Friday, January 26
Boulder, Colo.
8:00 PM
Colorado
vs
Oregon
Photo by: Jivan West
Carter's Hard Work Paying Off In First Season As A Buff
January 25, 2018 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Peyton Carter grew up just 20 minutes from Boulder. Naturally, she has been a fan of CU basketball since birth. It was only fitting for the standout at Monarch High School to take her basketball talents to the University of Colorado when she graduated last spring.
"I grew up watching CU," Carter said. "I grew up watching Chucky Jeffery, the Wilson twins (Brittany and Ashley), and Lexy Kresl, and I would sit in the stands thinking 'I want to be like them.' That was always a dream of mine, so to be here is like a dream come true."
Carter joined the Buffs during the summer of 2017 as a preferred walk-on, with the agreement that she would be on scholarship during her junior and senior seasons once current juniors Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson graduated. But Carter made an instant impression on her teammates and coaches and head coach JR Payne has put her on scholarship already during her freshman season.
"As soon as she got to campus we recognized quickly—and we already knew what a great kid Peyton is—that she would be a hard worker," Payne said. "But she came in and established herself as one of the hardest-working players on the team and showed that she is willing to do extra work and really earn the right to be here. Not just, 'well I am a good student and a nice player,' but, 'I deserve to be here and I can compete with everyone that is here.' So that was really the main reason that we wanted to reward her, for that type of tenacity when she got here."
She could have taken the full ride scholarship for four years out of high school as she had 15 Division I offers, mostly on the East Coast.
"I chose to come here knowing that I would have to prove myself," Carter said. "My mindset hasn't changed [since earning a scholarship]; I was going to work hard no matter what."
She has gradually seen her playing time increase throughout this season. She saw her first significant action against a top-level opponent on Dec. 29 with Arizona State as she had three points and three assists in 11 minutes, mostly in "mop-up time" at the end of the game after a brief stint in the lineup during the first quarter. But Carter proved herself against top-level talent in a blowout loss to No. 14 UCLA on Jan. 14, playing nearly the entire fourth quarter while the Bruins left All-America point guard Jordin Canada in the game.
In nine minutes of playing time vs. UCLA, Carter had six points and four assists, and did not commit a turnover. Canada had just two points and two assists in five minutes the fourth quarter.
In CU's following game at Arizona last Friday, Carter subbed in during the first quarter, but did not play with the same level of aggression she did in the fourth quarter of the ASU or UCLA games.
"In our first Pac-12 game against Arizona State, I came in at the end of the first quarter and I was nervous to say the least," Carter said. "Obviously, coming in at the end of the UCLA game when we were down by [a lot] isn't the same situation [as playing in the first quarter of a close game]. I don't think I was that confident coming in and I wasn't as aggressive as I should be. Coach talked to me [after the Arizona game] and told me that my minutes are valuable and that I need to be more aggressive. It kind of clicked and in the Arizona State game [this past Sunday] and I knew there was no point in being nervous."
That aggressiveness and change of attitude showed instantly as Carter saw a season-high 23 minutes playing at No. 22 Arizona State on Sunday and she produced eight points and two assists on five shots. Her presence on the floor showed beyond the stats as CU was +2 when Carter was in the game, outscoring ASU 38-36 during that time. She was one of just two players to finish with a positive plus/minus rating on Sunday in a 73-59 loss to the 22nd-ranked Sun Devils in Tempe.
Another aspect of Carter's presence on the floor is that she allows Leonard to move to a more natural No. 2 guard position, freeing her up and taking some ball-handling pressure away from the All-Pac-12 junior. As a result, Leonard had 23 points against ASU as she could expend more energy trying to score and create for her teammates rather than in bringing the ball up the floor.
"The point guard position is hard, you have to protect the ball, and they were full-court pressing us," Carter said of the ASU game. "I know that it can be a relief to [Leonard] not having to bring the ball up so I was happy to take that stress off of her, and I think that allowed her to get more open shots. Being able to play alongside her and create opportunities for her, like she creates for other people, that was a lot of fun."
Payne looks for Carter to continue to improve as she gains more experience and is pleased at how she has played against top competition so far. But she needs to continue to be aggressive and take the shots when the opportunities comes.
"I thought that certainly in the UCLA game she came in and played fearlessly against some of their top kids," Payne said. "It was that moment that we all realized that she is really ready for that competition now. She was great at the end of that game and going into the Arizonas we knew that that she could bring us a sense of calm and control and she did that. She just needs to continue to be more aggressive offensively. We are always telling her to shoot the ball. When she passes up open shots we are all yelling at her about it [from the sidelines] and she is one of our best shooters. She is always on balance and in control, so she needs to keep doing that because that is a good player for us offensively and defensively."
