Jones Making the Most of Final Season

BOULDER – Colorado's Tayanna Jones hasn't always been the most prolific scorer for head coach JR Payne and the Buffaloes, but now in her third year in Boulder the fifth-year senior has carved out an undeniable role.

Jones, who transferred from Georgetown, joined the Buffs for the COIVD-delayed 2020-21 season. She's scored 228 of her 394 career points as a Buffs and is on pace for career-high numbers this season, averaging 8.3 points per game early on.

Contributing points is a bonus for a player with the 'team first' mentality that Jones brings to the table. She matched her career-high with 15 points in CU's 83-32 win at Chicago State on Sunday. It was her best scoring output as a Buff, but after the game, she wasn't as happy-go-lucky as one would expect.

"I was actually kind of upset I didn't get enough rebounds [on Sunday] to be honest," Jones critiqued. "We always score the ball [as a team] but it's the other things that win ball games. I'm more excited about that and I would have been happier if I had more rebounds."

Jones, who has started five games this season, is second on the Buffs in rebounds with 5.4 per game this season. She's been strong on both ends of the floor, with 12 offensive boards, matching her previous career-high.

"Tay is just so gifted athletically," Payne commented. "She can do a lot of different things. We're continuing to try and get her to stay disciplined and be able to play within our system. I thought she did that really well [on Sunday]. She competed on the glass on both ends of the floor. Everything that she did was within the framework of what we wanted to do. Collectively, that was a goal to play that way and she did that really well."

The Selma, N.C., native, snagged a CU-high nine rebounds against Air Force and has also led the Buffs in steals and blocks on multiple occasions this season. She's also shooting at a 47.8% clip this season, well ahead of previous marks.

"It's my last year," Jones explained. "So, you have to give it all you have and focus on all the things that you want to focus on from years prior. I think that's something that I've been just trying to harp on for myself."

Jones came off the bench at Chicago State on Sunday, after the Buffs had a below-par performance at No. 23 Tennessee. Collectively, the Buffs did not put their best effort forward against the Lady Vols. Jones went 0-for-8 from the field with five rebounds. Colorado, as a team, was just 17-for-54 in Knoxville.

Things improved vastly for Jones and the Buffs in the South Side. She led Colorado with a +45 in her 20 minutes of playing time in the 51-point win.

"It's always good to get a win," Jones added. "I think primarily for me, I was just trying to bounce back because I had such a terrible game against Tennessee. I was kind of upset about that and was trying to make sure I was focused on the details and the little things like being disciplined and kind of getting back to the basics. We all agreed on that. We didn't play our best basketball [at Tennessee]. For us, we all just want to do our thing and get back to Colorado basketball."

Jones and the Buffs return home on Wednesday, hosting Western Michigan (6 p.m. MT). The Broncos are making just their second trip to Boulder. CU owns a 1-0 series advantage, having won the inaugural meeting, 79-62, back in 1999.

Wednesday's game will be streamed online at CUBuffs.com/WatchWBB. Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will have the call on the Colorado Radio Network with pregame starting at 5:30 p.m.