Colorado University Athletics
Buffs, Aggies Meet On Hardwood Tuesday
January 23, 2006 | Women's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado (6-12, 1-5 Big 12) continues its Big 12 Conference schedule by hosting Texas A&M University (15-4, 4-2 Big 12) on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center.
BROADCAST: Tuesday's game will air live on Fox Sports Net-Rocky Mountain. Dave Benz will provide the play by play with former CU head coach Ceal Barry giving the color commentary. The game will also be broadcast live on KKZN 760 AM, Boulder's Progressive Talk Station. Tim Smile will handle play by play duties and is joined by USA Basketball's Carol Callan with the color commentary. Internet audio streaming of the game will be available through Yahoo! Sports.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado will look to break a three-game losing skid and claim its second win in its last eight contests Tuesday. The Buffaloes will also be attempting to snap a nine-game losing streak against Big 12 Southern Division opponents, dating back to the 2003-04 season. CU's last win over a Big 12 South team came in a 72-57 decision over Oklahoma State on Feb. 21, 2004. The Buffaloes are 5-5 at the Coors Events/Conference Center this season and have won four of their last seven. A win over Texas A&M would allow the Buffaloes to match their Big 12 win total in 2004-05.
CU's numbers at home aren't drastically different than its overall totals. The Buffaloes are averaging 70.7 points per game, outrebounding their opponents by three and shooting 41 percent from the field.
During Big 12 games, Colorado is allowing 78.2 points per game and has given up at least 80 points in four of six contests. The Buffaloes are shooting 42 percent from the field in league games, but allowing opponents to shoot 47 percent from the floor.
Sophomore Jackie McFarland leads Colorado in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg), just dipping under a season-long double-double during the loss to Missouri. McFarland has 10 games of 10-plus rebounds, tying for the ninth-best single-season performance in team history. Junior Jasmina Ilic is just behind McFarland in scoring (17.4 ppg) and leads CU with 36 3-point field goals, just two shy of her total in 28 games last season. Ilic has six games of 20-plus points including a Big 12 season-best 36 against Nebraska. Junior Anna Nedovic has started all 18 games for the Buffaloes averaging 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Overall, Nedovic is hitting 43 percent from the floor, but that number has climbed to 48 percent over the last 15 games.
When they haven't been fighting injuries, CU's back-court trio of senior Whitney Law and sophomores Lauren Lubin and Yari Escalera have put up some impressive numbers. Law, who hit the 20-point mark for the second time in her career against Iowa State, has ranked among the Big 12's top 10 in assists and assist/turnover ratio all season. Escalera, the fourth-best foul shooter in the Big 12 at 84.9 percent, had a career-high seven assists and scored 14 second-half points against South Dakota State. Lubin, who started 11-straight games before being sidelined with a mild concussion, is hitting nearly 50 percent from the field as a starter (18x39) and is second on the team in assists and third in rebounding. Escalera (.849), Lubin (.842), McFarland (.786) and Ilic (.782) each rank in among the top 11 free-throw shooters in the Big 12.
NOT JUST FRESHMAN ANYMORE: Now that the Big 12 season is well underway, Colorado's freshman duo of forward Caley Dow and guard Hannah Skildum are seeing their roles increase as well as their productivity. Despite being shut out at Missouri, Skildum is averaging 5.8 points through six Big 12 games, up from a 4.5 season average. She has started the last four games in place of Lauren Lubin, who missed two games with an injury, and has registered a personal best 12 points at Oklahoma and at Kansas State. Dow is averaging 6.8 points through six Big 12 games, hitting 55 percent from the field, and is the team's second leading rebounder (4.5 rpg). Dow is averaging 8.8 points and five rebounds over the last four games.
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Colorado has announced a time change for its home game with Kansas State and a change to its television schedule with Fox Sports Net-Rocky Mountain.
Colorado's game against Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Coors Events/Conference Center will now be played at 7 p.m. MST and will still air live as planned on FSN-Rocky Mountain. The game will immediately follow the CU-Texas A&M men's contest scheduled to air live from College Station, Texas, on FSN-Rocky Mountain at 5 p.m. MST. The KSU game was originally scheduled for 8 p.m.
Additionally, FSN-Rocky Mountain has opted to televise the CU women's home game against Texas A&M on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and will no longer air the home contest against Missouri on Saturday, Feb. 18. The change was made due to a scheduling conflict with FSN-Rocky Mountain on Feb. 18. Game time for both contests will remain at 7 p.m.
RICHARDS WILL REDSHIRT: Sophomore center Kara Richards, who has not played in a regular season game this season due to a broken foot, will miss the remainder of the year and use this as her redshirt season CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller announced on Tuesday.
