LOS ANGELES – The Colorado women’s basketball team is hitting stride at the right time.
On Sunday, the Buffaloes knocked off Southern California, 67-54, at the Galen Center to complete their first-ever weekend sweep in Los Angeles.
The Buffs (18-7, 7-7 Pac-12) had lost 11 consecutive games in L.A. before defeating UCLA on Friday. In beating the Trojans (11-14, 4-11) on Sunday, the Buffs improved to 4-0 against the L.A. schools this season.
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More importantly, the Buffs have won four of their last five games as they zero in on their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013. They completed their four-game road swing with a 3-1 record.
“It’s very exciting,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I always take everything one day at a time and I think our team does too. We talked (Saturday) about the UCLA game; that was great, that was awesome. That’s only half the job we came here to do. So our team was really focused for this game, even though it’s a short turnaround and a different team than UCLA. We were ready and I think that’s a testament to our team just knowing how important it is to be prepared.”
Mya Hollingshed had 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Buffs, who have reached the 18-win mark for the first time in eight years.
Quay Miller added 13 points for the Buffs, who led by as many as 20 points in rolling to the victory. All 10 Buffs who got into the game scored and nine had at least one rebound.
“It’s great,” said freshman Kindyll Wetta, who had eight points and three assists. “Honestly, that’s probably one of the things that I would say makes us a better team than some other games we were losing is everybody’s contributing. Everybody’s putting points up on the board. It’s just neat to have people come in and have point production off the bench.”
USC got off to a quick start, with star Jordan Jenkins scoring six points in the first 3 minutes, 15 seconds. The Buffs began to take control midway through the first quarter, however, and closed the quarter on a 14-4 run to lead 19-12.
A layup from Tayanna Jones with 5:00 to go in the second quarter gave the Buffs their largest lead of the half, 28-18. They took a 35-27 lead into intermission.
Jenkins, who had 12 points in the first half, was injured late in the second quarter and didn’t return. CU took advantage. Hollingshed had seven points in the third quarter as the Buffs doubled their lead to 16, at 54-38, going into the fourth quarter.
CU stretched the lead to 20 before a late spurt by the Trojans.
“Jordy is one of the best players in this conference and she showed that from the opening tip,” Payne said. “She’s really good and they’re a different team without her. That doesn’t take anything away from what our team was able to do, but 100%, she’s one of the best players in this league. She was walking on the court after so I hope she’s okay because she’s a heck of a player and a nice gal.”
With or without Jenkins on the floor, the Buffs were the better team as they continue to play with a larger purpose. Their goal from Day 1 of the season has been to reach the NCAA Tournament. A 1-6 stretch in the middle of the season put pressure on the Buffs, but they’ve been exceptional in the past five games.
“We know that we need these games, so we’ve just been trying to just get back in the flow that we were in at the beginning of the season, and I think that these past two games we’ve done that,” Wetta said.
“I think that we really got our chemistry as a team going these past few games.”
Notes
Hollingshed set a new CU record by playing in the 135th game of her career. She broke the old mark of 134 by Rachel Hargis (2010-14). … Hollingshed passed both Jamillah Lang (1990-94) and Bridget Turner (1985-89) on the CU career scoring list. She now ranks ninth, with 1,604 points. … CU snapped a seven-game losing streak at the Galen Center. … The Buffs have won three straight against the Trojans. … The Buffs are 7-4 on the road this season.
Fast break
What went right: For the second game in a row, the Buffs shot the ball well (47.1%) and used its defense to create offense. CU was solid on both ends of the floor.
What went wrong: CU had some struggles at the free throw line (12-of-19) and gave up too many offensive rebounds (16), but USC had just 10 second-chance points.
Star of the game: Mya Hollingshed. The senior didn’t shoot particularly well (5-of-13), but still had 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
What’s next: The Buffs host Oregon on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at CU Events Center.
Colorado 67, USC 54
COLORADO (18-7, 7-7 Pac-12)
Sherrod 1-4 1-4 3, Sadler 2-5 2-3 6, Hollingshed 5-13 4-6 16, Tuitele 2-3 2-2 7, Finau 4-6 0-0 8, Jones 1-4 0-0 2, Miller 4-7 3-4 13, Blacksten 1-1 0-0 3, Wetta 3-4 0-0 7, Formann 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 24-51 12-19 67.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (11-14, 4-11 Pac-12)
Marshall 4-15 5-5 13, Caldwell 1-7 0-0 2, Reed 2-6 5-5 9, Jenkins 6-10 0-0 12, Sanders 2-11 2-2 7, Oliver 0-0 0-0 0, Perkins 2-6 1-1 5, Otto 0-0 0-0 0, White 1-2 0-0 2, Miura 0-2 0-0 0, Akunwafo 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 19-63 15-15 54.
Colorado 19 16 19 13 – 67
USC 12 15 11 16 – 54
3-point goals – Colorado 7-17 (Hollingshed 2-5, Miller 2-4, Tuitele 1-1, Blacksten 1-1, Wetta 1-1, Sherrod 0-1, Sadler 0-1, Finau 0-1, Jones 0-1, Formann 0-1), USC 1-12 (Sanders 1-4, Perkins 0-3, Miura 0-2, Marshall 0-1, Caldwell 0-1, Reed 0-1). Rebounds – Colorado 36 (Hollingshed 6), USC 35 (Marshall 11). Assists – Colorado 12 (Sherrod, Hollingshed, Wetta 3), USC 11 (Caldwell, Reed 3). Steals – Colorado 7 (Tuitele, Wetta 2), USC 5 (Sanders 2). Turnovers – Colorado 14, USC 11. Total fouls – Colorado 15, USC 14. Fouled out – None. A – 836.
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