The University of Colorado Buffaloes women’s NCAA basketball team is enjoying back-to-back high-performing seasons. The team is headed into March Madness brimming with confidence.
The team’s record is 23-8 this season, following a 22-9 record in 2021-22. The last time the Buffaloes had this kind of success was in 2012-13, when they went 25-7.
Colorado women have won 2 national championships
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Since their inception in 1975, the Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team has been competitive. Their best runs were in the late 1980s into the mid-1990s. The team won national championships in 1988-89 and 1994-95 and came in second in 1991-92 and 1996-97.
Since then, the team has had up-and-down results, but they’ve been on a winning trajectory the last two years.
JR Payne a candidate for Coach of the Year
Having a great coach to lead the team is a key part of a winning squad. That is certainly the case for the Buffaloes.
Ali-Marie “JR” Payne has improved the team tremendously since taking over in the 2016-17 season. They were 17-16 that season. Now, they’ve finished among the top five both seasons in the Pac-12.
Payne is one of 15 head coaches across the nation named as a candidate for the 2023 Werner Ladder Naistmith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award.
The Buffaloes were projected to finish eighth in the Pac-12 in preseason polls. They’ve far exceeded those predictions, currently sitting in third. Their home record is 12-2.
Buffaloes led by Quay Miller and a strong group of starters
The CU women’s basketball team has a core group of elite athletes among its starters. Center Quay Miller averages 31 minutes per game, shoots 43% from the field and collects 13.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, the highest on the team. Other starters include:
- Aaronette Vonleh
- Frida Formann
- Jaylyn Sherrod
- Tayanna Jones
Here is a look at the team’s top performers in each category:
- Average points per game: Quay Miller
- Average rebounds per game: Quay Miller
- Most assists: Jaylyn Sherrod
- Most steals: Jaylyn Sherrod
- Highest free-throw percentage: Frida Formann
- Most blocks: Tayanna Jones
- Highest 3-point percentage: Frida Formann
- Highest field goal percentage: Aaronette Vonleh
Looking ahead to March Madness
The NCAA women’s March Madness tournament selection is at 6 p.m. MST March 12. Tipoff is March 15, with the tournament running through April 2.
CU should host a first-round game in the tournament since they’re predicted to be seeded fourth in their zone. The top ranked teams in the final 16 all have the privilege to host.
The last time the Buffaloes hosted a March Madness game was in 2013, when they were a 5-seed, but they lost to Kansas in the first round.