Richards suffered a Jones fracture ? a fracture to the fifth meta-tarsal ? in her left foot on Nov. 15, just three day's before CU's season opening win over Cal State University-Fullerton. She underwent surgery on Nov. 16 and the initial diagnosis had her missing anywhere from four to eight weeks. Richards was in a cast until Dec. 28, and returned to light practice last week, but was not making the progress needed to return to the line up in the near future as soreness from her injury continues.
Richards will be a sophomore in eligibility for the 2006-07 campaign. She did appear in CU's two exhibition games in November averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds.
A native of Graham, Texas, Richards started in 26 of 28 games for the Buffaloes as a true freshman last winter, averaging nine points, 5.3 rebounds and one block per game. She earned a spot on the Waco Tribune-Herald's All-Big 12 Conference Freshman team in 2004-05 and was named the Buffs' Rookie of the Year.
LAST TIME OUT: Colorado had some solid performances Saturday night against Iowa State.
Senior Whitney Law hit the 20-point mark for the second time, sophomore Jackie McFarland recorded her 10th double-double of the season and sophomore Yari Escalera tied a season personal-best with three 3-point field goals.
However, those numbers were not enough to match those of the Cyclones.
Iowa State had six players score in double digits as the Cyclones defeated Colorado 86-71 in a Big 12 Conference game Saturday night at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
Colorado falls to 6-12 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12. Iowa State improves to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in league play, claiming its fourth straight win over the Buffaloes.
Law had a game-high 21 points, nearly matching her career-best of 22 scored against Colorado State earlier this season. She hit 8-of-15 from the field and tied a career-high with three 3-point field goals.
McFarland had 17 points and 10 rebounds to notch her 10th double-double of the season, tying for the fifth best single-season mark in team history.
ISU senior Brittany Wilkins had 21 points on 9-of-11 from the field to lead the Cyclones, but she had plenty of help. Guard Lyndsey Medders, the nation's leader in assists, added to her resume with a CU opponent record 14 assists to go along with 15 points. Nicky Wieben had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench while Megan Ronhovde had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Iowa State had an answer for every Colorado success. Case in point, the Buffaloes enjoyed a season-low eight turnovers ? half their season average. The Cyclones countered with just four turnovers, breaking the previous CU opponent record low of six achieved by Oklahoma State on Feb. 16, 1985.
Law scored CU's first seven points of the game and had a total of 12 in the first half. Anna Nedovic had a pair of 3-pointers as the Buffs and Cyclones played near even for the first 10 minutes of the game.
Iowa State then embarked on a 19-8 run which set the tone for the rest of the contest. After hitting just six of their first 16 shots (.375), the Cyclones hit 12 of their last 17 (.706) to take a 44-34 lead at halftime. Wieben did the most damage for ISU, coming off the bench for 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line. Wilkins was also a perfect 4-of-4 in the first half, logging nine points and four rebounds.
Colorado closed the gap to as little as nine in the second half. Escalera hit two of her three 3-point field goals in a span of 35 seconds as CU cut the ISU lead to 70-61 with 7:22 remaining. Iowa State quickly put its lead back up to 16 on 3-pointers from Wilkins and Ronhovde and a Heather Ezell runner in the lane.
ABOUT THE AGGIES: Texas A&M is off to a 15-4 start, sporting a 4-2 Big 12 mark good for a three-way tie for second place in the league standings. The Aggies success this season begins with its pressure, and the staggering numbers generated from it. Texas A&M leads the Big 12 in scoring defense (55.4 ppg) and scoring margin (+17.4 ppg). The lack of, and difference, in scoring can be attributed in part to Aggies' opponents 25 turnovers per game which they turn into 15 more field goal attempts per contest. Six players on the Texas A&M roster have 20 or more steals this season led by Patrice Reado who ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 2.2 per game. Sophomore forward Morenike Atunrase, last season's Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads the Aggies in scoring at 12.8 points per game. Freshman guard Takia Starks averages 11.9 points per contest and is second on the team in assists. Texas A&M is also solid on the offensive boards, ranking first on the leage charts at 18.6 per game. Senior forward Tamea Scales, who leads Texas A&M in rebounding, actually has more offensive rebounds (55) than defensive (52).
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 13th meeting between Colorado and Texas A&M, the least played series for the Buffs against another Big 12 team. The two teams only met three times prior to the beginning of Big 12 play in 1997. Colorado has a 10-2 edge over Texas A&M including a perfect 6-0 at home. Texas A&M won last season's meeting in College Station, 72-62, which snapped a 10-game Colorado win streak in the series.
