Preview: Colorado
Following what is expected to be a difficult game against Utah on Friday, we hop over the continental divide to take on Colorado at 11am on Sunday. The game will be televised on Pac 12 networks.
This is by far the most difficult road trip we will face this year—considering the caliber of both teams and the usual difficulties adjusting to elevation. We only play these two teams once in regular season play, and so this could be the last time we make this trip.
Last year we won at Colorado, but it took a double overtime and left us depleted for our game against Utah. Jones had 23 points in one of her better games. Brink fouled out and played only 21 minutes.
Colorado is ranked 5th in both the coaches and the AP polls. (We are ranked 8th.) They are 13-1, having only lost to North Carolina State in a tournament. They opened their season by beating LSU, the national champions, quite handily. They are now coming off a road sweep of the Arizona schools. Massey has them at 10 (and us at 3.) At 12, they have played a slightly tougher schedule than we have (20).
Colorado is outscoring its opponents by 19 ppg, on average 83-64. In looking over team stats, that advantage comes from balance. JR Payne teams are always known for defense, but the stat sheet is not lopsided toward defensive advantages only. They lead their opponents by 7 rpg, 6 steals pg, about 7 points of field goal shooting percentage, 10 more assists per game, etc.
We know the Colorado players well. Colorado is led by 6’3” junior Aaronette Vonleh. Vonleh is a big, strong presence in the paint who scores 15ppg on 63% inside shooting, and provides an intimidating defensive presence. Her strength fits well with JR Payne’s aggressive, physical defensive style. How the game is called is always a key to figuring out Colorado, and nowhere will this be more important than in the Vonleh vs. Iriafen or Vonleh vs. Brink battle.
Speedy 5’7” grad student Jaylyn Sherrod has been a thorn in our side in previous encounters. She also is averaging 15ppg, and is shooting an astonishing 50%. That is high because she gets lots of layups. She does not take many threes and seldom makes one.
Colorado’s answer to Jump is Frida Formann, who has made 41 treys so far at a 45% rate. Both those figures are significantly higher than Jump. Formann is a 5’11” senior guard from Denmark. In previous years we sometimes have played Colorado when Formann was in a slump—but not this year. She was 3/5 against ASU and is averaging 14ppg.
We also know Quay Miller well, the 6’3” grad student forward who transferred in from Washington two years ago. Miller is averaging 10ppg and leads the teams in rebounds at 7. She also hits a respectable number of her treys.
Colorado has experimented a bit with their fifth starter. Recently it has been 5’11” grad student guard Maddie Nolan, playing in her 5th year after starting at Michigan for 4 years. So she is the player we have not encountered before. She is primarily a three point shooter at 39%. With Formann and Miller stepping, out, that gives Colorado several elite three point threats to go with bruising Vonleh down low.
Colorado is one of the most experienced teams we have faced, with three grad students, a senior, and a junior rounding out their starting five. Four of them have played together in the system for a couple of years. The environment will be very hostile. These are the advantages Gonzaga had, too, except that Colorado plays a bigger, more physical, more aggressive style of basketball. To win this game will require many things to go well for us. My guess is that Iriafen will have the primary responsibility on Vonleh, Jump on Formann, Lepolo on Sherrod, Brink on Miller, and then I’m not sure who will cover Maddi. Lepolo will have to stay in front of Sherrod somehow, and Iriafen will have to prevent Vonleh from dominating in the paint. Our freshmen could play a big role, and hopefully the Gonzaga experience will have prepared them for this environment.
Following what is expected to be a difficult game against Utah on Friday, we hop over the continental divide to take on Colorado at 11am on Sunday. The game will be televised on Pac 12 networks.
This is by far the most difficult road trip we will face this year—considering the caliber of both teams and the usual difficulties adjusting to elevation. We only play these two teams once in regular season play, and so this could be the last time we make this trip.
Last year we won at Colorado, but it took a double overtime and left us depleted for our game against Utah. Jones had 23 points in one of her better games. Brink fouled out and played only 21 minutes.
Colorado is ranked 5th in both the coaches and the AP polls. (We are ranked 8th.) They are 13-1, having only lost to North Carolina State in a tournament. They opened their season by beating LSU, the national champions, quite handily. They are now coming off a road sweep of the Arizona schools. Massey has them at 10 (and us at 3.) At 12, they have played a slightly tougher schedule than we have (20).
Colorado is outscoring its opponents by 19 ppg, on average 83-64. In looking over team stats, that advantage comes from balance. JR Payne teams are always known for defense, but the stat sheet is not lopsided toward defensive advantages only. They lead their opponents by 7 rpg, 6 steals pg, about 7 points of field goal shooting percentage, 10 more assists per game, etc.
We know the Colorado players well. Colorado is led by 6’3” junior Aaronette Vonleh. Vonleh is a big, strong presence in the paint who scores 15ppg on 63% inside shooting, and provides an intimidating defensive presence. Her strength fits well with JR Payne’s aggressive, physical defensive style. How the game is called is always a key to figuring out Colorado, and nowhere will this be more important than in the Vonleh vs. Iriafen or Vonleh vs. Brink battle.
Speedy 5’7” grad student Jaylyn Sherrod has been a thorn in our side in previous encounters. She also is averaging 15ppg, and is shooting an astonishing 50%. That is high because she gets lots of layups. She does not take many threes and seldom makes one.
Colorado’s answer to Jump is Frida Formann, who has made 41 treys so far at a 45% rate. Both those figures are significantly higher than Jump. Formann is a 5’11” senior guard from Denmark. In previous years we sometimes have played Colorado when Formann was in a slump—but not this year. She was 3/5 against ASU and is averaging 14ppg.
We also know Quay Miller well, the 6’3” grad student forward who transferred in from Washington two years ago. Miller is averaging 10ppg and leads the teams in rebounds at 7. She also hits a respectable number of her treys.
Colorado has experimented a bit with their fifth starter. Recently it has been 5’11” grad student guard Maddie Nolan, playing in her 5th year after starting at Michigan for 4 years. So she is the player we have not encountered before. She is primarily a three point shooter at 39%. With Formann and Miller stepping, out, that gives Colorado several elite three point threats to go with bruising Vonleh down low.
Colorado is one of the most experienced teams we have faced, with three grad students, a senior, and a junior rounding out their starting five. Four of them have played together in the system for a couple of years. The environment will be very hostile. These are the advantages Gonzaga had, too, except that Colorado plays a bigger, more physical, more aggressive style of basketball. To win this game will require many things to go well for us. My guess is that Iriafen will have the primary responsibility on Vonleh, Jump on Formann, Lepolo on Sherrod, Brink on Miller, and then I’m not sure who will cover Maddi. Lepolo will have to stay in front of Sherrod somehow, and Iriafen will have to prevent Vonleh from dominating in the paint. Our freshmen could play a big role, and hopefully the Gonzaga experience will have prepared them for this environment.