Colorado Opens 2009-10 Campaign With UC Irvine

THE GAME: The University of Colorado tips off the 36th season of intercollegiate women's basketball on Sunday, Nov. 15, as the Buffaloes host UC Irvine at 3 p.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center.

Adult general admission tickets are just $1 for Sunday's game and children 13 & under wearing black and gold are admitted FREE. Aditionally, adult general admission tickets are just $5 for the remaining nonconference schedule and kids 13 & under will be admitted free wearing black and gold.

BROADCAST: All Colorado women's basketball games can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Mark Johnson will deliver play-by-play of Sunday's game with Carol Callan of USA Basketball providing color commentary. Live internet audio of all CU basketball games is available on BuffsRadio, a subscription service through CUBuffs.com. Live internet video streaming of Sunday's game is available on BuffsTV, also a subscription service through CUBuffs.com. Please note the BuffsRadio audio and BuffsTV video are separate subscriptions. CU's Journalism School will be providing a television broadcast of Sunday's game to the campus cable network.

SEASON PREVIEW: Colorado head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller hit more road blocks than she and her Buffaloes had expected in 2008-09.

McConnell-Miller knew she was losing one of the best players in school history in All-American forward Jackie McFarland, and it would be a challenge to replace her as the Buffaloes attempted to build on a 19-win season. But the challenge became even more daunting in the offseason when she lost two additional starters. Junior-to-be Aija Putnina decided to return to Europe to play professionally over the summer and just weeks before fall practice, the Buffaloes lost their starting point guard, Whitney Houston, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.

These factors, combined with playing in the nation's premier women's basketball conference, the Big 12, led to the Buffaloes struggling to an 11-18 mark and a last place league finish. But optimism has returned at Colorado. Houston is back, highlighting a back court that is deep and experienced. Add in a Top 40 recruiting class, and the Buffaloes have the makings of an exciting season.

"I am probably as excited as I've been to start a season and coming into a season with a particular group that over the past six months I have grown to absolutely love and build such strong relationships without ever picking up a basketball," McConnell-Miller said. "It is a group of some really strong returners as far as personalities and experience, with a mix of young energetic freshmen."

This will be the first season the Buffaloes' roster is comprised entirely of players brought in by McConnell-Miller as she begins her fifth year at Colorado. She plans to put an electrifying team out on the floor, loaded with offensive weapons.

Colorado returns four of its top five scorers from 2008-09 and that doesn't include the addition of Houston, who has averaged 6.1 points and nearly two assists over her first two seasons. Junior guard/forward Brittany Spears returns as one of the most dynamic players in the Big 12. She led Colorado by averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game as she was named to the All-Big 12 Conference second team. She topped the 1,000 career points barrier at the end of last season, becoming just the second player in CU history to reach that mark in her sophomore season.

Spears has emerged into a leader and go-to player, but she is by no means Colorado's only weapon. Guard Bianca Smith, CU's lone senior in eligibility, is one of the top 3-point shooters in the Big 12 and has repeatedly shown she can light it up in an instant. Twice last season she set school records for 3-pointers made in one half (5) and one game (7) and she ranked in the top three of the Big 12 in both 3-point field goals made and percentage.

After the loss of Houston, Colorado featured four guards who all were playing their first significant minutes in a Buffaloes uniform. Alyssa Fressle, regarded as the top prep player to come out of Colorado in 2008, started the majority of the season as a true freshman. She responded by averaging 7.7 points and a team-best 3.4 assists per game, en route to a spot on the Big 12 All-Rookie team. Junior Kelly Jo Mullaney played her first games for CU after transferring from Colorado State 2007, and averaged 5.3 points per game. She split starting time at point guard with Britney Blythe, who started 15 games as a sophomore. Junior Chelsea Dale, a sharp shooting guard/forward, saw her first extensive playing time at the tail end of the 2008-09 campaign.

All had some expected struggles, but their experience adds a ton of depth to the CU backcourt. Houston's return will be big as she is one of the fastest players on the team. Her ability to break the press and get the Buffaloes into their offense was sorely missed last season.

"Our strength is in our backcourt," McConnell-Miller said. "I think if you ask any of our players, any would attest that our guards have the most experience right now and we are going to rely heavily on our guards to make sure the ball is being taken care of, to make sure we are playing the tempo and the style of play we need to play and we are featuring our strengths."

With the strength definitely in the back court, for the first time in the tenure of McConnell-Miller there is less experience on the front line. Junior Courtney Dunn and sophomore Julie Seabrook are CU's only returning front-line players. Both played limited minutes last year behind fifth-year senior Kara Richards.

