(Video by BuffsTV/YouTube)
BOULDER– In a year full of athletic woes, the 2022-23 Colorado women's basketball team captured the attention of the entire CU Boulder campus, seeding sixth and making an improbable Sweet 16 run in the NCAA Tournament. This run included a dominant win over Middle Tennessee followed by a shocking overtime upset of perennial powerhouse Duke on the road, despite a near quadruple-double by now Ohio State Buckeye Celeste Taylor.
The Buffs then went toe-to-toe with the 2022-23 National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark and the eventual national runner-up Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sweet 16, where they led 40-39 at halftime. CU only lost grasp on the contest in the third quarter, as they struggled at the rim and allowed the Hawkeyes to open the half on a 15-2 run that put the black and gold's magical season on ice.
It was a season to be proud of in all capacities, but can the team build on their momentum? Can grad student returners Quay Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod continue their All-Pac-12 play in their final year as Buffs? Can core starters Aaronette Vonleh and Frida Formann maintain or even improve their contributions from last year? Can newcomers Maddie Nolan and Sara-Rose Smith make instant impacts through the increasingly important transfer portal? And can head coach JR Payne assert herself among the elite head coaches of women's college basketball in her eighth year at the position?
Payne and the returning core of Miller, Sherrod, Vonleh, and Formann led the Buffs to their first two NCAA Tournament wins since 2003, but can they prove that the run was not a fluke? Can the magic be re-captured?
These questions could be answered rather quickly, as CU has as big of a challenge as a women's basketball team could face on day one of the regular season. They take on the reigning national champion Louisiana State University Tigers in Las Vegas on Nov. 6, led by superstar forward Angel Reese and head coach Kim Mulkey. The No. 1 ranked Tigers also added top transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow to the fold, along with returning guard Flau'jae Johnson and No. 1 recruit Mikaylah Williams to form what some consider a modern-day "dream team" of college basketball.
If the Buffs can at least make this game competitive, it will bode extremely well for their chances going into the last year CU will compete in the Pac-12 conference. Last year, Colorado finished third in the Pac-12 with a 13-5 record against conference opponents. However, they struggled to pick up quality road wins against the top tier of the conference, as blowout losses to Utah, Stanford, the University of Southern California, and Arizona kept the Buffs outside of the top 20 teams in the country, finishing the regular season just short at No. 21.
This year, the AP Top 25 poll has CU up a spot at No. 20, likely based on their tournament showing. Joining them in the poll is a vastly improved University of California, Los Angeles team at No. 4, the always solid Utah at No. 5, the Cameron Brink-led Stanford Cardinal at No. 15, USC at No. 21, and the frisky Washington State Cougars, who upset the Buffs in the Pac-12 Tournament last season en route to a conference title win, at No. 24. These teams should make for a hyper-competitive swan song of a regular season in the Pac-12, which CU will have to navigate in order to remain in good standing for the postseason.
The first step in the Buffs' quest to replicate last season's success is to dominate homecourt. CU finished last season 13-2 at home, an incredible feat in which one of the only two losses came in a blowout vs. USC, when Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Formann shot a combined 4-19 from the field and 1-11 from three. This loss was also coming off an extremely emotional upset win over No. 8 UCLA, in which guard Kindyl Wetta hit a game-winning three-pointer in overtime.
The only other loss was a double-OT instant classic vs. Stanford, in which the Buffs gave the No. 3 Cardinal fits until they simply ran out of gas during the second overtime period. If the Buffaloes can run through teams at the CU Events Center as they have in prior years, their status in the Pac-12 and nationally will be just fine.
The next question the Buffs will have to answer in order to build upon last season is how to maintain their level of defense. Wing Tayanna Jones left CU after her third season with the team (fifth season overall) for pro ball in Australia. She was a crucial piece of the Buffs' defense, as her length and versatility allowed her to guard the opposing team's top perimeter player in most scenarios.
Now, the Buffs will likely turn to returning senior guard Tameiya Sadler to fill Jones's spot in the backcourt, at least to start the season. Sadler had her moments throughout the 2022-23 campaign, providing a spark off the bench in a win vs. Arizona State when the offense was stagnant, going for 16 points on six-for-six shooting, grabbing five rebounds, and swiping two steals as well. She also scored nine points off the bench in CU's Sweet 16 loss to Iowa.
