No. 13 Colorado drops fourth straight, falls to No. 8 UCLA 53-45

The Buffaloes' projected NCAA Tournament seed has dropped as well

CU Buffs

The No. 13 Colorado Buffaloes (20-7, 10-6 Pac-12) entered Pauley Pavilion on Monday night looking to snap a three-game losing streak. They left with their fourth straight loss to an AP top 25-ranked team. 

In what was a defensive battle, JR Payne’s squad struggled from the field in route to a 53-45 loss to No. 8 UCLA (22-5, 11-5 Pac-12). Colorado’s shooting woes were evident right from the opening tip. The Buffaloes were six-of-28 from the field (21.4%) in the first half and trailed 29-19 at the break. Colorado surged back to take a 32-31 lead on a Tameiya Sadler layup with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter. But the Bruins quickly regained the lead and would not relinquish it. 

UCLA sophomore guard Kiki Rice led all scorers with 20 points to go with nine rebounds. Colorado’s Jaylyn Sherrod had 10 points and seven rebounds to lead the Buffaloes. She was the only Colorado player to finish in double figures. Frida Forman and Quay Miller each had nine points for the Buffaloes. 

Less than two weeks ago, ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme had Colorado penciled in as a one seed. Immediately following Monday night’s loss, Creme dropped the struggling Buffaloes from a three to a four seed in his latest bracketology. To make matters worse, the loss to UCLA will likely drop the Buffaloes to a five-seed or worse in next week’s Pac-12 Tournament. Meaning Colorado would have to play a first-round game, since the top four seeds receive byes.  

The Buffaloes return home to close out the regular season Thursday versus Washington, followed by a Saturday matinee against Washington State.