DENVER — The University of Colorado women’s basketball team’s hopes of moving on to the Elite 8 came up short in the NCAA Tournament as CU falls to Iowa.
The final score in Saturday’s much-anticipated Sweet 16 matchup was 89-68 in Albany.
In a game seen on Denver7, the clash was a return for the teams which squared off in the Sweet 16 last season with Iowa winning 87-77, with the Hawkeyes eventually losing the title game to LSU.
Iowa, the No. 1 seed team in region 2 this year beat 8th-seeded West Virginia on Monday evening while Colorado beat 4-seed Kansas State on Sunday to move onto its second straight Sweet 16.
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Turnovers and missed shots hampered the Buffs.
Colorado shot 0 for 6 from the three against Iowa, trailing the Hawkeyes by 8 points at the end of the first quarter. Iowa star player Caitlin Clark had 6 assists heading into the second quarter.
While Iowa’s lead stretched to 14 points, it took Colorado 4 minutes into the second to put the Buff’s first points of the quarter on the board. Iowa led Colorado by around 10 points for much of the second quarter.
By the start of the 4th, Colorado trailed Iowa 47 to 68.
Caitlin Clark had 29 points and 15 assists to help lead top-seeded Iowa over Colorado. The Hawkeyes advanced to the Albany 2 Regional Final for a rematch of last year’s national title game against LSU.
The Tigers, who beat the Hawkeyes in last year’s championship game, topped UCLA in Saturday’s earlier regional semifinal.
Clark got the Hawkeyes going early, driving to the basket for easy layups or throwing fantastic passes. Aaronette Vonleh scored 13 points and Frida Formann had 12 for the Buffaloes, who trailed by double digits for the entire second half.
University of Colorado Women's Basketball Head Coach JR Payne spoke after the game. "Our team is built on toughness, and grit, and never quit, and never stop. We competed the whole night. They were just better than us today."
CU senior Aylyn Sherrod, reflected on her time with the team. "Being told your whole life you're too small, you can't play on this level, you're not good enough. Nobody can take away these past 5 years from me."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
