# 2022–23 Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team

The 2022–23 Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team represented the University of Colorado Boulder during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Buffaloes, led by seventh year head coach JR Payne, played their home games at the CU Events Center and compete as members of the Pac-12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Buffaloes finished the season 22–9, 9–7 in Pac-12 play to finish in fifth place. As the fifth seed in the Pac-12 women's tournament they defeated Washington in the first round, Arizona in the quarterfinals before losing to Stanford in the semifinals. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Tournament as a 7th seed in the Greensboro Region where they got upset by 10th seed Creighton in the first round.
The Buffaloes were the last undefeated DI women's college basketball in the 2021-22 season, losing their first game to #2 Stanford on January 14, 2022.

## Offseason
### Departures

Colorado Departures :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Leslia Finau | 4 | G | 5'10" | Senior | Dublin, CA | Graduated |
| Kennedy Taylor | 5 | F | 6'3" | Freshman | Shawnee Mission, KS | Transferred to Missouri State |
| Kylee Blacksten | 13 | G | 6'3" | Sophomore | Colorado Springs, CO | Transferred to West Virginia |
| Maura Singer | 20 | C | 6'4" | Freshman | Littleton, CO | Retired from basketball due to a knee injury |
| Mya Hollingshed | 21 | G/F | 6'3" | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated/2022 WNBA draft; selected 8th overall by Las Vegas Aces |
| Aubrey Knight | 24 | G | 6'0" | Senior | Ventura, CA | Graduated |
| Sierna Tuitele | 33 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Chico, CA | Graduated |

### Incoming

Colorado Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Aaronette Vonleh | 21 | C | 6'3 | Sophomore | West Linn, OR | Arizona |

#### Recruiting

There were no recruiting classing class of 2022.