However, her offense is severely inconsistent (5.0 points per game on 36.3% from the field), and her defensive versatility is not nearly what Jones’s was due to her smaller frame. Though if an increase in minutes with the starting lineup can help her offensive efficiency, along with if the team can "hide" her in the defensive backcourt alongside Sherrod (who is an excellent defender that led the Pac-12 in total steals last season), Sadler has a chance to become a mainstay in the Buffs' starting five.
"Tameiya started, and she did a great job," said head coach J.R. Payne on Saturday after Sadler started at shooting guard for Colorado's 81-57 win over Adams State in a preseason exhibition. "She's experienced, but definitely I think we could rotate [the starting lineup] through the year."
Kindyl Wetta is also a solid defensive option in the backcourt, averaging 1.7 steals and 37.8% from three per game off the bench last season. She looked especially active in the exhibition game, bringing a level of pace and intensity similar to that of Sherrod's. Again, her smaller frame disallows her from providing the versatility Jones did.
CU as a whole has a sound, disruptive, and aggressive defensive unit that built most of their wins off of its foundation. Spearheaded by the fearless Sherrod and rounded out on the interior with Vonleh and Miller's sheer presence and PNR (pick-and-roll) coverage, the black and gold became one of the top defensive teams in the country. And while the loss of Jones may hurt in some aspects, it should not affect these overarching qualities to a serious extent.
The Buffs' bigs were also very effective at crashing the glass, which should be aided by the addition of Missouri transfer Sara-Rose Smith (6.7 rebounds/game mostly off the bench). The development of sophomore forward Brianna McLeod could help the frontcourt's depth as well. As long as CU can maintain its level of play on the inside from last year, in which they have essentially the same personnel, they will be a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball for any team in the country, especially on defense.
The last task for CU that will be a necessity in order for the team to go as far as the 2022-23 squad went is to increase their three-point shooting. The Buffs run a very well-balanced offense when it's clicking, with Miller and Vonleh mostly operating in the post and Sherrod using her blazing speed to generate rim pressure and open up opportunities for others (she led the Pac-12 in assists/game last season with 5.1). However, this can lead to clunky spacing and a stagnant flow at times, opening up the need for consistent shooters on the outside to get the offense back in rhythm and to keep pace with some of the more high-powered offenses in the nation.
The team as a whole averaged 34.8% from beyond the arc last season, third-best in the Pac-12, but on only 17.1 attempts per game, third-least in the conference. This volume could fortunately rise due to the addition of Michigan transfer Maddie Nolan, who ranks seventh all-time in three-pointers made at Michigan (167) and shot 40.5% from distance in the 2021-22 season. Fellow Colorado sharpshooter Frida Formann had this to say about Nolan on Oct. 19:
"It’s been really fun,” the senior wing said of having Nolan as a teammate. “I haven’t really had another shooter like me."
Formann led the Buffs in most shooting categories last season, knocking down 39.3% of her threes and 89.3% of her free throws. She, alongside Nolan, looks to carry the shooting load for CU, as 38.1% three-point shooter Jada Wynn departed for Texas Tech through the transfer portal. However, if lower volume shooters such as Wetta (37.8% on 1.1 attempts/game) and higher volume shooters such as Miller (33.3% on 3.4 attempts/game) can ramp up their production, Colorado should fare just fine from beyond the arc, thus greatly improving their offense overall.
All in all, the Colorado women's basketball team is dead set on building upon one of the most successful seasons in the program's history. They brought back energetic veteran leadership like Sherrod and Miller, kept high-level contributors like Vonleh and Formann around, and showed knowledge of where improvements needed to be made with the additions of Nolan and Smith. If these key pieces can congeal, J.R. Payne should have women's hoops at CU in a spectacular place with the Pac-12 this season, the Big 12 in the future, and in NCAA Tournaments for years to come.
The Buffs open their regular season on Nov. 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against the LSU Tigers and open their last year of Pac-12 conference play on Dec. 30 in Boulder against the Utah Utes.