No. 22 CU women suffer first loss of season against No. 2 Stanford

Colorado fought until the end against Stanford

While last season’s upset over then top-ranked Stanford remains special, doing it again in front of fans on Friday would have been so much greater for the No. 22 Buffs.

But plagued by a rough 29.8% from the field, Colorado lost this round, and its first game of the season, 60-52, to No. 2 Stanford. But win or lose, you have to admire the fight Colorado displayed from start to finish.

And no Buff displayed more of that tenacity than Jaylyn Sherrod, who went down with a frightening leg injury late in the fourth quarter. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week being helped off the court was a truly devastating way to end things after such a promising start.

The Buffs had a school record 10 first quarter steals and dominated in the paint to take an early 15-8 advantage. Colorado maintained a lead until less than one minute into the second half when Stanford tied the contest at 28 with a layup.

Back by 3,744 strong, including Denver Nuggets guard Monte Morris, the Buffs entered the fourth quarter tied with Stanford. That’s when CU’s shooting woes became fatal. In need of points, the Buffs forced 10 threes in the final quarter but made just one.

“Our players that really shoot high percentage threes just didn’t hit tonight,” head coach JR Payne said. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

Quay Miller, however, was hitting nearly everything on the night. She finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 to lead all scorers.

The Buffs have a quick turnaround with a rescheduled game against Oregon State set for Monday.

“You have to have a short memory in this conference because every team you play is very good and very tough and it’ll be a battle,” Payne said. “We have a great Oregon State opponent coming up in just a couple of days and we definitely will learn from our mistakes tonight.”

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