#### Recruiting class of 2023

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Kennedy Sanders PG | Chaska, MN | Chaska High School | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 |||||||
| Ruthie Loomis-Goltl F | Bridgeport, NE | Bridgeport High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | Adams State | W 75–48 | | 20 – Vonleh | 16 – Jones | 5 – Wetta | CU Events Center (332) Boulder, CO |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 12:00 p.m. | | New Mexico State | W 85–55 | 1–0 | 22 – Miller | 17 – Miller | 4 – Tied | CU Events Center (479) Boulder, CO |
| November 12, 2022* 2:00 p.m. | | Jackson State Preseason WNIT | W 77–53 | 2–0 | 17 – Formann | 6 – Miller | 5 – Sherrod | CU Events Center (1,115) Boulder, CO |
| November 15, 2022* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Louisiana Preseason WNIT | W 73–43 | 3–0 | 17 – Miller | 8 – Miller | 8 – Wetta | United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, TX |
| November 16, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas Tech Preseason WNIT | L 85–86 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | 24 – Miller | 13 – Miller | 5 – Sherrod | United Supermarkets Arena (3,316) Lubbock, TX |
| November 19, 2022* 2:00 p.m. | | Air Force | W 71–63 | 4–1 | 15 – Tied | 9 – Jones | 8 – Sherrod | CU Events Center (1,248) Boulder, CO |
| November 25, 2022* 5:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 23 Tennessee | L 51–69 | 4–2 | 13 – Wetta | 6 – Wynn | 3 – Sherrod | Thompson-Boling Arena (7,509) Knoxville, TN |
| November 27, 2022* 11:00 a.m., FloSports | | at Chicago State | W 83–32 | 5–2 | 18 – Vonleh | 7 – Miller | 10 – Sherrod | Jacoby Dickens Center (200) Chicago, IL |
| November 30, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | Western Michigan | W 75–37 | 6–2 | 20 – Miller | 9 – Jones | 6 – Wetta | CU Events Center (511) Boulder, CO |
| December 4, 2022* 1:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Boise State | W 71–48 | 7–2 | 14 – Jones | 9 – Jones | 6 – Sherrod | ExtraMile Arena (844) Boise, ID |
| December 7, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | Southern Utah | W 78–48 | 8–2 | 13 – Miller | 6 – Jones | 7 – Wetta | CU Events Center (573) Boulder, CO |
| December 14, 2022 3:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 13 Utah | L 58–85 | 8–3 (0–1) | 10 – Vonleh | 9 – Miller | 5 – Sherrod | Jon M. Huntsman Center (1,894) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 16, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | Alcorn State | W 82–47 | 9–3 | 21 – Formann | 8 – McLeod | 7 – Wetta | CU Events Center (546) Boulder, CO |
| December 21, 2022* 11:00 a.m., FloSports | | at Marquette | W 71–48 | 10–3 | 17 – Miller | 7 – Tied | 8 – Sherrod | Al McGuire Center (2,019) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 30, 2022 3:00 p.m., P12N | | at Washington | W 64–56 | 11–3 (1–1) | 14 – Miller | 8 – Miller | 6 – Sherrod | Alaska Airlines Arena (2,318) Seattle, WA |
| January 1, 2023 5:00 p.m., P12N | | at Washington State | W 65–54 | 12–3 (2–1) | 20 – Vonleh | 8 – Miller | 7 – Sherrod | Beasley Coliseum (680) Pullman, WA |
| January 6, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 8 Utah | W 77–67 | 13–3 (3–1) | 20 – Formann | 6 – Miller | 7 – Sherrod | CU Events Center (1,575) Boulder, CO |
| January 13, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 14 Arizona | W 72–65 | 14–3 (4–1) | 23 – Formann | 9 – Tied | 5 – Wetta | CU Events Center (1,974) Boulder, CO |
| January 15, 2023 12:00 p.m. | | Arizona State | W 2–0 Forfeit | 14–3 (5–1) | – | – | – | CU Events Center Boulder, CO |
| January 20, 2023 12:30 p.m., P12N | No. 24 | at California | W 73–66 | 15–3 (6–1) | 26 – Miller | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Haas Pavilion (2,394) Berkeley, CA |
| January 22, 2023 3:00 p.m., P12N | No. 24 | at No. 4 Stanford | L 49–62 | 15–4 (6–2) | 16 – Sherrod | 10 – Vonleh | 3 – Formann | Maples Pavilion (4,122) Stanford, CA |
| January 27, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | No. 25 | No. 8 UCLA | W 73–70 $^{OT}$ | 16–4 (7–2) | 20 – Sherrod | 12 – Miller | 6 – Sherrod | CU Events Center (2,227) Boulder, CO |
| January 29, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 25 | USC | L 54–71 | 16–5 (7–3) | 16 – Vonleh | 11 – Miller | 4 – Tied | CU Events Center (2,377) Boulder, CO |
| February 3, 2023 8:00 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon | W 63–53 | 17–5 (8–3) | 19 – Vonleh | 10 – Miller | 7 – Sherrod | Matthew Knight Arena (5,919) Eugene, OR |
| February 5, 2023 1:00 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon State | W 67–48 | 18–5 (9–3) | 15 – Tied | 19 – Miller | 7 – Sherrod | Gill Coliseum (4,338) Corvallis, OR |
| February 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | No. 25 | Washington State | W 71–68 | 19–5 (10–3) | 27 – Sherrod | 7 – Miller | 5 – Wetta | CU Events Center (2,055) Boulder, CO |
| February 12, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 25 | Washington | W 65–43 | 20–5 (11–3) | 17 – Miller | 12 – Miller | 6 – Tied | CU Events Center (2,148) Boulder, CO |
| February 17, 2023 11:00 a.m., P12N | No. 21 | at Arizona State | W 70–62 | 21–5 (12–3) | 17 – Miller | 10 – Miller | 5 – Sherrod | Desert Financial Arena (2,793) Tempe, AZ |
| February 19, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 21 | at No. 18 Arizona | L 42–61 | 21–6 (12–4) | 12 – Sadler | 10 – Miller | 2 – Sherrod | McKale Center (8,267) Tucson, AZ |
| February 23, 2023 3:00 p.m., P12N | No. 21 | No. 3 Stanford | L 62–73 $^{2OT}$ | 21–7 (12–5) | 19 – Sherrod | 8 – Tied | 4 – Sherrod | CU Events Center (2,963) Boulder, CO |
| February 25, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 21 | California | W 95–69 | 22–7 (13–5) | 25 – Vonleh | 11 – Miller | 6 – Tied | CU Events Center (3,452) Boulder, CO |
| Pac-12 Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 2023 9:30 p.m., P12N | (3) No. 20 | vs. (11) Oregon State Quarterfinals | W 62–54 | 23–7 | 16 – Formann | 7 – Tied | 3 – Formann | Michelob Ultra Arena (4,207) Paradise, NV |
| March 3, 2023 9:30 p.m., P12N | (3) No. 20 | vs. (7) Washington State Semifinals | L 49–61 | 23–8 | 18 – Vonleh | 6 – Wetta | 6 – Sherrod | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPNews | (6 S4) No. 21 | vs. (11 S4) Middle Tennessee First Round | W 82–60 | 24–8 | 21 – Formann | 8 – Miller | 4 – Sherrod | Cameron Indoor Stadium (1,456) Durham, NC |
| March 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | (6 S4) No. 21 | at (3 S4) No. 13 Duke Second Round | W 61–53 $^{OT}$ | 25–8 | 17 – Miller | 14 – Miller | 3 – Tied | Cameron Indoor Stadium (1,904) Durham, NC |
| March 24, 2023* 5:30 p.m., ESPN | (6 S4) No. 21 | vs. (2 S4) No. 3 Iowa Sweet Sixteen | L 77–87 | 25–9 | 21 – Formann | 14 – Miller | 9 – Sherrod | Climate Pledge Arena (9,626) Seattle, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S4=Seattle 4. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | —* | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 24 | 25 | RV | 25 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —* | —^ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 15 |
*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same. ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.