WBB Preview: Utah State Draws Stiff Competition At Colorado

On a quick turnaround from its worst showing of the season, an 85-57 loss at Northern Colorado, Utah State is slated to face its toughest challenge yet on Tuesday night, heading to Boulder to play a deep, talented, experienced and well-coached Colorado team.

Coming off five winning seasons and three tournament appearances in a row, the Buffaloes have become a mainstay at the top of NCAA women’s basketball. They have quite a bit to replace from last season's team, which fell in the Sweet 16, but with longtime head coach JR Payne at the helm and a fully reloaded roster, the Buffaloes won’t stay down long.

Wes Brooks knows what he is up against in the first leg of this long road trip, and showed respect for both Centennial State programs ahead of USU's departure. He was quick to point out that this Colorado team has been to the Sweet 16 for the past two years, and acknowledged that the two games would be challenging. 

Just like the Aggies, the Buffaloes had a major overhaul leading into the season, although their renovation looked much different. The Buffs have 10 newcomers on the team, filling a void left by some notable departures.

The frontcourt was hit hardest by the slew of departures. Center Aaronette Vonleh, the team's leading scorer, left for Baylor and forward Quay Miller, the team's leading rebounder, left for the WNBA, leaving a serious vacancy. Elsewhere, point guard Jaylyn Sherrod also left for the WNBA, where she just won a title with the New York Liberty. Other contributors Maddie Nolan and Charlotte Whittaker graduated, while Tameiya Sadler transferred to Ole Miss.

Despite losing Sherrod, one of the best guards in the sport a season ago, Colorado's backcourt is in far better shape, stocked well with shooters like Lior Garzon, who set the single-season three-point record at Oklahoma State with 80 before joining the Buffs this offseason, and Frida Formann, who tied the same record at Colorado with 82 last year. Washington State transfer Johanna Teder further bolsters the guard rotation, as does fourth-year contributor Kindyll Wetta – the sister of former Aggie Ali Wetta.

If there is a concern for this group, it would be the post play – or at least, it was coming into the season. Calling it a weakness, though, is a bit harsh. Despite the losses, the Buffaloes have filled in nicely, primarily with a trio of newcomers in Jade Masogayo (Missouri State), Nyamer Diew (Iowa State) and freshman Tabitha Betson. 

Utah State has been exploring its options in the interior. So far, the only player who has proven herself on both sides of the ball is Jamisyn Heaton, but at 5-10, she's undersized for a center and is technically listed as a guard. That hasn’t stopped her so far, battling in the post and averaging 12 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Beyond her, the Aggies have looked to several players, but haven’t yet found stability. Taliyah Logwood, Gracie Johnson, Samiana Suguturaga and Allyzee Verdan each bring something to the table in the post, but outside of Heaton, that group is still pretty open.

The Buffaloes have already played their fair share of Mountain West opponents this season, opening their year with a win over Wyoming, dropping a game at Boise State (their only loss of the year) and handling Nevada. They also played Northern Colorado, a team Utah State just familiarized itself with, and won 81-66.

Players To Know

Tabitha Betson: From Melbourne, Australia, Betson is one of the many newcomers on this Colorado team, and has arrived to some high exceptions, earning Big 12 preseason Freshman of the Year honors.

Justifying the pick, Betson has already amassed quite the resume. She was ranked 48th in ESPN’s top 100 for the class of 2024, represented Australia in the U17 World Cup in 2022, and played with the Victorian team from 2020 to 2022, captaining the team in 2022.

A 6-2 forward, she plays a major part in filling out Colorado's depleted frontcourt. She has seen action in all five games this year and has started in three, averaging 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from deep. Her season-high for points was 10 against Southern, and her high in rebounds was eight against Northern Colorado.

Frida Formann: Formann is the star returner for the Buffaloes – after Vonleh and Sherrod, Formann was the third-leading scorer on last year’s team.

A graduate senior who has spent her entire career in Boulder, Formann is a career 37.9 percent three-point shooter and has made a name for herself as one of the program’s greatest sharpshooters, tying the single-season school record for made three-pointers and establishing herself as Colorado's all-time leader in made three-pointers (260), with one more year to add to that lofty total.

She missed the team’s first four games with an injury but returned to action against Southern and didn’t miss a beat, knocking down her first three-point attempt and ending with nine points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

If her debut is any indication, it looks like Formann will be picking up right where she left off. During the 2023-24 season, she averaged a career-best 12.5 points and added 1.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 44.0 percent from the field and a whopping 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Lior Garzon: Garzon spent two years at Villanova and two years at Oklahoma State before joining the Buffaloes this offseason for her final year of college basketball.

Another sharpshooter in Colorado’s ranks, Garzon hit 80 three-pointers to set the Oklahoma State single-season record last year, and is a career 33.5 percent shooter from deep, averaging 10.5 points per game across her career and 9.0 points per game for the Pokes in 2023-24.

At 6-1, she poses a real threat on the inside as well. She can crash the boards and score around the basket when she needs to, and has put that on display in five starts this season, pitching in 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She dropped 20 points against Wyoming for her season-high, knocking down 7 of 14 tries from the field.

Stats To Know 

Defense: It’s less of a stat and more of a trend, but Colorado's defense is deflating. They do a bit of everything to make it difficult to score, touting a fierce press, crowding passing lanes in the half court, blocking shots at a solid clip and rebounding very well. Through five games, the Buffaloes are surrendering only 54.0 points per contest.

This team can really pick apart an offense if it isn't careful, and Utah State has already shown a propensity to lose the ball – Colorado claims a steal rate of 12.9 percent and a block rate of 9.4 percent. The Buffaloes force a lot of misses and don’t give up a lot of rebounds, too. Opponents are shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from deep this year, while Colorado boasts a defensive rebound rate of 76.6 percent, meaning the Aggies won't likely get a lot of second-chance looks at the basket.

Assist %: The Buffaloes share the ball exceptionally well. Wetta, now holding down the starting duties at point guard, is the primary facilitator here with 5.2 assists per contest, but again, this deep Colorado team is capable down the roster. Formann has also taken some distribution responsibilities and is dishing four assists per game (albeit on a small sample size), and nine of the Buffaloes average at least one assist per game. The team is good for 16.2 assists per game, with 65.3 percent of its made shots coming on those assists. With 15.4 turnovers per game and a turnover rate of 18.5 percent, the Buffaloes also claim a solid assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.05.

Rebounding Rate: The question mark coming into the season was the new-look frontcourt, but so far, it has held up really well for Payne and company. It might not fare as well in conference play, but this group has done well on the glass through this opening stanza, earning an offensive rebounding rate of 38.5 percent to go with its great performance on the other end. In total, the Buffaloes are rebounding at a rate of 56.7 percent, a large step ahead of Utah State’s total rebound rate (43.7 percent). 

Sara-Rose Smith is leading the charge here, chipping in 7.0 rebounds per game, but seemingly every player is capable of grabbing a few boards a night. The Buffs have 11 players averaging at least one rebound per game and eight averaging at least three, with Masogayo (4.2 RPG), Wetta (4.2 RPG) and Betson (4.2 RPG) all tied for second behind Smith.