What you should know about CU WBB’s 11-0 start

With Colorado’s 80-56 defeat of San Francisco on Monday, the Buffaloes achieved an admirable feat: a perfect 11-0 non-conference record. Down went Oklahoma State. Down went Wisconsin, Air Force, Marquette and several other opponents left in the dust.

The road gets significantly more difficult, however, with conference play beginning on New Year’s Eve for JR Payne’s squad. Two Pac-12 programs, No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 Arizona, are ranked in the AP Top 25 and all 12 currently sit above .500.

Colorado hasn’t finished higher than 6th in the Pac-12 during Payne’s five previous seasons, but the expectations are certainly higher than middle-of-the-pack following the Buffs’ masterful non-conference effort.

Here’s what you should know.

They don't just win, they win big

Ten of Colorado’s 11 wins have been by at least 10 points, six have come by over 20 points and three have been by at least 30 points. That should say it all.

Mya Hollingshed makes history almost every game

The fifth-year senior forward continues to climb the record books with her multi-faceted scoring and rebounding abilities.

They can score in multiple ways

Coming into Monday, the Buffs were shooting 46.8% from the field and 32.6% from deep. Hollingshed and Washington transfer Quay Miller are forwards that can score in the paint and from deep, Frida Formann is one of the Pac-12’s better three-point shooters and Jaylyn Sherrod has no mercy when she drives to the rim.

So much depth

The Buffaloes have a formidable replacement at basically every position coming off the bench. Freshman Kindyll Wetta is a strong ball-sharing point guard, Miller picks up right where Hollingshed left off and Tayanna Jones is shooting 50% from the field. That has culminated in Colorado having seven games 20+ bench points in seven games this season as well.

One of the best defenses in the NCAA

My favorite part about this defense is that they are major ballhawks. Through 10 games, the Buffs ranked 20th in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12 with 128 steals. They had also come into Monday second in the conference with an average of 50 points allowed per game. San Francisco’s 56 points were the most Colorado has given up all season.

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