CU'S LAST 10 GAMES AGAINST TEXAS A&M
Date Result Date Result
2/5/05 L, 62-72 (A) 1/18/00 W, 62-47 (H)
1/21/04 W, 70-58 (H) 2/27/99 W, 71-69 OT (A)
2/8/03 W, 55-49 (A) 1/24/98 W, 72-64 (H)
1/19/02 W, 88-70 (H) 2/8/97 W, 69-40 (A)
2/17/01 W, 67-54 (A) 11/19/95 W, 74-68 (H)
Kathy McConnell-Miller is 0-1 against Texas A&M as a head coach.
VAST IMPROVEMENTS: With just over half the regular season in the books, a few Colorado players have already surpassed last year totals in several different categories. Whitney Law has a team-best 64 assists this season compared to 48 in 27 games in 2004-05. Jasmina Ilic has 313 points which has passed her 2004-05 total of 280, and has four more steals (18) than she did in 28 games last year. Yari Escalera has 123 points, 18 more than she did all of last year and has also passed her rebouding output rom her freshman campaign. Jackie McFarland has 41 more points, nine more steals and four more blocks through 18 games than she did in 27 games as a freshman.
FIRST 18/6: Comparing statistics from Colorado's first 18 games last year, and the first 18 games this year, the most significant improvements for the Buffaloes are in scoring, rebounding and free-throw shooting. CU is averaging 6.2 more points per game than at the same time last year. The Buffs have scored 80 or more points five times this season as opposed to once in the entire 2004-05 campaign. Many of those points are coming off free throws. Colorado is getting to the line nearly six more times per game and making good on 5.9 more per game reflecting a solid .740 free-throw percentage -- currently tops in the Big 12 -- as opposed to .651 last season. Colorado is also averaging 2.3 more rebounds than this time last year and enjoying an even greater rebounding margin. CU's averaging 3.2 more rebounds per game than its opponent this year while the Buffs were -1.1 through 18 games in 2004-05.
CU has fallen off on its 3-point field-goal shooting, down 2.2 percent from last year. The Buffs are actually giving up fewer turnovers from last year (+2.2) and have a better assist/turnover ratio (+0.15) but their turnover margin is 2.5 higher than this time last year.
Comparing the first six Big 12 games to last year's first six league contests, Colorado is scoring five more points per game, shooting 3.2 percent better from the floor, making 4.7 more free throws per game and hitting nearly 10 percent better from the foul line.
Colorado Statistics Through 18/6 Games
18 Overall 6 Big 12
2004-05 2005-06 2004-05 2005-06
Record 8-10 6-12 1-5 1-5
Points 64.4 70.6 58.8 63.8
Points Allowed 68.8 70.9 73.2 78.3
Scoring Margin -4.4 -0.3 -14.3 -14.3
Field Goals 23.7 23.8 22.8 23.0
Field Goal Att. 57.2 56.8 58.5 54.5
Field Goal Pct. .414 .419 .390 .422
3-pt Field Goals 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.3
3-pt Field Goal Att. 14.6 15.4 14.5 15.3
3-pt Field Goal Pct. .324 .302 .299 .283
Free Throws 12.3 18.2 8.8 13.5
Free Throw Att. 18.9 24.6 14.8 19.8
Free Throw Pct. .651 .740 .596 .681
Offensive Rebounds 11.9 13.4 11.8 10.3
Defensive Rebounds 25.6 26.2 23.8 23.7
Total Rebounds 37.4 39.7 35.7 44.0
Rebounding Margin -1.1 +3.2 -4.5 -3.8
Fouls 16.4 17.3 18.0 14.8
Assists 12.4 13.6 11.8 11.7
Turnovers 19.3 17.1 21.2 16.5
Assist/TO Ratio 0.65 0.80 0.56 0.71
Turnover Margin -0.9 -3.4 -1.7 -4.7
Blocks 3.4 3.1 3.0 2.2
Steals 7.6 6.7 6.8 4.8
ILIC HITS 30 TWICE: Jasmina Ilic's 36 point performance against Nebraska is the best individual total in the Big 12 Conference this year and third on CU's all-time single game list just behind co-record holders Susan Horner who had 38 against Weber State on Mar. 10, 1979, and Tracy Tripp who also had 38 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 4, 1987. Ilic is the first player in team history to score 33 or more points twice in the same season as she had 34 points in CU's season-opening win over Cal State-Fullerton.
