Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
BOULDER, Colo. — Jaylyn Sherrod had a career-high 34 points, Aaronette Vonleh scored 18 and No. 8 Colorado rode a strong finish to a 76-65 win over No. 12 Utah on Saturday in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Sara-Rose Smith added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado (11-1), which has won five straight since its lone loss of the season to NC State on Nov. 25.
Alissa Pili scored 27 points to lead Utah (10-3). No other player scored in double figures for the Utes, who were held to a season low in points. All three of the Utes' losses this season have come against ranked teams.
Sherrod said the Buffaloes, who scored 23 points off Utah's 20 turnovers, maintained their defensive pressure on the Utes throughout the game.
"I don't think our defense changed (down the stretch)," she said. "We just kept the same intensity for 40 minutes. ... At the end of the day, no matter what's on the scorecard, everybody did their job today. I think that's what got us through."
Colorado coach JR Payne said the team's defensive play had been a point of emphasis in recent practices.
"We have not been defending as well as we've wanted to throughout the year and we refocused on that the last couple of weeks," Payne said. "I thought our defense creating offense today was great."
Matyson Wilke hit a 3-pointer and Lani White a layup in the final minute of the third quarter to put Utah up 54-51 going into the final quarter. The sequence was part of a 10-0 Utah run carried into the fourth quarter and capped by Kennady McQueen's 3-pointer giving Utah a 59-51 lead with 8:41 to play.
But Colorado responded with a 12-2 run, tying it at 61-all when Sherrod converted a three-point play and moving in front by two on a pair of free throws by Kindyll Wetta with 5:27 left to play.
Colorado later closed the game out with a 9-0 run. Sherrod scored the last five points in the closing burst on a jumper, layup and free throw.
"It was a game of runs," Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. "And we knew it would be. We just kind of died there on the vine in the last four minutes."
Added Pili: "They played hard, and they had runs. And I think in the end, that was just a little too much for us."
BIG PICTURE
Utah: Pili's offense was not enough against the strong defensive play put up by Colorado. The Utes came in as the nation's second highest scoring team but could not sustain its overall offensive wherewithal on this day.
Colorado: Sherrod led Colorado's defensive performance with six steals and helped maintain the Buffaloes offensive attack amid the struggles of team scoring leader Frida Formann, who was held to three points on 1 of 9 shooting.
UP NEXT
Utah: Goes on the road again to play at Arizona State on Friday night.
Colorado: Visits Arizona on Friday night.
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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
