Vonleh scores 19, No. 5 Colorado races past California 76-61 for 8th straight win

BOULDER, Colo. -- — Quay Miller delivered the pass that set up Colorado teammate Aaronette Vonleh's first 3-pointer of the season. Along with it, a telepathic vote-of-confidence assist, too.

“In my mind, I was like, ‘Shoot it, Netti,' and she heard me,” Miller said.

Just the way the in-sync evening went for the Buffaloes.

Vonleh scored 19 points, including that rare 3-pointer, and No. 5 Colorado won its eighth straight by fending off California 76-61 on Friday night.

Miller did her part, too, adding 12 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado (14-1, 4-0 Pac-12). On top of that, Frida Formann scored all 14 of her points in the second half to help the Buffaloes break open a tight game with a late third-quarter spurt. Colorado led by 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The Buffaloes used a strong inside game led by Vonleh and Miller to wear down the Bears (12-4, 2-2). Colorado also was off-and-running with an 18-9 advantage in fastbreak points.

“I love it when a box score is so balanced and so many people contributing,” Colorado coach JR Payne said.

Marta Suarez scored 14 points for a surprising California team that was picked to finish 11th in the preseason Pac-12 media poll. Ioanna Krimili had 11 points, below the graduate transfer’s 16.5-point average this season.

“They just were the better team today,” Suarez said. “We just weren’t lucky enough.”

Colorado moved to 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 1994-95 when the team finished league play 14-0 as a member of the Big Eight.

“I tell people this all the time but one of the best things about this team is that they’re extremely unselfish,” Payne said. “The guards were scoring early? Great. Awesome. Feed the guards. Posts are scoring later? Great. Feed the posts. We truly don’t care. We just want to be successful.”

So much for getting caught looking ahead.

The Buffaloes were laser-focused even with the showdown against No. 8 and Pac-12 power Stanford looming on Sunday. That game will mark the first top-10 women's basketball matchup at CU Events Center since eighth-ranked Colorado lost to No. 1 Tennessee on Dec. 17, 1994, according to the school's research.

“They’re really good and they’re coming on Sunday. That’s all we needed to know,” Payne said. “But if we didn’t handle our business and keep all of our effort and focus on Cal, then we probably don’t play the way we played tonight. I’m really proud of our team.”

It could be a milestone moment for Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer, who enters the contest with 1,201 wins after Stanford beat Utah 66-64 on Friday night. VanDerveer has a chance to tie Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) as the winningest coach, men’s or women’s, in the history of college basketball.

California had a rough opening half, shooting 35.7% and turning the ball over 11 times, but kept it an eight-point game thanks to five 3-pointers. The Bears settled down, pulling to within four in the third, before Colorado pulled away with an 8-0 run to end the quarter.

“They got us outside of our comfort zone a little bit," California coach Charmin Smith said. ”It got us off-rhythm and we weren’t able to score the ball the way we usually do."

BIG PICTURE

California: The last time the Bears knocked off a top-five team on the road was Jan. 13, 2013, when No. 7 Cal beat fifth-ranked Stanford 67-55.

Colorado: Of the team's 14 wins this season, 13 have been decided by 10 or more points.

UP NEXT

California: At No. 19 Utah on Sunday.

Colorado: A big crowd is expected when the Buffaloes host Stanford on Sunday.

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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