On Monday night, for the first time since March of 2019, the Colorado women’s basketball team played a game without Jaylyn Sherrod on the roster.
Sherrod still managed to make an impact on the Buffaloes, however.
One of the all-time greats in CU history, Sherrod wrapped up her collegiate career in March after leading the Buffaloes to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances. She is now a member of the New York Liberty, which recently won the WNBA title.
Visiting this week, Sherrod was on the bench – in coaches’ gear – for the Buffs’ 56-50 win at Wyoming in the season opener on Monday.
When CU went into the locker room at halftime trailing 24-18, she spoke up. The Buffs made just 25% of their first half shots (8-for-32), including a 1-for-10 stretch to close the half. In the second half, they connected on 43% (13-of-30) and outscored the Cowgirls by 12 points.
“I’ll probably credit Jaylyn Sherrod,” CU senior Sara-Rose Smith said. “Honestly, she walked into the locker room at halftime – we’re so blessed to have her here with us – and she said, ‘Guys, it’s not the Xs and Os; you just need to take a deep breath. We’re not making shots, and that’s OK. We just need to take a deep breath.’ … She said, ‘You guys have been playing your whole lives. You know how to play basketball. You know how to put the ball in the hole. It’s just resetting your mindset in that way.’”
Stellar start
Smith finished with a very Smith-like game, posting six points and 11 rebounds. She made just 3-of-9 shots, but was a monster on the glass.
“I think it feels pretty good knowing that our coaches break down what our individual jobs are, and my job simply is to rebound,” the fifth-year senior said. “I can take my hat off and know I did my job, and I did my job for my team. And that’s something that I really want to hold myself to, and something that I will pride myself on for the rest of the season.”
Smith didn’t start, but played the third-most minutes (32) on the team. That’s likely to be common this year, as head coach JR Payne loves to have impact players coming off the bench.
“I thought Sara was phenomenal,” Payne said. “We started kind of flat, or maybe just kind of feeling everything out in the environment and stuff, but Sara really gave us a lift when she came in. She brought good energy, tremendous on the glass. It was aggressive, attacking a little bit. That spark off the bench is always something I love to have, and I think she can be that for us.”
Off night
CU struggled with its shooting all night, going 1-for-10 from 3-point range and 13-of-24 (54.2%) at the free throw line.
Like a lot of teams, CU will have players shoot free throws in practice, with each miss being followed by a down-and-back sprint.
“We’ll go, like, 30-for-30 or 29-for-30,” Payne said. “I’m always like, ‘You guys, you need to miss so we can get some running in,’ but they never miss in practice. So I’m actually very surprised, and I do not expect that to be a theme with our team.”
Payne also expects the Buffs to be much better beyond the arc.
“We’re actually a really good 3-point shooting team as well,” she said. “Maybe nerves, maybe environment, maybe we felt rushed. Some of us felt kind of sped up. So I’m not really too worried about that.”
Notable
Freshman Tabitha Betson got the start and scored CU’s first points, on her first shot. She went 0-for-8 the rest of the way, though, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range. Payne said she still has loads of confidence in Betson, who was named the preseason freshman of the year in the Big 12. “She just needs to settle into sort of the chaos of college basketball, but she’ll be just fine,” she said. … CU is used to playing at altitude, with Boulder’s at 5,430 feet. Garzon said she certainly felt a difference in Laramie, which is at 7,220 feet above sea level. “It was hard as (heck),” she said, adding that Payne used timeouts well to allow the team to catch their breath.