McFARLAND 20-10: Jackie McFarland is the first player in CU women's basketball history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds over the first seven games of a season, in fact, she was the first to do it in the first four games of a season. McFarland dipped below the 20-10 numbers at the San Juan Shootout, and is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
ILIC, McFARLAND TOP SCORING DUO: Jackie McFarland and Jasmina Ilicare 1-2 in team scoring and are on pace to become the highest scoring duo in team history over an entire season. McFaralnd currently holds CU's seventh best point total through 18 games while Ilic is right behind in eighth. Lisa Van Goor and Diane Hiemstra hold the title of CU's highest scoring pair. Van Goor averaged 17 points and Hiemstra 16.7 per game in 1982-83.
POINTS AVERAGE FIRST 18 GAMES
Name (Season) PPG Total
1. Jamillah Lang (1993-94) 19.4 350
2. Tera Bjorklund (2003-04) 19.3 347
3. Lisa Van Goor (1980-81) 18.7 337
4. Lisa Van Goor (1981-82) 18.6 335
5. Diane Hiemstra (1983-84) 17.8 320
6. Lisa Van Goor (1982-83) 17.7 318
7. Jackie McFarland (2005-06) 17.5 315
8. Jasmina Ilic (2005-06) 17.4 313
LUBIN BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLES: With her performances against Utah State and Colorado State sophomore guard Lauren Lubin became just the fifth true guard in team history to record two or more points-rebounds double-doubles in a career and only the second to do it back-to-back games. Former Big Eight Conference MVP Bridget Turner did it in back-to-back games during the 1988-89 season and leads all CU guards with nine total points-rebounds double-doubles. Lubin joins three other guards with two points-rebounds double-doubles and included in that list is teammate Whitney Law who had a pair last season. Lubin had 13 points and 13 rebounds against Utah State and had 15 points and 10 rebounds at CSU.
McFARLAND DOUBLES: Sophomore forward Jackie McFarland hads 10 double-doubles this season, tying for the fifth-best single-season mark in team history. She is just the third individual to achieve the feat as Lisa Van Goor (3) and Erin Scholz (2) hold the other five instances. McFarland, who currently ranks second in the Big 12 in double-doubles, has 15 for her career, ranking seventh on CU's all-time list.
CLIMBING THE ?3' LADDER: Jasmina Ilic hit one 3-point field goal against Iowa State to move into sole possession of ninth place on CU's all-time list with 75. She needs 10 more 3-pointers to pass La Shena Graham (1994-98) who currently resides in eighth place with 84.
Junior Anna Nedovic had a pair of 3-pointers against Iowa State to move into sole possession of 14th place on CU's all-time list with 46.
BLOCK PARTY: Sophomore Jackie McFarland is 11th on CU's all time list for blocked shots with 52. She has 28 this season -- four more than her freshman season total -- including a school-record tying eight in one game against South Dakota State on Dec. 28. McFarland needs seven blocks to move into the career top 10.
MILESTONES GALORE IN SEASON OPENER: Several milestones were reached in Colorado's season-opening 100-71 win over Cal State-Fullerton.
Junior Jasmina Ilic and sophomore Jackie McFarland each had 34 points, both career highs, marking the first time in team history two players hit the 30-point mark in the same game. McFarland recorded her sixth career double-double, grabbing a personal-high 15 rebounds. Ilic also had a personal-best 12 field goals and tied a career mark with 10 rebounds.
Senior Whitney Law dished out a school record 15 assists, breaking the previous record of 14, which was done twice, last by La Shena Graham vs. Missouri in 1998. She also had nine assists in the first half, breaking a 26-year old school record. Sandy Bean recorded eight assists in a half against Northern Colorado on Feb. 1, 1979.
Colorado recorded its first 100 point game since a 114-52 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 1994. CU's 58 first-half points tied for the sixth-most in team history, a feat also achieved against TCU on Dec. 7, 1993 and vs. St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 1994.
CLASSIC IN REVIEW: Colorado placed third in the 19th Annual Coors Classic Tournament Nov. 25-26 at the Coors Events Conference Center. The Buffaloes fell to Northern Iowa, 74-65, in overtime marking the first time in Coors Classic history that CU lost a first round match up. Colorado rebounded to take the consolation game from Utah State, 73-56. Northern Iowa would go on to take the tournament title by defeating Illinois 71-47.
Jackie McFarland was named to the All-Tournament team as she averaged 18 points, 8.5 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Northern Iowa senior center Cassie Hager, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against CU, was the tournament MVP.
