Fast break
Why the Buffs won: CU dominated defensively, holding New Mexico to a .344 mark while forcing 21 turnovers.
Three stars
1. Anaelle Dutat. The Rhode Island transfer enjoyed a memorable CU debut, posting a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
2. Jade Crook. The freshman from Australia recorded 12 points and seven rebounds.
3. Desiree Wooten. A transfer from North Texas, Wooten filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, three assists, three steals and a pair of rebounds.
Up next: CU hits the road for a huge test at No. 20 Louisville on Wednesday.
The new-look rotation for the Colorado women’s basketball team probably will be a work in progress on offense.
Defensively, however, the Buffaloes already are operating at a high level.
CU harassed New Mexico throughout the night and tightened the clamps to another level after halftime, as the Buffs gradually pulled away for an 84-59 victory Thursday at the CU Events Center.
It was the first game of the 10th season for CU under head coach JR Payne, who improved to 10-0 at CU in season openers.
“Really proud of our team and how we played and how we competed,” Payne said. “You never really expect the beginning to be beautiful, and it wasn’t. But we made some really, really great adjustments at halftime. Defensively in particular. This stat sheet is like a coach’s dream, to have so much balance and feel that so many different people on the team can contribute in lots of different ways. Which, of course, they did. Just really, really proud of how we’re starting the season off.”
It was a game of runs early, as CU answered a 10-0 burst by New Mexico with 12 consecutive points. The Buffs began the night 0-for-9 on 3-pointers and never truly warmed up from long range, finishing just 4-for-20 from the arc. CU, though, made up ground on defense.
While the Lobos outshot the Buffs in the first half, .444 to .375, CU forced 12 New Mexico turnovers in the first two quarters and turned the extra possessions into a 13-3 advantage in points off turnovers while building a 33-32 lead at halftime.
The Buffs took that defense to another level after the break.
CU outscored the Lobos 33-16 in the third quarter while holding New Mexico to a 6-for-18 mark in the frame. The Buffs steadily pulled away from there, holding the Lobos to a .265 shooting percentage (9-for-34) after halftime.
“I think we have a tremendous amount of balance,” Payne said. “I think we’re going to see lots of different people in the press conference at the end of the night, because any given player can really impact the game.”
A total of nine players made their CU debuts, with Rhode Island transfer Anaelle Dutat leading the way. The senior forward posted a double-double in her first game with the Buffs, going 6-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line before finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds and a team-high four steals.
Desiree Wooten, a transfer from North Texas, recorded 13 points, three assists and three steals, while Jade Crook, a freshman center from Australia, came off the bench to post 12 points and seven rebounds.
CU finished with 17 assists, 15 steals and only 10 turnovers. The Buffs dominated all facets, recording lopsided advantages in points off turnovers (27-7), points in the paint (50-24) and fast-break points (24-2).
“Really happy to be here. Really happy that this was my last first game, I guess. I’m really happy to play here,” said Dutat, who grabbed five offensive rebounds. “I was just trying to be aggressive, and obviously offensive rebounding gets me really aggressive. I’m just trying to keep building on it.”
CU Buffs women’s basketball 84, New Mexico 59
New Mexico 12 20 16 11
Colorado 18 15 33 18
NEW MEXICO (0-1)
Hooks 8-20 3-6 22, Magalhaes 2-5 0-0 4, Hargrove 0-4 0-0 0, Padilla 3-9 0-0 8, Craig 2-5 2-2 7, Abdurraqib 3-6 1-3 9, Foster 1-5 0-0 3, Peixinho 0-0 2-2 2, Jones 1-5 0-0 2, Jordon 0-0 0-0 0, Najjuma 0-0 0-0 0, Joaquim 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-61 8-13 59.
COLORADO (1-0)
Sanders 3-8 1-1 9, Wooten 6-13 0-0 13, Greer 2-6 0-0 4, Masogayo 2-6 0-0 4, Dutat 6-12 4-4 16, Gooden 4-8 2-3 10, O’Connor 5-10 0-12-14 0 11, Crook 4-7 4-4 12, Zadel 0-2 0-0 0, McErlane 1-2 0-0 2, Walker 1-2 1-1 3. Totals 34-75 84.
3-point field goals: New Mexico 9-25 (Hooks 3-6, Magalhaes 0-2, Hargrove 0-2, Padilla 2-5, Craig 1-1, Abdurraqib 2-4, Foster 1-3, Jones 0-1, Joaquim 0-1); Colorado 4-20 (Sanders 2-4, Wooten 1-4, Greer 0-4, Dutat 0-1, Gooden 0-2, O’Connor 1-3, Crook 0-1, McErlane 0-1). Rebounds: New Mexico 36 (Hooks 7); Colorado 48 (Dutat 13). Assists: New Mexico 8 (Hargrove 3); Colorado 17 (Gooden 3, O’Connor 3, Wooten 3). Turnovers: New Mexico 21 (Magalhaes 5); Colorado 10 (Sanders 3). A: 1,735.