buckets,” Formann said of the late rally. “I think we just dialed up the defense. It was kind of do or die at that point. So yeah, I’m proud that we made the comeback and then that we made our way back. And, obviously really heartbreaking to lose on a buzzer beater like that.”
Young’s game-winner was Utah’s only made field goal in the last five minutes of the game, and it’s one the Buffs will remember for a while.
No. 22 Utah 77, No. 8 Colorado 76
COLORADO (20-5, 10-4 Pac-12)
Sherrod 7-15 0-0 15, Formann 5-10 2-2 15, Miller 3-7 1-2 8, Vonleh 7-14 0-0 14, Nolan 2-4 1-1 6, Sadler 2-4 0-0 4, Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Wetta 3-5 2-2 8, McLeod 0-0 0-0 0, Whittaker 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 32-64 6-8 76.
UTAH (19-7, 9-5 Pac-12)
Vieira 6-13 4-4 16, Johnson 5-7 2-4 14, Wilke 2-4 3-4 8, McQueen 3-7 1-1 8, Pili 7-14 2-2 18, Palmer 0-2 0-0 0, White 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Young 6-9 0-1 13, Crispe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 12-16 77.
Colorado 14 10 26 26 – 76
Utah 23 16 23 15 – 77
3-point field goals – Colorado 6-12 (Formann 3-4, Miller 1-3, Nolan 1-3, Sherrod 1-2), Utah 7-19 (Pili 2-5, Johnson 2-3, McQueen 1-4, Wilke 1-3, Young 1-2, Vieira 0-1, Palmer 0-1). Rebounds – Colorado 28 (Miller, Vonleh 6), Utah 34 (Vieira 8). Assists – Colorado 17 (Sherrod 9), Utah 17 (Vieira 7). Steals – Colorado 10 (Sherrod, Smith 2), Utah 5 (Vieira 2). Turnovers – Colorado 11, Utah 16. Total fouls – Colorado 20, Utah 14. Fouled out – None. Attendance – 5,999.