Women's Hoops Begins Sunday

THE GAME: The University of Colorado will play its lone exhibition game of the 2008-09 season against Regis University on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. at the Coors Events Conference Center.

BROADCAST:
Video of Sunday's exhibition game will be streamed live on BuffsTV, the premium subscription package offered through CU Athletics' official website, www.CUBuffs.com.

SEASON PREVIEW:
Colorado saw shining glimpses of a bright future throughout the 2007-08 season. The Buffaloes had an 11-game winning streak, a four-week run in the national polls, big wins over ranked opponents ? both home and on the road -- all culminating with a run to the semifinals of the 2008 Postseason WNIT, their first postseason tournament in four years.

The key for Kathy McConnell-Miller's fourth Buffaloes squad is to keep the momentum from last season going. And all indications are, from the off-season effort of her players, the Buffaloes are well on track to do just that.

"They are physically and mentally prepared for what is to come," McConnell-Miller said. "It was a great transition from the Big 12, to the WNIT run and then their overall commitment this summer. There was sense among the players of maintaining what we had done yet taking it to another level, and that's really the message the players have sent each other."

"Their chemistry on the floor is the best it's been since I've been here," McConnell-Miller said. "They know each other, they read each other. They spent a lot of time in the offseason working out together."

That chemistry will be essential to what will be a more balanced Colorado team. The Buffaloes graduated All-Big 12 forward Jackie McFarland whose name is prominent in the team record book. Instead of relying on one go to player, McConnell-Miller eyes contributions coming from multiple players at different times.

"You're going to see five players on the floor that can score, that can do a lot of different things," McConnell-Miller said. "Where (last season) Jackie was our go to player, I don't see this team defining themselves with a go to player. I think due to the fact that they all are capable scorers, capable rebounders, capable on the offensive and defensive end."

In a contrast to recent seasons, stretching as far back as the final Ceal Barry years, Colorado will be a guard oriented team with a lot of depth in the backcourt. The Buffaloes are also very athletic which allows the coaching staff to mix lineups as several players can play two if not three positions.

Colorado's top returning scorer and rebounder, sophomore guard/forward Brittany Spears, is the prototype athletic player, who could arguably hold her own in four of the five positions. An All-Big 12 Rookie Team selection, Spears had one of the finest first-year seasons in CU history as she led all conference freshmen in scoring (13.9 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg) and was among the league overall leaders in those same categories.

No matter where Spears is positioned on the floor, she will have teammates around her that are just as dangerous. Junior guard Bianca Smith emerged as one of the Big 12's most feared deep shooters last year as she set a school single-season record with 80 3-point field goals. The Buffaloes set a team single-season record with 236 3-pointers last year and have more ammo in their outside attack this season. Sophomores Kelly Jo Mullaney, a transfer from Colorado State who red-shirted with CU last year, and incoming freshman Alyssa Fressle have outstanding outside shots and will contribute right away.

The Buffaloes will be grooming in a new primary point guard this season. With last year's starter Susie Powers graduated and another veteran, junior Whitney Houston, lost for the season with an off-season knee injury, the Buffs will look to a committee of young players to step up. Sophomore Britney Blythe is a true point guard and gained valuable experience in 21 games last season. The Buffaloes can also use Mullaney, Fressle, Smith and even Spears to run the offense.

Colorado's depth stretches out to the three-guard/small forward position where Spears played a bulk of her minutes last year. Senior Hannah Skildum is CU's active leader in games played (92) and brings a hard-nosed defensive presence to the floor. Sophomore Chelsea Dale, who will miss the first part of the season after undergoing ankle surgery in September, and senior Dina Piterniece are both threats from the outside.

Colorado's post play has a different look with the loss of McFarland as well as Aija Putnina who opted to play professionally in her native Latvia. Fifth-year senior Kara Richards is CU's natural back-to-the-basket post player and has played in big games throughout her career. Playing the four spot, or if the Buffaloes feature a two forward set, will be sophomore Courtney Dunn and freshman Julie Seabrook. Dunn, who while being the same size as Richards at 6-foot-4, is more of an outside shooter as opposed to sitting on the block. Seabrook meanwhile, at 6-3, is more in the mold of McFarland or Putnina and will make an immediate impact.

"As much experience as we have returning, we still have some young players that are going to make an immediate impact," McConnell-Miller said. "So our focus is going to be integrating the players that return with our new players to make them as cohesive as they can possibly be when they step onto the floor for the very first game."

ABOUT THE RANGERS:
Regis is an NCAA Division II school located in Denver and competes in the prestigious Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, a league Colorado was once part of during the first half of the 20th century. The Rangers are coming off a 14-14 season in 2007-08 and a third place finish in the RMAC Eastern Division with a 10-9 mark. RMAC coaches predict a similar finish for Regis in 2008-09, as the Rangers were picked to finish third in the East and fifth overall with 58 points in the RMAC preseason coaches poll. Sunday's battle will be Regis' second exhibition of the season as the Rangers fell to the University of Northern Colorado, 85-71, on Nov. 1 in Greeley. Regis officially tips off its season on Nov. 17 by hosting Minnesota State University-Moorhead.

Senior forward Paulina Tuell was a unanimous pick to the 2008 East Division Preseason All-RMAC team. Tuell led the Rangers in 2007-08 by averaging 15.8 points per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field. She began her exhibition season by scoring 13 points and grabbing three rebounds against UNC. Junior post Emily Kuipers led the Rangers against UNC with 15 points while sophomore guard Jacque Machesney added 13.

BUFFS IN EXHIBITION:
Colorado has played at least one exhibition game every season since 1997, featuring a mix of NCAA II schools, foreign teams and traveling all-star teams. The Buffaloes are a perfect 19-0 in those contests, outscoring their opponents by 29.3 points per game (85.9 to 56.6). CU's closest exhibition contest came in 1997, a 77-72 win over Athletes in Action.

The Buffaloes won their lone exhibition game last season, claiming a 58-31 triumph over the Colorado School of Mines. Jackie McFarland led all players with 17 points while freshman Brittany Spears added 10.

Colorado and Regis have met once before in exhibition play with the Buffaloes claiming a 73-62 win prior to the start of the 2005-06 season. Current CU senior Kara Richards, then a true sophmore, scored 20 points in that game off the bench to lead the Buffaloes. Senior Hannah Skildum, then a true freshman, also saw action in that contest grabbing four rebounds and scoring one point in 16 minutes. Current Regis players Jenny Vieira and Emily Kuipers played in that exhibition as well in limited minutes. Vieira scored two points on a pair of free throws.

HOUSTON TO MISS SEASON, DALE OUT UNTIL LATE DECEMBER:
Junior guard Whitney Houston will miss the 2008-09 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on Sept. 24 during team individual workouts. She had successful surgery in October and will be able to use her redshirt season and have two years of eligibility remaining.

Houston has averaged 6.1 points and 1.8 assists for the Buffaloes in 59 games over the past two seasons. She was a starter in 20 of those and was in the mix for the starting point guard position once again. Houston was CU's leader in scoring (4.3 ppg) and assists (1.4 apg) among those that primarily came off the bench in 2007-08 and averaged 6.5 points and just under two assists over the final 15 games.

Additionally sophomore guard Chelsea Dale underwent successful surgery to stabilize ligaments in her right ankle in early September. Dale, who saw action in 12 games as a true freshman in 2007-08, is currently in rehabilitation and is expected to return in December.

BUFFS PICKED 11TH...AGAIN:
For the third straight season Colorado was picked to finish 11th in the annaul Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

Oklahoma was picked to win the 2009 title with seven first place votes and 124 points overall. Texas, earning one first place vote, edged out Iowa State for second place with 95 points. The Cyclones, who actually claimed a pair of first place votes came in third with 93. Baylor was fourth with 89 (and one first place vote), followed by Texas A&M (85), Oklahoma State (79, and one first place vote), Kansas State (71), Nebraska (56), Kansas (41), Texas Tech (36), Colorado (18) and Missouri (15).

The Buffaloes have fared better than the Big 12 coaches preseason prediction each of the last three seasons under Kathy McConnell-Miller:

Season Preseason Actual

2008-09 11th ??

2007-08 11th 9th

2006-07 11th t-7th

2005-06 12th 11th

TOUGH SCHEDULE:
Colorado once again faces a tough schedule with no less than 17 games against 2008 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Six of CU's opponents were ranked in the 2008-09 Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Virginia, Texas and Baylor. Kansas State and Iowa State recevied votes in both polls while Minnesota picked up votes in the coaches poll.

HOME AT THE CECC:
Although the exhibition game will not count in the record books, Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 322-98 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.767). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 20 of the previous 30 years including a 15-6 mark in 2007-08. The Buffaloes have enjoyed five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94) at the CECC.

BUFFS ON TV:
Colorado's schedule features seven games that will be televised either regionally or nationally, all at home and on FSN Rocky Mountain. The Buffaloes will host Nebraska on Saturday, Jan. 31 in a nationally televised contest on FSN. Other games on CU's FSN Rocky Mountain schedule are Colorado State (Nov. 19), Baylor (Jan. 10), Oklahoma (Jan. 21), Texas Tech (Jan. 28), Iowa State (Feb. 7) and Missouri (Feb. 28).

2007-08 REVIEW:
Colorado enjoyed its best season in four years by finishing 19-15 overall and advancing to the semifinals of the 2008 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). CU's 19 wins was its most since the 2003-04 team went 22-8 and advanced to the program's last postseason appearance -- the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

The road traveled by the Buffaloes in 2007-08 was certainly an up and down one. After a 1-2 start, CU embarked on an 11-game win streak, the seventh longest in school history, that included wins over a pair of ranked teams and culminated with a No. 23 national ranking by the Associated Press.

CU's 69-55 win over No. 21(AP)/22(WBCA) ranked and previously undefeated Wyoming on Dec. 5 in Boulder turned heads as the Buffs snapped a 23-game losing streak against ranked teams that dated back to 2003-04. Even more heads turned later that weekend as Colorado upset No. 20/17 Vanderbilt 62-51 in Nashville. For the first time since the 2002 NCAA Tournament CU had wins over ranked teams in back-to-back games and its triumph over the SEC's Commodores was the Buffs first win as an unranked team on a ranked opponents' home floor in more than a decade.

Early season success earned the Buffaloes a four-week run in the AP Top 25 poll, their first appearance since the final balloting of the 2003-04 season. Colorado debuted in the national poll on Christmas Eve at No. 25 and peaked at No. 23 for the polls of Jan. 1 and Jan. 8. With CU's ranking, head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller became the 22nd person in NCAA Division I women's history to play for (Virginia 1986-90) and coach an AP ranked team.

Colorado experienced some growing pains, bumps and bruises during the Big 12 schedule, finishing at 5-11 and ninth in the final league standings. The Buffaloes did have plenty of up moments during the league stretch including a home win over No. 15 and eventual regular season Big 12 champion Kansas State and a 67-52 win over Texas during alumni weekend.

And just how tough was the Big 12 in 2008? Leading the nation in attendance and RPI, 11 of the 12 league teams advanced to postseason play including a record eight to the NCAA's, and all 11 won at least one postseason contest. Other leagues had sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament five times, but only the Big 12 this season saw all eight teams win their first round games.

With eight Big 12 teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament CU, as the ninth place team, gained the league's automatic bid to the Postseason WNIT. The WNIT awarded the Buffaloes a first round bye and four subsequent home games as an electric Coors Events Center crowd saw CU advance to the semifinals of a postseason event for the first time in team history.

The Buffaloes defeated West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga 82-68 in the second round before claiming dramatic comebacks in wins over Villanova and TCU in the third and quarterfinal rounds. CU trailed Villanova by 11 points (55-44) with under six minutes remaining before ending the game on a 20-3 run to claim a 64-58 decision. TCU led Colorado 20-4 in the quarterfinals and still by double-digits in the second half before the Buffs forced overtime and the eventual 96-90 win.

The Buffs magic ended in the semifinals and the first ever CU basketball game played in April as eventual WNIT champion Marquette won 86-72 in Boulder on April 2.

