WOMENS BASKETBALL

Colorado 75, Arizona 74

BY BRIAN J. PEDERSEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

TUCSON, Ariz. - Jaylynn Sherrod had scored 18 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 1:50 left, to give No. 5 Colorado a 75-74 win at Arizona.

The Wildcats had two chances to win it in the final seconds, but jumpers by Kailyn Gilbert and Breya Cunningham fell short.

Sherrod was 5 of 10 from the field and 7 of 9 from the line, making 2 of 3 free throws in the last two minutes for Colorado’s last scoring. Quay Miller had 14 points and Aaronette Vonleh added 11, but the Buffaloes (12-1, 2-0 Pac-12) had 19 turnovers, leading to 23 points for Arizona (9-5, 1-1).

The Wildcats took a 72-71 lead with 2:08 left on a 3-pointer by Helena Pueyo. They had a chance to win despite being outrebounded 41-21 and giving up 17 offensive rebounds.

Gilbert finished with 19 points and Jada Williams added 16 for Arizona, which had only seven players available. The Wildcats shot 55.2% and outscored the bigger Buffaloes 48-42 in the paint.

Colorado led 38-36 at the half despite 13 turnovers. Another giveaway contributed to the Buffaloes falling behind by three early in the third quarter before a 9-2 run capped by Maddie Nolan’s 3-pointer put them up 50-45 with 4:23 left in the period.

But Arizona scored the final 10 points of the third to lead 58-52, limiting Colorado to 30% shooting in the quarter while making 69.2% of its shots. The Wildcats upped the run to 12-0 before Colorado fought back, getting back-to-back baskets inside from Vonleh for a 67-65 advantage with 4:25 left.

After the Buffaloes went up 28-21 on a transition 3 by Nolan midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats ran off eight in a row and took their first lead on Gilbert’s layup with 4:03 remaining in the half.

A 3-pointer by Tameiya Sadler gave the Buffaloes the lead back at 35-32.

BIG PICTURE

Colorado: Leading scorer Vonleh began her college career at Arizona, appearing in 17 games as a true freshman in 2021-22. The sister of former NBA player Noah Vonleh transferred to the Buffaloes, and has scored in double figures in 26 of 47 games including 24 against defending national champion LSU in the season opener.

Arizona: The Wildcats’ roster keeps thinning out, with two more scholarship athletes unavailable Friday as senior wing Salimatu Kourouma (shoulder) and junior forward Isis Beh (undisclosed) both sat out. In mid-December sophomore forward Maya Nnaji stepped away from the team to focus on academics, while freshman forward Montaya Dew is out for the year due to offseason knee surgery.

January 5, 2024