December 3rd 2024.
The Colorado women's basketball team, or the Buffs as they are affectionately called, had an impressive win against Tennessee Tech. There were multiple factors that contributed to their success, including their strong shooting throughout the game. In fact, they shot an impressive 57.1% from the field and 48% from 3-point range. They also did a good job of limiting turnovers and outrebounding their opponents.
There were three standout players for the Buffs in this game. The first was Nyamer Diew, who had a season-high 15 points along with four rebounds and two blocked shots. Grace Oliver also had a strong performance coming off the bench, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out three assists. On the other side, Tennessee Tech's Reghan Grimes was a force to be reckoned with, scoring 26 points and adding four rebounds and three assists.
The Buffs will now shift their focus to their upcoming game against Southern Utah on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the CU Events Center. Diew and her teammates are having so much fun on offense that they can't wait to get back down the floor after finishing their defensive sets. "When shots continue to fall, then it's easier for all of us to just continue to move and stuff," Diew explained. "And it's easier to play with each other when shots are falling, I feel like. Then we wanna go down and get another stop because we all wanna get back to offense."
Their win against Tennessee Tech was a testament to their strong offense, but Head Coach JR Payne was quick to credit her players for their hard work and dedication. "We've had a tremendous amount of great players that have come through here, both long before I was here and ever since I've arrived," she said. "I had no idea it was 150 wins. That's clearly a testament to the great players that we've had come through our program, so that's really cool for the program."
Despite losing some key players, the Buffs continue to rack up wins thanks to their balanced attack. Diew and Ayianna Johnson, who both came off the bench, led the team with 15 points each. Frida Formann also had a strong performance, scoring 14 points. Jade Masogayo and Oliver added nine points each.
Diew believes that their balanced offense can be tough for opponents to defend. "I think the best thing about it is that other teams, they have to be true on the defensive side because it's like, if you're not gonna guard Frida this night, then she's gonna go off; if you're not gonna guard Lior this night, she's gonna go off," she said. "So I think it makes the other team's defense have to be sound completely and be a whole unit, which is very, very hard to do in every single possession."
The Buffs also had an impressive 25 assists on 36 made shots, showing their unselfishness and team-oriented play. After falling behind in the first quarter, the Buffs came back strong in the second quarter with a 22-4 run, led by Garzon and Johnson. They went into halftime with a 52-39 lead.
Tennessee Tech didn't make it easy for the Buffs, as they fought back and cut the lead to just six points in the fourth quarter. But the Buffs responded with a 13-7 run to secure the victory. Diew was especially happy to contribute to the win on Field Trip Day, with hundreds of school-aged kids in attendance for the early 11 a.m. start time. "I love these games personally and I love the kids screaming," she said. "It brings energy, especially at 11 a.m. I don't do anything until noon, guys. My classes are, like, night classes. So having these kids out here was really fun. I loved them."
Some other notable performances from the Buffs included nine points and seven rebounds from Oliver, as well as a strong all-around game from senior Kindyll Wetta, who had two points but dished out eight assists. Backup point guard Kennedy Sanders also had a solid game off the bench with six points and four assists.
In the end, it was an impressive win for the Buffs, who improved to 7-2 on the season and 150-105 under Payne's nine-season tenure. They shot a season-best 57.1% from the field and had 25 assists on the night. Although they didn't get as many stops as they would have liked, their offense made up for it and secured the victory. They will now look to continue their success against Pacific in their next game.
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