WALLACE ACTIVATED: Junior forward Courtney Wallace has waited more than a year to put on the Buffaloes uniform and now laces them up with the rest of the squad. Wallace, a walk-on transfer from CU-Colorado Springs, was officially added to the active roster on Nov. 17. Wallace practiced with the Buffs for most of last season as she sat out her NCAA mandated redshirted year after transferring from the Springs campus. She has been practicing and conditioning with the Buffaloes since the start of the school year. Wallace played two years for the Mountain Lions and was a two-year letterwinner for Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, graduating in 2004.
McCONNELL-MILLER 100 IN DEBUT: Kathy McConnell-Miller led Colorado to the century mark in her first game as head coach, by far the best total of any current Big 12 Conference coach in their debut at their school. Bill Fennelly of Iowa State was the closest as he led the Cyclones to an 82-55 win over Idaho State in his debut in 1995. Ironically, McConnell-Miller is not the first Colorado women's coach to debut with a 100-point performance. Sox Walseth led the Buffs to a 107-73 win over Colorado Women's College in his first game as women's head coach on Nov. 18, 1980. Here is the list of current Big 12 coaches and their first games:
Coach, School Opponent Date W/L Result
Kathy McConnell-Miller, Colorado Cal State Fullerton 11/18/05 W 100-71
Bill Fennelly, Iowa State Idaho State 11/24/95 W 82-55
Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech Abilene Christian 11/19/82 W 78-64
Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Baylor Miami (Ohio) 11/18/00 W 75-62
Cindy Stein, Missouri Bradley 11/19/98 W 73-57
Jody Conradt, Texas McLennan CC 11/22/76 W 72-58
Kurt Budke, Oklahoma State Texas State 11/19/05 L 69-77
Deb Patterson, Kansas State Memphis 11/22/96 W 68-60
Connie Yori, Nebraska Grambling State 11/22/02 W 63-40
Sherri Coale, Oklahoma Oral Roberts 11/22/96 W 62-50
Gary Blair, Texas A&M La Salle 11/22/03 L 62-67
Bonnie Henrickson Texas-Arlington 11/21/04 L 49-53
BUFFS IN OPENERS: With its win over Cal State-Fullerton, Colorado moved to 27-5 (.844) all-time in season openers and a whopping 31-1 (.969) all-time in home openers. CU has won six straight season debuts and 19 of its last 20 with the lone loss in that span coming at Denver on Nov. 19, 1999.
BUFFS IN PRESEASON: After its loss to Oregon, Colorado dropped to 5-7 overall meaning the Buffaloes string of five straight seasons of .500 or better during non conference action will end. It will be only the third time CU has finished below .500 during the nonconference schedule in the Big 8/Big 12 era going 5-6 in 1999-2000 and 4-9 in 1984-85.
BUFFS PICKED 12TH: Colorado was picked to finish 12th in the annual Big 12 Conference Coaches Preseason Poll. CU received 14 points meaning no less than eight Big 12 coaches picked the Buffaloes to finish in the 12th spot (coaches do not vote for their own teams). It is the first time the Buffaloes have been picked lower than eighth since the coaches poll began in 1997. Defending NCAA champion Baylor was picked to win its second consecutive Big 12 title, landing six first place votes and 113 total points to edge out second place Texas with two first place nods and 110 points. Texas Tech was a close third with the four remaining first place votes and 108 points. Oklahoma was fourth (91), followed by Nebraska (70), Kansas (66), Texas A&M (59), Kansas State (56), Iowa State (45), Missouri (37), Oklahoma State (23) and Colorado.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado once again faces a tough schedule, featuring at least 14 games against 2005 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Defending national champion Baylor, who the Buffs will face in Waco on Feb. 22, is the highest ranked team on the schedule, checking in at No. 8 in the most recent USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and No. 9 in the AP poll. Oklahoma is 13th in the AP poll and 17th in the coaches poll. Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas are receiving votes in both polls. Iowa State is receiving votes in the AP poll while Kansas appears in the receiving votes column in the coaches' poll.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 294-83 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.780). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 18 of the previous 27 years including five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94). Colorado had a rare sub-.500 season last winter at 5-9, marking just the second time the Buffs have been below .500 for a season in the 27-year history of the CECC.
BUFFS ON TV: Colorado's schedule features seven games that will be televised either regionally or nationally by Fox Sports Net. All but one of the FSN games is in Boulder, with the lone exception at Colorado State on Nov. 30. Buffs fans will see a familiar face on their TV sets during those games as longtime CU coach Ceal Barry is scheduled to provide the color commentary on a majority of the broadcasts.
UP NEXT: Colorado play its next two Big 12 games on the road, beginning with a trip to the University of Nebraska on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. MST, in Lincoln, Neb.