Last Updated: November 24, 2023, 02:30 IST
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands: Colorado coach JR Payne hoped her group could be challenged in its first sport in 5 days.
Payne acquired what she wished for Thursday when the third-ranked Buffaloes opened the Paradise Jam match by keeping off Cincinnati 77-60.
Tameiya Sadler scored 15 factors, Kindyll Wetta added 14 and Aaronette Vonleh had 13 for Colorado (5-0), which shot a season-best 53.3% from the sector (32 of 60) and went 8 for 8 on free throws.
“I thought we played great for 30 minutes,” stated Payne, who’s in her eighth season teaching the Buffaloes. “Those final 10 minutes weren’t great, though. … We got a little stagnant, and weren’t moving the ball like we wanted to. But we won against a really good team, and were able to execute some things, knock some of the rust off.
“We’ve been talking about this game for days, and sometimes that can get a little heavy, a little tiring. We were ready to play the game and move on.”
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Jillian Hayes had 17 factors and Mya Jackson added 11 factors for the Bearcats (2-2), who have been held to 35.8% from the sector (19 of 53) as they noticed their two-game profitable streak snapped.
Wetta scored eight factors within the third quarter, when Colorado turned a 41-28 halftime lead right into a 64-39 margin, the Buffaloes’ greatest lead of the sport.
Cincinnati opened the fourth quarter with 9 unanswered factors throughout a 13-2 run that lower Colorado’s result in 14 factors (66-52) with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left.
But the Buffaloes responded with Sadler’s jumper and a 3-pointer from Maddie Nolan, and the Bearcats by no means pulled nearer.
“That game could’ve gone either way,” stated first-year Cincinnati coach Katrina Merriweather. “It could’ve ballooned up to 40 or 50 (points) easily, because that’s just how good they are. But I was really proud of we didn’t allow that, that we continued to fight and attack. That’s the kind of momentum we want to take forward into our next game.”
BIG PICTURE
Colorado: The Buffaloes are off to their third straight 5-0 begin below Payne, and the group has skyrocketed up the AP Top 25 over the primary three weeks of the season.
Cincinnati: Even with a loss, the Bearcats acquired of their second tuneup sport towards a Top 25 group earlier than opening their inaugural season within the Big 12 Conference in 5 weeks.
UP NEXT
Colorado: Faces Kentucky on Friday in its second Island Division sport on the Paradise Jam.
Cincinnati: Gets one other Top 25 matchup — towards Tenth-ranked North Carolina State — on the Paradise Jam on Friday.
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AP ladies’s faculty basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
