Formann Leads Buffs' Barrage in the Bay

Feb 7, 2021

BERKELEY, Calif. — It was all Buffaloes by the Bay on Sunday. The Colorado women's basketball team left no doubt at Haas Pavilion, taking care of business 67-52 over the Cal Golden Bears.

Freshman Frida Formann led Colorado with a season-high 25 points. The guard from Denmark let it fly on the afternoon, hitting a season-high six 3-pointers. She finished 9-for-12 from the floor with four assists.

"It felt really good [on the court]," Forman commented. "I've had a lot of up and downs. I'll have a game where I'm lights out and I have a game where I'm not really lights out. It's always nice to have those games. What I'm thinking about is how I can be a little more consistent, but it definitely gives me more confidence. I just got a lot of open looks today and I didn't really get that last game so it was just nice to be able to get those."

Junior Peanut Tuitele and senior Mya Hollingshed also finished in double-figures. Tuitele went 6-for-7 from the field for 13 points and six rebounds. Hollngshed totaled 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high five assists.

Colorado (7-9, 5-8 Pac-12) got the first basket of the afternoon and never trailed. The Buffs' led by as many as 26 in the game, using a season-high 11 3-pointers to finish the road trip on a high note. The win marked CU's first on the road this season, also snapping a 10-game road losing streak.

"I credit our upperclassmen for making sure we were ready," head coach JR Payne explained.

Cal, still searching for its elusive first win of the season, was led by Leilani McIntosh with 13 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Tuitele had an early four points get CU going early. Colorado opened with a 9-2 run, starting the day 4-for-5. The Buffs' defense also forced Cal into three turnovers in the first 2:37. The Golden Bears fought back with a 7-0 run to tie the game 9-9 out of a timeout. The tie didn't last long. Formann hit a 3 on CU's next trip down the court, giving CU a 12-9 lead. The Buffs closed the opening frame with the last six points, taking a 22-14 lead into the second quarter.

The CU run hit 9-0 with a Formann 3 to open the second. Lesila Finau drilled another CU 3-pointer to give the Buffs their first double-digit lead of the day, 28-16. Finau's 3 was the first of five straight CU baskets that increased the Buffalo lead to 38-21.

In all, it was a 17-7 run for the Buffs in the final 6:31 of the quarter that gave Colorado a 45-23 lead at the half.

"I definitely felt that [fourth quarter carry over from Stanford," Payne added. "I debated whether we should get up at 7 a.m. for shootaround this morning and in the end we did. It was good we got a lot of shots up in this gym that a lot of us, Frida included, have never been in before. Our team knows we can play with anyone and I think that fourth quarter showed against Stanford and then going into this game."

The Buffs came back to reality in the third quarter. CU shot 62.1 percent (18-29) in the first half but went just 5-for-13 in the third quarter. Formann's sixth 3 of the day put CU up by 26, 55-29, halfway through the period. She scored nine of CU's 14 third-quarter points. She went 3-for-5 from 3 in the quarter, making her first three to start 6-for-6 from behind the arc.

Cal cut the CU advantage down to 19 before the end of the third, but CU pushed it back to 25 with a Tuitele layup in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Colorado got outscored 14-8 in the final frame, but Buffs lead was never in doubt.

TURNING POINT: CU's largest run, 12-0, came in that second-quarter offensive. Cal got within eight, 33-21, and Colorado scored the next 12 points to go up 45-21. Hollingshed scored four points in the run that was also assisted by Formann, Finau and Tayanna Jones.

KEY STATISTICS: CU shot 8-for-10 from long distance in the first half, totaling 24 of its 45 points from deep. CU's 11 3's were the most since hitting 10 at Stanford last season (Jan. 24).

NOTES: Aubrey Knight missed her second consecutive game, giving way to Jones in the starting lineup…Colorado's road losing streak dated back to Feb. 7, 2020…Including neutral site, the streak was 11 games…Formann is the first freshman to reach 20 points since Jaylyn Sherrod put in 21 in CU's overtime loss at Stanford (1/24/20) last season…Her six 3's was one shy of CU's game record (7, last Kennedy Leonard)…Hollingshed now has 1,149 career points, chasing Brittany Wilson (1,194) for 23rd on CU's scoring list…Colorado has now won four straight against Cal.

NEXT UP: Colorado returns home for its final two games at the CU Events Center. The Buffs will host Southern California on Friday (6 p.m. MT) and UCLA on Sunday (1 p.m. MT).