Week 9 with the Pac-12: Colorado Makes an Entrance
The Buffaloes have something to say this season
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When super seniors started making their announcements about returning to play in 2021-22, there was not a bigger announcement relative to her team’s fortunes than that of Mya Hollingshed at Colorado. Hollingshed has been one of the underappreciated stars of the league for several years. She and her team are proving it this season.
Hollingshed is not scoring as much as she has in past years, but she has made a huge jump in her ability to hit from outside. The forward is hitting 43.8 percent of her 3-point shots while making 3.7 attempts this season. Both numbers are the highest of her career. She hasn’t been in the neighborhood of that efficiency since her freshman season.
With the return of Hollingshed and the addition of former Washington Husky Quay Miller, the Buffs are intimidating. Miller is scoring 11.7 ppg and grabbing 5.9 rebounds while coming off the bench.
The starters are making it difficult to get buckets with Hollingshed blocking 1.23 shots per game and Peanut Tuitele accounting for 1.15 bpg.
What it all adds up to is 13-0. The only perfect record in Division I women’s basketball. All from a team that was picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12.
Prior to Pac-12 play, there were a lot of questions about how much faith to put into that perfect record. Colorado hadn’t played a stout schedule, to put it lightly. That’s why they still stand at No. 27 in the NET behind Pac-12 opponents like No. 3 Stanford (11-3), No. 9 Arizona (11-1), No. 17 Oregon (7-5), and No. 23 Utah (8-3). In our rankings, the Buffs sit at No. 42. That’s behind No. 3 Stanford, No. 11 Arizona, and No. 13 Oregon but ahead of No. 50 Utah.
At least some of those questions were answered in the opening weekend of Pac-12 play, though. Colorado has opened 2-0 with home wins over UCLA and USC. That ties them with Stanford for the league lead. The USC win looks even better after the Women of Troy got a home win over Arizona on Sunday.
Now comes the first big test. The Buffs will host Stanford on Friday, Jan. 14. Last season, this game went Colorado’s way in overtime, knocking the Cardinal from their top-ranked spot in both polls on Jan. 17, 2021. Can they reproduce that shocking win this season?
Voting for the Best
Player of the Week
My vote: Cate Reese, Arizona
The winner: Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado
My vote this week came down to Cate Reese or Lexie Hull. Once again, neither of my top two garnered enough votes. Sherrod was definitely a worthy winner with eight assists per game to go along with 25 points against UCLA and 15 points against USC. Her team being the only unbeaten team in the country doesn’t hurt, either.
I thought Reese did more under more difficult circumstances, though. She scored 20 points at home against Washington State and 29 on the road against USC. It was a time when her team really needed her since two starters were out for Arizona in both games. The schedule was abnormal with one game being in McKale, then Arizona hitting the road for a makeup game against USC.
Hull has been high on my list the last two weeks, getting my vote last week and running a close second this week. Her week wasn’t quite as unusual as Reese’s, since she got to play both games at home. However, Stanford had to prepare quickly for a game against Gonzaga that was scheduled late in the week.
Hull’s game against Oregon was huge. She scored 33 points while going 7-10 from 3-point distance. Two rebounds, two assists, and a steal made for a big night. The only negative came in the form of six turnovers–a recurring problem for Stanford.
Hull followed it up with a stat-stuffer game of eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal without a single turnover against Gonzaga. Those eight rebounds included six on the offensive glass. It was an impressive game even without huge scoring numbers.
Freshman of the Week
My vote: Rayah Marshall, USC
The winner: Rayah Marshall, USC
Rayah Marshall had a solid weekend, helping her team to a 1-1 opening in Pac-12 play. She was a huge part of USC’s upset of Arizona at home on Sunday, giving them their first win over a top 5 opponent in eight years.
The freshman averaged nearly a double-double with 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in a road game against Colorado and the home game against the Wildcats. With only three freshmen nominated this week, it was enough for the honor.
A Look at the Results
In the opening week of Pac-12 play, only two games were played. The league took a step forward this week with six conference games completed, including a makeup game between Arizona and USC. Five of the six games were won by the home team.
Stanford also added an out-of-conference rematch against Gonzaga. It took the place of the game that was postponed due to Oregon State’s COVID-19 protocols.
Friday, Jan. 7, 2022
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022
What’s Next?
As of Jan. 13, four games have been postponed for the upcoming weekend. Arizona State has postponed its games at Oregon and Oregon State, meaning the Sun Devils have yet to play a conference game this season. California has also postponed its games at Utah and Colorado.
Oregon has scheduled a big out-of-conference game for Monday. Connecticut will travel across the country to play the Ducks in Matthew Knight Arena in a nationally televised event.
Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022
Friday, Jan. 14, 2022
Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022
Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022
Monday, Jan. 17, 2022
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.