Buffs Earn Postseason Big 12 Honors

BOULDER -- University of Colorado senior forward Jackie McFarland has been named to the 2008 All-Big 12 Conference first team for the second-straight season while freshman forward Brittany Spears was named to the All-Rookie team and received honorable mention to the All-Big 12 squad by a vote of league coaches the conference announced on Friday.

Jackie McFarland

McFarland gives Colorado its fourth All-Big 12 first team selection, and ironically both are repeat performers. She joins Tera Bjorklund who received back-to-back honors in 2003 and 2004. A 2005-06 All-Big 12 second team pick, she is just the second Buffalo to be cited three different seasons by the current league joining guard Jenny Roulier who was a three-time third team selection (2000-02). Former CU All-American Shelley Sheetz was a three-time All-Big Eight first team pick.

A native of Derby, Kan., McFarland leads the Buffaloes at 17.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the field. Her numbers remained solid during league play, averaging 18.2 points, 8.1 rebounds per contest while hitting 55 percent from the floor. McFarland has been a regular among the league statistical leaders all season and currently ranks second in field goal percentage and minutes (35.2 mpg), third in scoring, fourth in free-throw percentage (.775), fifth in rebounding and 12^th in blocked shots (1.1 bpg).

McFarland's eight double-doubles in 2007-08 tie for second among Big 12 players and her 45 career doubles are second on CU's all-time list and the fifth best mark in league history. One of only two CU players joining Lisa Van Goor to record 1,800 points and 1,000 rebounds, McFarland ranks fifth in free-throws made (541) and attempted (705) and eighth in rebounds (1,004) on the all-time Big 12 charts.

Brittany Spears

Spears is the first Colorado player to be named to the Big 12 All-Rookie team in the three-year existence of the award. She is the 10^th Buffalo to be given All-Big 12 honorable mention and just the second CU freshman to earn any kind of Big 12 postseason honor joining Linda Lappe who was also an honorable mention pick in 1999.

A native of Pasadena, Calif., Spears leads all Big 12 freshmen in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg) while ranking second in free-throw percentage (.857) and steals (1.8 spg) and fourth in assists (1.8 apg). Her rankings are nearly identical in league only contests, as she leads in scoring (14.1 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg) and blocks (1.7 bpg) while listed second in steals (1.3 spg), third in free-throw percentage (.886) and fourth in assists (1.3 apg).

Overall on the Big 12 charts she is third in defensive rebounds (5.7 rpg), seventh in blocks, eighth in total rebounding, ninth in 3-point percentage (.317), 11^th in steals and 3-point field goals (1.6 3mpg) and 13^th in scoring and field-goal percentage (.423). Spears' 401 points this season are the fifth most by a freshman in team history while her 220 rebounds and 44 blocks rank third on the all-time CU rookie charts.

On Friday Spears earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors for the second week in a row and the fourth time overall. She had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal to help CU to a 63-47 win over Missouri in the regular seaon finale. Spears is the first CU player to earn four Big 12 weekly awards in one season and the Buffs' five overall awards this year -- Bianca Smith was Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 10 -- are also a team best.

Colorado, 16-13 overall, has clinched its first winning season since 2003-04 and is the No. 9 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Championship tournament scheduled for March 11-15, at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Buffs open tournament play on Tuesday, March 11, by facing No. 8 Iowa State (18-11) at 11 a.m. MST.

Colorado University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Bianca Smith

Related Videos