The Colorado women’s lacrosse team didn’t waste time taking control against Iona.

The Buffaloes scored eight goals in the first quarter and kept Iona off the scoreboard until early in the second half, paving the way for a lopsided 12-4 victory Saturday afternoon at Prentup Field. After a 1-4 start to the season, Saturday’s win was the second in a row for the Buffs, who improved to 3-4.

CU took control immediately, with Maddie Shoup needing just 4 minutes, 9 seconds to record a hat trick. Shoup’s third goal gave CU a 4-0 lead, and she tallied an assist on the one goal she didn’t score during that opening salvo.

The Buffs led 8-0 after the first quarter and 11-0 at halftime, with six different players scoring goals for CU before the break.

Iona finally got on the board with two goals in the first 4:27 of the second half, but that essentially was the extent of offense for the Gaels. Freshman Elena Oh turned in another solid game in goal for the Buffs, recording six saves. CU dominated the action, outshooting Iona 35-13 with a 24-10 advantage in shots on goal.

Shoup finished with a career-high seven points.

“It was a tale of two halves for us. I’m proud of the way we came out and competed,” CU head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said in a release. “I liked our aggressiveness on defense, and we did some nice things offensively. One focus for us was on transition, and I thought we did a good job there in first half. In the second half, we didn’t execute with same purpose. We have to be able to play 60 minutes regardless of who is in or out. We have a great opportunity at home Thursday and will turn our focus to getting better and preparing for that.”

CU completes a five-game homestand Thursday against Stony Brook (5 p.m., ESPN+).