MANHATTAN, Kan. – How Sweet it is!
The Colorado women’s basketball team is heading back to the Sweet 16 after knocking off Kansas State 63-50 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Bramlage Coliseum.
Aaronette Vonleh had nine points, eight rebounds and seven steals, and Tameiya Sadler was sensational off the bench to lead the Buffs into the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
Fifth-seeded CU (24-9) knocked out the fourth-seeded Wildcats (26-8) after a brilliant effort defensively in the second half.
No. 17-ranked CU outscored the 15th-ranked Wildcats 30-15 in the second half and iced the game by hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute.
Maddie Nolan led CU with 11 points, while Sadler and Quay Miller each had 10.
CU is just 2-57 its last 59 true road games against AP Top 25 teams, but both wins have come in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to get to the Sweet 16: Last year at Duke and on Sunday.
Nolan drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to give CU a 14-10 lead with 1:06 to play in the quarter. K-State responded with a 12-1 run, however, to race out to a 22-15 lead. Gabby Gregory had five straight for the Wildcats in that run.
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K-State stretched its lead to nine, 33-24, on a four-point play by Serena Sundell with 3:14 to go in the second quarter. CU then cranked up the defense, forcing five consecutive turnovers and going on a 9-0 run, highlighted by another Nolan 3, to tie the game.
Sundell scored just before the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 35-33 lead at halftime, but CU dominated the third quarter.
Sparked by Sadler, the Buffs outscored the Wildcats 15-3 during the last 6:41 of the third. Sadler had eight points, all in less than two minutes, and assisted on a Vonleh bucket to give the Buffs their largest lead of the day, 52-42, going into the fourth quarter.
CU didn’t score in the first 6:18 of the fourth, but salted the game away in the final minutes.
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