Something fans may not know about Carter is she is a vegetarian and has been her entire life. While refraining from eating meat is nothing unusual, it's a bit rare in athletics. But Carter is not alone; Jahlil Okafor, Kyrie Irving Damian Lillard, Enes Kanter, Wilson Chandler and JaVale McGee are all among a number of NBA players who are vegan, which takes the diet a step further and cuts out all animal products, not just meat and fish like vegetarians do. Former WNBA all-star Kara Lawson has also succeeded on a vegetarian and then vegan diet.
Cutting meat out of the daily intake can create some challenges, particularly when athletes need protein for muscle mass and energy.
"Obviously you have to be more careful about what you eat," Carter said of her vegetarian diet. "It's more important now [to find protein], because when I was young, if I wasn't getting the protein I needed, so what? I was only playing twice a week in YMCA games. But now that I'm working out three hours a day, six days a week, it's really important to get the extra protein. I take iron pills, because that's another big thing that meat gives you. I just have to be more cognizant of it, whereas someone who eats meat that doesn't have to worry about it. I can definitely feel when I don't have enough protein, my legs get really tired and I find myself thinking, 'ok, I need to eat some protein.' I can feel it, so if I want to perform at my best, I need to stay on top of it."
THIS WEEKEND:
CU hosts No. 7/9 Oregon at 8 p.m. on Friday and No. 17/17 Oregon State at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both games will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
PROMOTIONS:
There are a number of promotions and events surrounding the weekend's games. It is alumnae weekend as all former players are invited back for activities and will be recognized during Sunday's game.
At Friday's game, fans 21-and-older are invited to participate in Paint & Sip before the game. The promotion includes a game ticket, paint and a canvas, and one glass of wine for $35 ($30 for fans with a ticket already). The art class will be taught by POSH. Tickets can be purchased at CUBuffs.com/PaintAndSip.
Friday's game will also have free light sticks for the first 500 fans and all fans are encouraged to wear black.
Sunday's game is part of National Girls And Women In Sports Day. Skill and fitness stations will be set up around the Coors Events Center concourse starting at noon. From 1-2 p.m., CU women's sports teams will be available for autographs on the concourse. Boys sixth grade and under and girls eight grade and under will receive free admission.
CU students will receive free Half Fast Subs before the game and will be able to enter a drawing for a 50-inch television and Buffs apparel.
It is also the Elevation Game as the goal is to put 5,345 fans in the arena, the same number as the elevation of Coors in feet.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
The Ducks are among the top teams in the country, currently ranked No. 7 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the WBCA poll. At 18-3 and 7-1 in the Pac-12, they sit alone atop the conference standings.
All five starters average double figures in scoring, led by national player of the year candidate Sabrina Ionescu. The 5-11 sophomore guard averages 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists, leading the Pac-12 in scoring and assists. She became the NCAA's career triple-doubles leader earlier this season with her eighth, incredibly in less than two seasons. She is shooting 45.2 percent from the outside.
Ruthy Hebard, a 6-4 sophomore, averages 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds. She shoots 64.2 percent from the floor and has 28 blocked shots. Satou Sabally, a 6-4 freshman, averages 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds. She leads all Pac-12 freshmen in scoring. Maite Cazorla, a 5-10 junior, averages 10.6 points and 5.4 assists, and Lexi Bando, the team's only senior, averages 10.5 points and connects at 44.7 percent from 3-point range.
Oregon had a nine-game winning streak snapped on Friday by Oregon State in overtime, but the Ducks rebounded with a 75-63 win in the rematch on Sunday. They are also 10th in the nation in scoring (84.2).
Oregon State enters the weekend ranked No. 17 in both the AP and coaches poll with a record of 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-12. The Beavers' signature win this season was the overtime victory over Oregon in Corvallis last Friday, OSU's third consecutive win. However, the Ducks enacted revenge on Sunday in Eugene.
Marie Gülich, a 6-5 senior, leads the Beavers in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (8.9), while shooting 66.0 percent from the floor, ranking fourth nationally in field goal percentage. She is 12th in the nation in blocks (3.0 per game). Gülich has now recorded a double-double in three straight games, including 28 points and 15 rebounds in the overtime win over Oregon last Friday.
Sophomore guard Kat Tudor averages 13.5 points and 4.8 assists. She shoots 45.6 percent from the outside and had 34 points in the win over Oregon, including hitting 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Fellow sophomore guard Mikayla Pivec averages 11.5 points and 7.1 rebounds, rounding out OSU's double-digit scoring averages.
