Colorado Dominant in Win Over Samford

BOULDER—The Colorado Buffaloes cruised to a 33-point over the Samford Bulldogs at the CU Events Center on Monday night. The Buffs got all 13 players off the bench on their way to the 81-48 triumph. 

Colorado (4-0) had four players score in double figures, led by sophomore Frida Formann's game-high 13 points. The shooter out of Denmark finally got her shot to fall, hitting three 3-pointers after a 2-for-11 start to the season. 

"No one told me to stop shooting," Formann stated after the win. "It was mostly just me being like 'it's annoying to start like that,' but then I've also tried to dig into other things like my defense and try to bring good energy. It's good if I make shots, but anything I can bring to the court will help us."

Sophomore Tameiya Sadler (12), senior Mya Hollingshed (11) and sophomore Kylee Blacksten (10) rounded out the night's top scorers. Freshman Kindyll Wetta led the team in minutes (23:10) and handed out a season-high nine assists to go with four steals and five points. 

"Obviously, we love to win," head coach JR Payne said. "But my favorite games are when everyone contributes. I love that every single person played and there was no drop-off. They just came in and gave great effort and we continued to execute."

CU held just a four-point lead and trailed at times in the second quarter but managed a 12-point lead at the half. The Buffs suffocated the Bulldogs defensively in the second half, holding the visitors to 17 points in the final 20 minutes. Colorado forced 27 turnovers on the night, leading directly to 32 points for the Buffs. 

"The biggest thing at halftime that we talked about was contesting shots," Payne continued. "They were trying to get 3's and post feeds, trying to enter the ball inside. That's exactly what the scouting report said. Sometimes it just takes a minute to get going, but our adjustment I thought was really good. We kind of upped the tenacity of our defense. We were playing longer and contesting things. That certainly helped."

Samford (1-4) was led by Natalie Armstrong's nine points. Andrea Cournoyer, who entered the week 16th in the nation in scoring, was limited to 1-for-6 shooting and five points. 

How it happened
Colorado got its shot to fall early to start the night, opening 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) and jumping out to a 12-7 lead. The Buffs' hand cooled the remainder of the quarter, but generated offense from its defense. The Buffs forced eight Samford turnovers, leading directly to six points. CU used its size from the start, scoring all 20 points in the quarter inside the paint. 

Samford used an early 6-0 run in the second to take its lone lead of the night, 25-22. A Wetta 3-pointer made the Bulldog lead short-lived, tying the game at 25 on CU's next possession. Samford tied the game again at 27 before back-to-back 3's from Formann gave the Buffs a six-point cushion, 33-27. 

Formann went 4-for-5 in the second quarter, totaling 10 points after a 0-for-2 start to the game. Her second quarter effort helped the Buffs finished the quarter shooting 60 percent (9-15). The Buffs capped the quarter with a 10-0 run and used Samford's 17 first-half turnovers to claim a 43-31 lead at the break. 

"It [making shots] definitely helps [with confidence]," Formann added. "I think you could see me [body language]. It's just a relief. I think That I knew that moment would come. I'm just glad it did today."

Formann gave the Buffs its first 20-point lead in the third, 54-34, with her third 3 of the game. CU went 5-for-10 from behind the arc in the quarter, with three of those conversions coming from Sadler. She posted 10 points in the quarter, closing with a 3 at the buzzer to give the Buffs a 29-point lead. 

Wetta picked up her ninth assist of the night, feeding Maura Singer for her first career points and adding the CU's fourth-quarter lead. The Buffs' bench scored all 15 fourth-quarter points and pushed the lead to 35 points by the final horn. 

Turning point
CU's 12-point lead with 6:59 to play in the 3rd quarter proved to be enough on Monday. But the Buffs offense got rolling in the final stretch of the third quarter, getting a quick five points from Lesila Finau to start a 20-3 run to close the frame.

Upcoming
The Buffs return to Sox Walseth Court in a matter of hours, hosting Texas Southern on Tuesday at 6 p.m. 

Notes
CU is now 3-0 all-time against Samford…Colorado improves to 31-1 all-time in November under Coach Payne…The Buffs' 43-first half points were the most this season…CU's 35-point lead (4th, 5:14) marked its largest of the season…Colorado's 81 points were the most since scoring 84 at Denver last season (Dec. 8, 2020)…The win was also CU's first of 30+ since beating Utah by 30 (Dec. 14, 2020)…CU scored 32 points off SU turnovers, the most since last season's high of 38 vs Utah (Dec. 14, 2020)…The Buffs' bench accounted for 38 points, their best showing since 42 against Air Force (Nov. 28, 2020)…Hollingshed recorded her 700th rebound, becoming the 13th player in CU history to hit the mark…She also became the 12th player to have 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds…Wetta's nine assists were the most by a freshman since Jaylyn Sherrod handed out 10 at Utah (Dec. 29, 2019)…Freshman Kennedy Taylor and redshirt freshman Sophie Gerber both made their CU debuts…Coach Payne's record jumps to over .500 at CU (76-75).