LAS VEGAS – Eight girls’s basketball groups from the Pac-12 hit the ground on Wednesday, enjoying within the first spherical of the convention match at Michelob Extremely Area.
Colorado, in the meantime, bought on a bus and went to an empty area at UNLV to run by way of a two-hour apply.
It was becoming that the Twentieth-ranked Buffaloes (22-7) had been faraway from the motion and highlight whereas spending time as a group, as a result of in making ready for this match, they’ve been targeted primarily on themselves.
“I believe we’re precisely the place we have to be (mentally),” CU head coach JR Payne stated after the exercise at UNLV. “We’re targeted, we’re organized, we’re excited, we’re mild; however we’re additionally simply actually targeted on ourselves and enjoying good basketball.”
Seeded third, the Buffs had been one among 4 groups – together with Stanford, Utah and Arizona – to earn a first-round bye. It’s the primary time in 10 years CU has had a first-round bye and that is this system’s highest seed for a convention match since 2004, when the Buffs had been the No. 3 within the Huge 12 Event.
CU will truly be the final group to play this week, because it doesn’t tipoff till 9:30 p.m. MT in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Buffs will face both sixth-seeded USC (21-8) or Eleventh-seeded Oregon State (12-17).
“We’re ready for each groups,” guard Kindyll Wetta stated. “We’re gonna be prepared for whoever we play. … We’ve already performed each of those groups, we all know who they’re, we all know what we will study from – what we didn’t do and what we did do good – and go from there.”
In the course of the apply at UNLV, the Buffs did some work in preparation for USC and a few in preparation for Oregon State, but it surely’s been a really self-driven week general.
“This has been very nice as a result of we’ve been in a position to concentrate on ourselves all week and what we will do higher,” Wetta stated. “I believe that’s been actually useful for us previously few video games is specializing in us.”
Two weeks in the past, the Buffs went on a street journey to Arizona and didn’t play sharp in both recreation, sputtering previous last-place Arizona State, 70-62, earlier than getting routed by Arizona, 61-42.
Previous to dealing with then-No. 3 Stanford final Thursday, the Buffs seemed within the mirror.
“We actually simply targeted on ourselves and though we didn’t come out with a win, we had been proper there, and we should always have gained that recreation,” Wetta stated of the 73-62 double-overtime loss to the Cardinal.
CU adopted that up with a 95-69 rout of California within the common season finale on Saturday.
Payne and her workers delight themselves on their potential to place collectively a scouting report and train that to the gamers. It’s been a key to CU’s success lately. However, she admitted that relying rather less on these scouts and placing extra concentrate on the Buffs has been essential.
“We do find yourself being actually scout-driven in a whole lot of what we do all through the Pac-12 season,” she stated. “So to have a chance to only say, what are some areas that we will get higher and concentrate on that – as a result of in the long run, nobody’s actually doing something that new proper now. So, if we might simply be somewhat bit higher at some issues, I believe that helps us win extra video games.
“Generally it’s simply, ‘Go play exhausting and have enjoyable.’”
The Buffs appear to be doing that as they put together to start out the postseason on Thursday. They left UNLV feeling able to roll – regardless of not figuring out which group they’d be dealing with.
“I believe we’re prepared,” Wetta stated. “We’ve a very good steadiness of being targeted but in addition having enjoyable whereas we’re doing it, which makes a very good atmosphere.”
No. 20 CU Buffs girls’s basketball vs. USC Trojans or Oregon State Beavers
TIPOFF: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. MT, at Michelob Extremely Area in Las Vegas
TV/RADIO: TV — Pac-12 Community. Radio — KHOW 630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 22-7, 13-5 Pac-12; USC 21-8, 11-7 Pac-12; Oregon State 12-17, 4-14 Pac-12
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, seventh season (116-91; 217-204 profession); USC — Lindsay Gottlieb, 2nd season (33-24; 268-152 profession). Oregon State — Scott Rueck, thirteenth season (269-145; 557-233 profession)
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Frida Formann, 5-11, Jr. (11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 38.7% 3-point, 94.6% FT); C Quay Miller, 6-3, Sr. (14.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.5 spg); G Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Sr. (11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.4 spg); C Aaronette Vonleh, 6-3, So. (11.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 57.7% FG); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, So. (5.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.7 spg). USC — G/F Okako Adika, 6-0, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg); G Future Littleton, 5-9, Sr. (13.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.2 spg); G/F Rayah Marshall, 6-4, So. (12.9 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 1.4 spg); F Kadi Sissoko, 6-2, Sr. (15.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg); G Kayla Williams, 5-7, Jr. (5.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg). Oregon State — F Raegan Beers, 6-4, Fr. (13.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 57.8% FG); F Timea Gardiner, 6-3, Fr. (9.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg); F/C Jelena Mitrovic, 6-9, So. (7.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg); G Talia von Oelhoffen, 5-10, So. (13.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.2 spg); G Bendu Yeaney, 5-10, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.5 spg).
NOTES: On Wednesday, the Pac-12 introduced the all-conference awards as voted on by media. CU’s Quay Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod each earned first-team honors, whereas Sherrod was named to the all-defensive group. The awards voted on by coaches had been introduced Tuesday. … CU is 8-11 all-time within the Pac-12 Event. … Going into Wednesday, USC was 17-20 all-time within the Pac-10/12 Event, whereas Oregon State was 16-20. … Within the earlier 11 Pac-12 Tournaments, the No. 3 seed is 6-5 within the quarterfinals, shedding 3 times to the No. 6 seed and twice to the No. 11 seed. … CU misplaced its solely common season assembly with the Trojans, 71-54, on Jan. 29 in Boulder. … The Buffs gained the one assembly with OSU, 67-48, in Corvallis, on Feb. 5. … USC’s Marshall and Sissoko had been each named first-team All-Pac-12 by the media and coaches, whereas Littleton earned first-team honors from coaches. … Oregon State’s Raegan Beers was named the sixth participant of the yr and freshman of the yr by media and coaches. She was additionally named first-team all-conference by coaches. … OSU’s von Oelhoffen is out for the season with an harm.