No. 5 Colorado women still undefeated after 84-69 victory over SMU

DALLAS -- — Aaronette Vonleh scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, Quay Miller added 18 points with 10 rebounds and fifth-ranked Colorado remained undefeated with an 84-69 win over SMU on Saturday night.

Jaylyn Sherrod added 18 points for the Buffaloes (4-0), who won their first game since moving up 15 spots in the latest AP poll to their first top-five ranking since 2005. That huge jump came after going 3-0 the first week of the season, including a 14-point victory over defending national champion LSU in their opener.

“It was truly a battle. I can’t think of any other word. It was really physical, really tough game,” Colorado coach JR Payne said. “This was a tough one to come into SMU and get the win. So really proud of how we competed tonight.”

Colorado never trailed SMU after scoring the last six points of the first quarter. The Buffs went ahead to stay on two free throws by Miller.

“Having a very veteran team ... just for our connectivity, we know our, we our strengths and our weaknesses,” Miller said. “And we know how to make each other shine.”

Tiara Young had 30 points for SMU (3-1), while Chantae Embry had 14 points with four 3-pointers.

Embry had consecutive 3s to start an 11-2 run that got the Mustangs within 37-36 with 2 minutes left in the first half. But Colorado scored the last seven points of the half, all in the final 56 seconds — Frida Formann made a 3-pointer also had two free throws in that span.

“Our girls came with a lot of energy, matched their energy, competed, and that was a big thing. I told the girls we need to compete,” third-year SMU coach Toyelle Wilson said. “We ran out of gas in in that fourth quarter, but that the fifth-ranked team in the country. I’m just proud of our girls.”

THIRD PERIOD TECHS

There were three technical fouls and a personal foul during a testy segment with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

Buffs forward Charlotte Whittaker was trying to get an offensive rebound when she got tangled up with SMU's Tamia Jones, whose teammate Amirah Abdur-Rahim then stepped into the situation. Whittaker got called for a personal foul. She also got a technical foul, as did both SMU players.

“We’ve got to keep a calm head in the hot situations,” Wilson said.

DECIDING NUMBERS

Colorado outscored SMU 46-18 in the paint, had a 13-1 advantage on fastbreak points and scored 21 points off 15 SMU turnovers. The Buffs had 11 turnovers, but those led to only six points for the Mustangs.

BIG PICTURE

Colorado: The Buffs returned eight players from their team that went to NCAA Sweet 16 last year. It was their first Sweet 16 since 2003, and part of their first consecutive women's NCAA Tournament appearances since 2001-04.

SMU: The Mustangs, who had started 3-0 for the first time since 2013-14, couldn't finish the first two quarters and never got closer than eight points after halftime. They missed their last five shots over the final 4 minutes of the first quarter after going ahead 13-12 on Young's layup.

UP NEXT

Colorado goes to the Paradise Jam Classic for three games, starting Thursday against Cincinnati.

SMU play in the San Diego Classic, against Toledo on Friday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball