Colorado University Athletics
Successful Weekend Brings Multiple Big 12 Awards
November 13, 2006 | Football, General, Women's Basketball, Volleyball
After a successful weekend for many Colorado student-athletes, the Big 12 Conference awarded three -- Ashley Nu'u, Mason Crosby and Jackie McFarland -- with Player of the Week honors.
It is the first time that Colorado has had three winners for the same week and likely just the eighth time two have won simultaneously.
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Nu'u handed out 107 assists in eight games, including all 62 of CU's assists against Nebraska. She averaged 13.38 for the week. The Buffs hit .241 against the Jayhawks and .162 against the Huskers to average a .195 attack percentage. Nu'u also added nine kills, an ace, 15 digs, two blocks and hit .400.
Nu'u directed CU to its first win over Nebraska since Oct. 28, 1997 in front of a Coors Events Center record crowd of 4,111. The loss for NU was just its second conference loss in three seasons and its first loss since falling in the NCAA Championship match in 2005. Prior to the victory, the highest ranked opponent CU had defeated was fourth when the Buffs beat the Huskers in 1997.
In the match against Kansas, Nu'u moved to fourth on CU's all-time career assists chart. She is currently 165 assists from third on the list. With 1,068 assists this season, she is 15th on the single-season assists chart. She is also seventh (1,448) and 13th on the list (1,146).
For the week, Nu'u averaged 1.12 kills, 0.12 aces, 1.88 digs, 0.25 blocks and 1.38 points per game. This is her second Big 12 Player of the Week honor. She was also selected on Oct. 31, 2005 after Colorado knocked off eighth-ranked Missouri in five games at Columbia.
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Crosby scored 15 points, converting all 3 PAT kicks and 4-of-5 fields goals (47, 38, 41, 42, an average of 42.0 per kick) in CU's 33-16 win over Iowa State.
Four of his eight kickoffs went for touchbacks, and three others were not brought back beyond the 20. He ended the day as CU's first 300-point scorer (305). A 65-yard FGA that was about a yard short was a school record for an attempt (and the longest in the NCAA this season). He is 19-of-27 on field goal tries this season, his average make 40.6 yards and average miss from 51.8.
Crosby set a school record for the most points scored against a single opponent with 46; in his career against Iowa State, he was 12-of-13 on field goals and 10-of-11 on PAT kicks; he scored 8 points as a freshman (5-6 PAT, 1-1 FG); 13 as a junior (1-1 PAT, 4-4 FG); 10 as a junior (1-1 PAT, 3-3 FG) and 15 today (3-3 PAT, 4-5 FG).
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This is McFarland's third career weekly honor from the Big 12 as she was twice named the league's Rookie of the Week during the 2004-05 season.
McFarland averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and two steals while shooting 71 percent from the field (17-of-24) in games against San Francisco and No. 16/15 ranked Vanderbilt over the weekend.
McFarland had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 12 rebounds in the season-opening 62-56 win over San Francisco. She scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds along with two assists and three steals against No. 16/15 Vanderbilt. McFarland recorded double-doubles in both games for the 20th and 21st of her career. She had nine points -- a 3-pointer and two conventional 3-point plays -- in the final minute against VU as Colorado nearly erased a 17-point second half deficit.