Two freshmen have also been key contributors for the Beavers in 5-9 guard Aleah Goodman (7.3 PPG) and 6-3 forward Taya Corosdale (6.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG).
Four of Oregon State's five losses have come against teams ranked in the top 20.
"I grew up watching CU," Carter said. "I grew up watching Chucky Jeffery, the Wilson twins (Brittany and Ashley), and Lexy Kresl, and I would sit in the stands thinking 'I want to be like them.' That was always a dream of mine, so to be here is like a dream come true."
Carter joined the Buffs during the summer of 2017 as a preferred walk-on, with the agreement that she would be on scholarship during her junior and senior seasons once current juniors Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson graduated. But Carter made an instant impression on her teammates and coaches and head coach JR Payne has put her on scholarship already during her freshman season.
"As soon as she got to campus we recognized quickly—and we already knew what a great kid Peyton is—that she would be a hard worker," Payne said. "But she came in and established herself as one of the hardest-working players on the team and showed that she is willing to do extra work and really earn the right to be here. Not just, 'well I am a good student and a nice player,' but, 'I deserve to be here and I can compete with everyone that is here.' So that was really the main reason that we wanted to reward her, for that type of tenacity when she got here."
She could have taken the full ride scholarship for four years out of high school as she had 15 Division I offers, mostly on the East Coast.
"I chose to come here knowing that I would have to prove myself," Carter said. "My mindset hasn't changed [since earning a scholarship]; I was going to work hard no matter what."
She has gradually seen her playing time increase throughout this season. She saw her first significant action against a top-level opponent on Dec. 29 with Arizona State as she had three points and three assists in 11 minutes, mostly in "mop-up time" at the end of the game after a brief stint in the lineup during the first quarter. But Carter proved herself against top-level talent in a blowout loss to No. 14 UCLA on Jan. 14, playing nearly the entire fourth quarter while the Bruins left All-America point guard Jordin Canada in the game.
In nine minutes of playing time vs. UCLA, Carter had six points and four assists, and did not commit a turnover. Canada had just two points and two assists in five minutes the fourth quarter.
In CU's following game at Arizona last Friday, Carter subbed in during the first quarter, but did not play with the same level of aggression she did in the fourth quarter of the ASU or UCLA games.
"In our first Pac-12 game against Arizona State, I came in at the end of the first quarter and I was nervous to say the least," Carter said. "Obviously, coming in at the end of the UCLA game when we were down by [a lot] isn't the same situation [as playing in the first quarter of a close game]. I don't think I was that confident coming in and I wasn't as aggressive as I should be. Coach talked to me [after the Arizona game] and told me that my minutes are valuable and that I need to be more aggressive. It kind of clicked and in the Arizona State game [this past Sunday] and I knew there was no point in being nervous."
That aggressiveness and change of attitude showed instantly as Carter saw a season-high 23 minutes playing at No. 22 Arizona State on Sunday and she produced eight points and two assists on five shots. Her presence on the floor showed beyond the stats as CU was +2 when Carter was in the game, outscoring ASU 38-36 during that time. She was one of just two players to finish with a positive plus/minus rating on Sunday in a 73-59 loss to the 22nd-ranked Sun Devils in Tempe.
Another aspect of Carter's presence on the floor is that she allows Leonard to move to a more natural No. 2 guard position, freeing her up and taking some ball-handling pressure away from the All-Pac-12 junior. As a result, Leonard had 23 points against ASU as she could expend more energy trying to score and create for her teammates rather than in bringing the ball up the floor.
"The point guard position is hard, you have to protect the ball, and they were full-court pressing us," Carter said of the ASU game. "I know that it can be a relief to [Leonard] not having to bring the ball up so I was happy to take that stress off of her, and I think that allowed her to get more open shots. Being able to play alongside her and create opportunities for her, like she creates for other people, that was a lot of fun."
Payne looks for Carter to continue to improve as she gains more experience and is pleased at how she has played against top competition so far. But she needs to continue to be aggressive and take the shots when the opportunities comes.
"I thought that certainly in the UCLA game she came in and played fearlessly against some of their top kids," Payne said. "It was that moment that we all realized that she is really ready for that competition now. She was great at the end of that game and going into the Arizonas we knew that that she could bring us a sense of calm and control and she did that. She just needs to continue to be more aggressive offensively. We are always telling her to shoot the ball. When she passes up open shots we are all yelling at her about it [from the sidelines] and she is one of our best shooters. She is always on balance and in control, so she needs to keep doing that because that is a good player for us offensively and defensively."
