No. 4 Colorado records season-high 32 assists in cruising to 90-57 win over Oregon

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BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Maddie Nolan heard she had blocked her first shot of the season, but wasn’t quite sure. So her teammate, Quay Miller, quickly scanned the stat sheet and confirmed that, indeed, Nolan did record one.

Yet another assist on an evening filled with them.

Nolan scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second quarter, Kindyll Wetta dished out seven of Colorado’s season-high 32 assists and the fourth-ranked Buffaloes cruised to a 90-57 win over Oregon on Friday.

It’s the most assists since the Buffaloes had 35 against St. Francis (Pennsylvania) on Nov. 28, 1994. Colorado had 32 assists on 36 baskets, including 19 in the first half against Oregon.

“I just think everyone’s just really buying into that idea of just share the ball until we find the best team shot that we can get,” Colorado coach JR Payne said. “No one was forcing anything tonight.”

Nolan finished 6 of 11 from the floor, including a spurt just before halftime where she scored 11 straight points to help the Buffaloes pull away.

For that, she gave an assist to Payne’s son, Jaxton, who tried to contest her shots in pregame warmups.

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“My teammates did a really good job of finding me,” Nolan said.

The Buffaloes (20-3, 10-2 Pac-12) trailed for only 42 seconds and led by as many as 34 to win their fourth straight over the Ducks (11-13, 2-9). Colorado beat Oregon 61-48 in Eugene nearly two weeks ago.

Miller finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds to help the Buffaloes dominate down low. They held a 40-14 advantage in points in the paint and a 24-1 margin in fast-break points.

“We’re striking a great balance of focus, keeping things light, making sure we’re prepared, knowing what we’re supposed to do,” Payne said. “We’re in a really good place right now as far as sort of that dynamic. We played like we’re feeling really good.”

Eight Colorado players had an assist, with Wetta, Nolan, Frida Formann and Jaylyn Sherrod each having at least five. The Buffaloes have now won 34 straight games when they hold an opponent under 60 points.

Grace VanSlooten scored 16 points to lead the Ducks, who dropped their sixth straight game. They’re 0-8 against teams ranked in the AP poll this season.

“Listen, nobody expected us to come in here and win the game,” Ducks coach Kelly Graves said. “But I expected us to at least come in and compete. We just didn’t really do that tonight.

“We didn’t defend with the intensity that we need to. I mean, it’s pretty simple.”

Shelomi Sanders, the freshman daughter of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, got into the game late but didn’t score.

Colorado took the lead for good at 8:31 of the first quarter on two free throws from Nolan.

Oregon ended the first quarter with 18 points but started the second with 16. That’s because during the break a review by the officials determined that a basket scored at the 3:25 mark was a shot-clock violation instead.

“We’re having a lot of fun,” Miller said. “Obviously, winning is fun — always. We’re playing such good basketball right now.”

BIG PICTURE

Oregon: The Ducks are in the middle of a difficult stretch in their schedule. This was game four of seven straight against teams ranked in the AP top 25 poll. … Oregon has now lost 13 straight road games to ranked teams.

Colorado: The Buffaloes have been ranked in 20 straight AP polls dating to Feb. 6, 2023. It’s the fourth-longest stretch in program history. The Colorado record is still a long way off — 75 straight weeks from March 15, 1992, to December 9, 1996.