Formann scores 20, Colorado hands No. 8 Utah 1st loss 77-67

Published Jan. 6, 2023 11:24 p.m. ET

Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Frida Formann scored 20 points, Jaylyn Sherrod had 16 and Colorado beat No. 8 Utah 77-67 on Friday night, sending the Utes to their first loss of the season.

Aaronette Vonleh added 15 as the Buffaloes (13-3, 3-1 Pac-12) posted their first win over an AP top-10 team since knocking off No. 1 Stanford 77-72 in overtime on Jan. 17, 2021.

The loss by the Utes (14-1, 3-1) leaves only three undefeated Division I women’s basketball teams — No. 1 South Carolina (15-0), No. 3 Ohio State (16-0) and No. 7 LSU (15-0). Utah was led by Jenna Johnson, who scored all 17 of her points in the second half. Leading scorer Alissa Pili finished with 14 points, which was below her average of 19.7.

Formann's 3-pointer with 7:05 remaining extended Colorado's lead to 14 points. The Utes rallied late and cut the deficit to 65-61 with just under three minutes remaining. Quay Miller scored four straight points to give the Buffaloes some breathing room.

Relying on tenacious defense, Colorado held the Utes well below their average of 88.7 points. Utah shot 39.3% from the floor, including 10 of 26 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 21 times.

Colorado avenged an 85-58 loss at Utah on Dec. 14.

Formann drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Colorado a 31-24 lead at halftime. It was a rough first half for the Utes, who committed 12 turnovers and shot 8 of 30 from the floor.

BIG PICTURE

Utah: The Utes are set to fall after achieving their highest AP top-25 ranking in program history. They also saw their string of five straight road wins snapped.

Colorado: The Buffaloes moved to 7-0 at home this season. They dominated points in the paint by a 46-24 margin and held a 21-4 advantage in fast-break points.

THIS & THAT

New Colorado football coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders showed up with athletic director Rick George midway through the second quarter. ... Utah forward Dasia Young ended up on the broadcast table diving after a loose ball early in the second quarter. ... Miller had 12 points and six rebounds before fouling out with 39.8 seconds remaining. ... Formann had four 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Utah: Host Arizona State on Friday night.

Colorado: Host No. 15 Arizona on Friday night.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25