Senior Jackie McFarland a two-time AP honorable mention All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection, led the Buffaloes at 18.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting a Big 12 best 57 percent from the field. McFarland was a Lowe's All-Senior All-American and was named to the WNIT All-Tournament team after averaging 25 points, 9.5 rebounds and hitting 60 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line during her final four games. She was the first player in school history to score 500 points in three different seasons and her 637 points in 2007-08 are the second-most on CU's single-season chart. The second-leading scorer in school history, McFarland eclipsed the 1,900 point barrier against Villanova and joined Lisa Van Goor as the only Buffs to record 1,900 points and 1,000 rebounds. The two-time first team All-Big 12 forward once again could be found among the leaders in most league statistical categories ranking first in field-goal percentage, second in minutes and scoring, third in free-throw percentage, fifth in rebounding and 11th in blocks.

Freshman Brittany Spears had one of the finest rookie seasons in team history. She was selected to the Big 12 All-Rookie team and earned honorable mention to the all-conference squad. Spears earned league Rookie of the Week honors four times this season, the most ever gained by a CU player. She led all Big 12 freshman in scoring (13.9 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocks (1.5 bpg) while ranking second in steals (1.7), third in free-throw percentage (.817) and fourth in assists (1.9 apg). Spears is just the fourth different player in school history to reach 450 points and grab 250 rebounds in a season and the first player to record 50 blocks, 50 assists and 50 steals in one season. Spears ranked second in scoring (472), tied with Erin Scholz (1993-94) for second in blocks (52), third in rebounds (259) and fifth in steals (57) on CU's all-time freshman charts.

Senior guard Susie Powers, a two-year co-captain, ranked among the nation's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio all season and finished second in the Big 12 with a mark of 1.80 (110 assists-61 turnovers). Her season assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior is eighth on CU's single-season list and her career ratio of 1.43 puts her eighth on the Buffs' career charts. Powers' 110 assists this season were the most by a CU player since 2002 and she ranked second in the Big 12 at 3.2 assists per game. Powers had 49 career 3-pointers which tied Erin Carson (1984-88) for 17^th on CU's all-time list. A two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, she is set to graduate in May with her degree in Spanish and Education.

Sophomore Bianca Smith ranked third on the team in scoring at just a tad under 10 points per game. She established new single-season school records by hitting 80 3-point field goals on 217 attempts. Her 80 3-pointers broke Kate Fagan's old record of 79 set in 2003-04. Smith's 112 3-pointers rank seventh on CU's career-list and are the second most by a CU player in her first two seasons trailing only the 128 Shelley Sheetz made from 1991-93. Smith was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 10 after averaging 19.0 points and hitting 57 percent from the field in games against No. 22 (AP)/21 (WBCA) Wyoming and No. 20/17 Vanderbilt.

Colorado took advantage of one of its deepest benches in several years with a host of players contributing in big ways throughout the season.

In the CU frontcourt, junior Kara Richards and sophomore Aija Putnina split time, with Putnina starting for the majority of the season. Putnina had five double-doubles in 2007-08 and her 44 blocked shots are the third most by a sophomore in team history. Richards averaged 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds as a junior, but her numbers increased to 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds over the final 11 games.

Junior Hannah Skildum, who started 16 games in the early portion of the schedule, provided a strong defensive presence to Colorado's back court and averaged 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Whitney Houston was CU's leader in scoring and assists among those players who primarily came off the bench. Over the final 15 games of the season her numbers improved to 6.5 points and 1.9 assists per game while hitting 38 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line. During CU's WNIT run, Houston played at least 24 minutes in each game and was on the floor when it counted most. She averaged 9.5 points and two assists over those four games and turned the ball over just five times, and only once in the final three games.

Colorado averaged 67 points per game while holding opponents to 63 per contest. The Buffs shot 42 percent from the field and were the Big 12's top free-throw shooting team at 75.4 percent. CU outrebounding teams by just under three boards per game and ranked second in 3-point field goals (6.9 3mpg) and third in blocked shots (5.4 bpg) on the Big 12 charts.

UP NEXT:
Colorado will officially tip off the 2008-09 campaign by hosting the University of Central Florida on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 2 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.

Colorado University Athletics

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