Colorado beats No. 14 Arizona 45-43 to advance to the Pac-12 semifinals

BOULDER — Colorado is a win away from the title game.

The Colorado Buffaloes knocked off No. 14 Arizona 45-43 on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Buffs will now take on the winner of Oregon State and Stanford, with the winner heading to the championship game in Las Vegas.

(UPDATE: #2 Stanford beat Oregon State 57-44. Colorado will play Stanford at 7 p.m. MST Friday in the semifinal matchup.)

Colorado carried a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter, but gave up a the lead in less than four minutes, thanks in part to three consecutive failed inbounds passes that handed Arizona six easy points. The Buffs failed to convert on two other inbounds passes later in the fourth quarter, including one with four seconds left that gave the Wildcats a look at a 3-pointer for the win.

Thursday’s game was a defensive slog from start to finish, which was no surprise considering Colorado and Arizona hold the two best scoring defenses in the Pac-12. Colorado’s 45 points were the fewest ever by a winning team in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Arizona won the first quarter 10-9, but it was a grind all the way through. More than half of the points in the quarter came from the free-throw line and the Wildcats didn’t make a shot from the field in the 8-1/2 minutes of the quarter.

The Wildcats broke the steal early in the second quarter, though, and built an 8-point lead in the first four minutes. The Buffs turned the ball over four times during that stretch. But the Colorado defense responded and didn’t allow another field goal in the final six minutes. The Buffs won those six minutes 13-4, finding ways to manufacture points in the paint. By halftime, Colorado led 24-22.

The Buffs continued to roll through the third quarter, allowing just four points to the Wildcats. Mya Hollingshed knocked in a pair of 3-pointers early in the period as part of her 12-point, 9-rebound performance.

While Colorado gave up an early run in the fourth, they clamped up on defense again. Arizona’s last made field goal came with six minutes to play in the contest. Colorado trailed by three at that point but won the rest of the game 7-2. Frida Formann scored the last two buckets for the Buffs, a layup and a 3-pointer. She tied with Jaylyn Sherrod for the second-most points on the team with eight.

Colorado’s half-court offense needs to improve in the quarterfinals, and that may not be easy if they take on Stanford, which features three of the five players named to the conference all-defense team. The Buffs’ were able to negate some of their struggles with a 38-31 win on the glass, but Stanford’s length makes it the best rebounding team in the Pac-12 by a wide margin.

Colorado’s defense was as-advertised on Thursday. The Buffs have the best defense in the conference and it settled into every period of play; Arizona could slip by them early, but the Buffs manhandled the Wildcats as the clock wound down time after time.

The Buffs’ high-pressure defense figures to continue to reap rewards, but finding ways to get out into transition has to be an emphasis in the semifinal. Figuring out how to manage a press defense will be high on the list as well, especially considering the troubles had when they tried to inbound the ball in the fourth quarter.

With 21 turnovers, Colorado was far from its best on Thursday but the going won’t get any easier in the semifinal. Sherrod had five turnovers and three of her teammates each contributed three of their own. That includes freshman guard Kindyll Wetta, who also scored six points, grabbed four boards, dished out four assists and recorded three steals.

It wasn’t all bad for the Buffs on Thursday—how could it be, they’ll return to the semifinal for the first time since 2015—but there’s plenty to clean up. It’s tough to believe 45 points will get it done, regardless of who their next opponent is.

For more on a potential matchup with Stanford, check out this story previewing its matchup with Colorado in January.