In the now 13-year history of the Pac-12 Conference, only twice has the regular season champion run the table in women’s basketball.
Perennial power Stanford did it in the first year of the Pac-12 (2011-12) and again a decade later (2021-22). More often than not, the champion has had two or more losses.
Given those odds, Colorado head coach JR Payne never expected her team to be perfect, although the Buffaloes lasted longer than anyone in that quest this season. Following Friday’s 76-68 loss to No. 5 UCLA, the third-ranked Buffs now look to regroup with No. 6 USC visiting on Sunday.
“I always say we all chose this,” Payne said. “We chose the Pac-12, where we knew it would be a top-10, top-15 matchup every night because ultimately, we are that competitive, so we love it.
“I said early on that no one is going to run the table in this league. Everyone is just too darn good and so now clearly, no one’s gonna run the table.”
Although CU won’t be perfect in the conference or at home this season, Friday’s loss didn’t damage any of the Buffs’ main goals. And, they quickly set their sights on bouncing back against the Trojans on Sunday.
“After the game, me and coach J were having a conversation on the court just about things that we didn’t really execute and ways we could have been better,” senior point guard Jaylyn Sherrod said. “We’ll be a better ball club from this game and I don’t think we’re gonna hang our heads on our first loss in the Pac-12. Like coach J said, nobody was gonna run the table.
“Having a bad taste in our mouth is not something we’re not accustomed to. And we really hold ourselves accountable as a group and build off of that, so I expect nothing less.”
As usual, the Buffs planned to attack film study and their scouting report in preparation for USC.
Foul trouble hurt CU’s chances on Friday. Sherrod and fellow point guard Kindyll Wetta both played the final stretch with four fouls, limiting the aggressiveness they usually play with on defense. Four other Buffs were in foul trouble late, too, and center Quay Miller fouled out. But, Payne didn’t make excuses.
“We’ll watch the film and figure out where could we have been better to keep them off the (free throw) line,” Payne said. “That’s just our mindset. We don’t really ever blame anybody. Just trying to figure out ways that we could have been more effective, which we will do. But yeah, it’s definitely hard to play like that with a lot of your top players in foul trouble.”
CU also got dominated on the boards – albeit against the best rebounding team in the country – and Payne felt the Buffs didn’t move the ball as much as usual on offense. Those issues, as well, are focal points going into Sunday.
“We love film,” Payne said. “We just feel like film can teach you so much. So I think just really watching it, studying it and then talking about it. We ask our players like, what are you thinking? What did you see? How did you feel? What was going on? Just having some real good dialogue about it. … Just to make sure that we can be better the next time so that if we start to get into that space, where it’s starting to feel like that again, we know how to fix it quicker.”
Even with the loss, CU is still atop the Pac-12 standings, so there’s no reaching for the panic button. But there were plenty of lessons to be learned as the Buffs look ahead.
“We have a lot of games left to play so definitely disappointed that we didn’t win this game,” Payne said, “but I feel like we’ve got a lot of really great basketball ahead of us.”
No. 3 CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. No. 6 USC Trojans
TIPOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m., CU Events Center in Boulder
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Network/630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 15-2 (5-1 Pac-12); USC 13-2 (3-2)
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 8th season (134-95; 235-208 career). USC — Lindsay Gottlieb, 3rd season (46-28; 281-156 career).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Frida Formann, 5-11, Sr. (13.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.4 spg, .447 FG%, .430 3PT%, .909 FT%); C Quay Miller, 6-3, Sr. (10.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg); G Maddie Nolan, 5-11, Sr. (5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, .406 3PT%); G Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Sr. (14.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.4 apg, 2.5 spg, .474 FG%); C Aaronette Vonleh, 6-3, Jr. (14.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, .629 FG%); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.1 spg, .531 FG%). USC — G Taylor Bigby, 6-1, So. (6.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg); G/F McKenzie Forbes, 6-0, Sr. (13.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg); C/F Rayah Marshall, 6-4, Jr. (11.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg, .500 FG%); G Kayla Padilla, 5-9, Sr. (7.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.8 apg); G JuJu Watkins, 6-2, Fr. (26.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.5 spg, 1.8 bpg).
NOTES: CU concludes a four-game homestand. The Buffs are 2-1 on the homestand and had a nine-game home winning streak snapped Friday by No. 5 UCLA. … CU is 8-1 in games following a loss over the past two seasons. … USC leads the all-time series 16-11, but the Buffs are 7-6 against the Trojans in Boulder. CU has won three of the past four matchups. … This is the first time in series history that both teams have been ranked going into the matchup. … Miller is averaging 12.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in the past five games. … The Trojans knocked off rival UCLA last Sunday, but were routed by No. 20 Utah, 78-58, on Friday in Salt Lake City. Utah outscored USC 33-18 the last 15 minutes. Watkins had 26 points. … Watkins was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country in the 2023 class and currently ranks second nationally in scoring, behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. She’s earned Pac-12 freshman of the week honors a record nine times (out of 10 weeks).
