For the past three years, the Colorado women’s basketball team knew what it was getting night in and night out at point guard.

First-team All-Pac-12 performer Jaylyn Sherrod was the starter and a speedy spark plug, and Kindyll Wetta was the tenacious defensive stopper and playmaker off the bench.

With Sherrod now in the WNBA — and fresh off helping the New York Liberty win a championship — the Buffs will look different at the point. But, so far, the returns are good.

In Sunday’s 91-46 exhibition win against Colorado Mines, Wetta started while redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders came off the bench.

“I thought they both played really well,” head coach JR Payne said. “They’re both capable of running the show, so to speak. They’re both capable of attacking and handling pressure and defending. I think they’re both going to be great.”

In 15 minutes, Wetta — now a senior — scored six points, dished a team-high five assists and pulled down three rebounds. Sanders, making her debut in a CU uniform, played 25 minutes and posted seven points (but did miss eight of 10 shots), three rebounds and four assists. They tied for the team lead with three steals.

Last week, Sanders said she’s hoping to form a solid one-two punch at the point like the Buffs have had in the past.

“I would just say mostly on my defensive end, because Jaylyn brought such a big defensive presence, and same with Kindyll,” she said. “So I try to step up in that way, too. It’s gotten better but definitely a lot of improvement that I can make too.”

Wetta is one of the Buffs’ strongest leaders, while coaches have asked Sanders to be more vocal. That’s a work in progress, but Sanders is developing after sitting out last year as a redshirt.

“I just stay working hard and getting better at things that I need to and talking more for this team and stuff,” she said. “I’m a lot more comfortable and these girls have made me a lot more comfortable this year, too. Like they listen to me and ask me for advice and stuff like that.”

Wetta was ranked No. 82 by ESPN in the 2021 recruiting class while Sanders was ranked No. 75 in the 2023 class. The potential to be a dynamic duo is there and the Buffs even played them together for a bit on Sunday.

“We put them together for a few minutes, which we have not done all year,” Payne said. “But it’s kind of fun to tinker with those things when you have an opportunity to, so I’m excited about our point guard play.”

Impressive debut

Iowa State transfer Nyamer Diew made her presence known Sunday. A 6-foot-2 forward, Diew scored 13 points, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the floor (including 3-for-4 from 3-point range), while also posting two rebounds and two steals.

“I thought Ny played fantastic in the first half,” Payne said. “She was awesome … diving on the floor, lots of great things.”

Notable

Freshman Grace Oliver had a highly productive four minutes of playing time Sunday, scoring six points, pulling down three rebounds and grabbing a steal. … The Buffs will officially open the season at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Wyoming.