Something fans may not know about Carter is she is a vegetarian and has been her entire life. While refraining from eating meat is nothing unusual, it's a bit rare in athletics. But Carter is not alone; Jahlil Okafor, Kyrie Irving Damian Lillard, Enes Kanter, Wilson Chandler and JaVale McGee are all among a number of NBA players who are vegan, which takes the diet a step further and cuts out all animal products, not just meat and fish like vegetarians do. Former WNBA all-star Kara Lawson has also succeeded on a vegetarian and then vegan diet.
Cutting meat out of the daily intake can create some challenges, particularly when athletes need protein for muscle mass and energy.
"Obviously you have to be more careful about what you eat," Carter said of her vegetarian diet. "It's more important now [to find protein], because when I was young, if I wasn't getting the protein I needed, so what? I was only playing twice a week in YMCA games. But now that I'm working out three hours a day, six days a week, it's really important to get the extra protein. I take iron pills, because that's another big thing that meat gives you. I just have to be more cognizant of it, whereas someone who eats meat that doesn't have to worry about it. I can definitely feel when I don't have enough protein, my legs get really tired and I find myself thinking, 'ok, I need to eat some protein.' I can feel it, so if I want to perform at my best, I need to stay on top of it."
THIS WEEKEND:
CU hosts No. 7/9 Oregon at 8 p.m. on Friday and No. 17/17 Oregon State at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both games will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
PROMOTIONS:
There are a number of promotions and events surrounding the weekend's games. It is alumnae weekend as all former players are invited back for activities and will be recognized during Sunday's game.
At Friday's game, fans 21-and-older are invited to participate in Paint & Sip before the game. The promotion includes a game ticket, paint and a canvas, and one glass of wine for $35 ($30 for fans with a ticket already). The art class will be taught by POSH. Tickets can be purchased at CUBuffs.com/PaintAndSip.
Friday's game will also have free light sticks for the first 500 fans and all fans are encouraged to wear black.
Sunday's game is part of National Girls And Women In Sports Day. Skill and fitness stations will be set up around the Coors Events Center concourse starting at noon. From 1-2 p.m., CU women's sports teams will be available for autographs on the concourse. Boys sixth grade and under and girls eight grade and under will receive free admission.
CU students will receive free Half Fast Subs before the game and will be able to enter a drawing for a 50-inch television and Buffs apparel.
It is also the Elevation Game as the goal is to put 5,345 fans in the arena, the same number as the elevation of Coors in feet.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
The Ducks are among the top teams in the country, currently ranked No. 7 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the WBCA poll. At 18-3 and 7-1 in the Pac-12, they sit alone atop the conference standings.
All five starters average double figures in scoring, led by national player of the year candidate Sabrina Ionescu. The 5-11 sophomore guard averages 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists, leading the Pac-12 in scoring and assists. She became the NCAA's career triple-doubles leader earlier this season with her eighth, incredibly in less than two seasons. She is shooting 45.2 percent from the outside.
Ruthy Hebard, a 6-4 sophomore, averages 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds. She shoots 64.2 percent from the floor and has 28 blocked shots. Satou Sabally, a 6-4 freshman, averages 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds. She leads all Pac-12 freshmen in scoring. Maite Cazorla, a 5-10 junior, averages 10.6 points and 5.4 assists, and Lexi Bando, the team's only senior, averages 10.5 points and connects at 44.7 percent from 3-point range.
Oregon had a nine-game winning streak snapped on Friday by Oregon State in overtime, but the Ducks rebounded with a 75-63 win in the rematch on Sunday. They are also 10th in the nation in scoring (84.2).
Oregon State enters the weekend ranked No. 17 in both the AP and coaches poll with a record of 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-12. The Beavers' signature win this season was the overtime victory over Oregon in Corvallis last Friday, OSU's third consecutive win. However, the Ducks enacted revenge on Sunday in Eugene.
Marie Gülich, a 6-5 senior, leads the Beavers in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (8.9), while shooting 66.0 percent from the floor, ranking fourth nationally in field goal percentage. She is 12th in the nation in blocks (3.0 per game). Gülich has now recorded a double-double in three straight games, including 28 points and 15 rebounds in the overtime win over Oregon last Friday.
Sophomore guard Kat Tudor averages 13.5 points and 4.8 assists. She shoots 45.6 percent from the outside and had 34 points in the win over Oregon, including hitting 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Fellow sophomore guard Mikayla Pivec averages 11.5 points and 7.1 rebounds, rounding out OSU's double-digit scoring averages.
Two freshmen have also been key contributors for the Beavers in 5-9 guard Aleah Goodman (7.3 PPG) and 6-3 forward Taya Corosdale (6.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG).
Four of Oregon State's five losses have come against teams ranked in the top 20.
Players Mentioned
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