Smith and Spears both played significant minutes in the front court last year, along with Dunn and Seabrook. Those four are still logically in the mix, but help is on the way too.

Colorado is excited about its incoming freshman class, rated the No. 32 class in the country by ESPN.com's HoopGirlz. Three in-state signees headline CU's biggest freshman group since 2006. Boulder natives and twin sisters Brenna and Meagan Malcolm-Peck, a pair of 6-foot, 2-inch guard/forwards, had great careers at Horizon High School, guiding the Hawks to the Class 5A state semifinals. Chucky Jeffery, a 5-10 guard, is the two-time Colorado Springs Gazette Big School Girls Player of the Year, helping Class 4A Sierra High school to three consecutive league titles and the 2009 state quarterfinals.

The Buffaloes will also bring in a pair of Omaha natives who fill immediate needs. Kailah Bailey, a 6-0 forward, is a defensive minded player with a knack for rebounding, a spot of concern for the Buffaloes last season. CU also brings in Melissa MacFarlane, a 6-7 post player who will be the tallest player in school history, helping CU's need in the low post.

"We are 14 strong, and I would say one of our strengths this year would be our depth," McConnell-Miller said. "We can go deeper into our bench than ever before."

ABOUT THE ANTEATERS: UC Irvine opened its 2009-10 season with a 64-42 loss against San Diego State on Friday. Junior guard Jade Smith-Williams made her Anteater debut, after transferring from Chico State, leading UCI with 15 points and six assists. Freshman forward Lauren Spinazze came off the bench to score 11 points and grab five rebounds. The Anteaters shot just 26 percent (15-of-58) and committed 25 turnovers. Senior Rebecca Maessen is UCI's top returning scorer from a year ago averaging 12.7 points per game. The Anteaters were 7-23 in 2008-09, finishing in a seventh place tie in the Big West Conference standings at 4-12. UCI was picked to finish ninth in the Big West this season, according to the league's preseason media poll.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the third meeting between Colorado and UC Irvine and the first since 1994. The Buffaloes won both previous meetings as the teams met in a home-and-home series during the 1993 and 1994 nonconference schedules. No. 5 ranked Colorado won 75-54 at UC Irvine on Dec. 30, 1993. Exactly one year later the No. 9 ranked Buffaloes topped the Anteaters 84-47 in Boulder. That 1994 triumph was win No. 5 of CU's school record 25-game winning streak that sent the Buffaloes to the first of their three NCAA Elite Eight appearances.

Kathy McConnell-Miller has never faced UC Irvine as a head coach.

Colorado is 13-6 against teams currently in the Big West. The Buffaloes last played against the Big West in 2006-07, defeating Cal State Northridge at home and losing to Cal State Fullerton on the road.

ON THIS DATE: Colorado is 3-1 in games played on Nov. 15 and 2-0 in Boulder. CU's last Nov. 15 game was a memorable one as the Buffaloes upset No. 15 Notre Dame in overtime, 67-63, in 2003.Colorado is 101-32 all-time in the month of November, including a 81-15 mark at the Coors Events Center.

BUFFS IN OPENERS: Colorado is 30-5 (.857) all-time in season openers and will start the season with a home game for the 24th time in 36 seasons. Colorado is an outstanding 33-2 (.943) all-time in home openers. Colorado has never lost its overall season opener when played at home (23-0).

EARLY SEASON 'WHAT TO WATCH FOR': Junior Brittany Spears and Senior Bianca Smith continue to make their impressions on the CU record book as the new season begins.

Spears, who became just the second player in team history (Lisa Van Goor) to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore, is 22nd on CU's all-time scoring list with 1,002. She is 63 points from cracking the career top 20. She is already in the top 20 in rebounding with 486, needing just 14 to become the 19th player in team history to reach 500.

Smith is fifth in career 3-point field goals made (175) and attempted (474). She needs 22 3-pointers to move into fourth place on CU's all-time list. Smith would need 77 3-pointers this year to break Shelley Sheetz's career mark of 252, but it's possible. Smith holds CU's single-season mark hitting 80 from downtown in 2007-08.

FRESH START?: Starting lineups won't be known until Sunday afternoon, but it's possible Colorado could start at least one freshman in the season opener for the fourth straight year. Forward Meagan Malcolm-Peck and guard Chucky Jeffery are among the possible early rotation players that could get the nod. Bianca Smith was a starter as a freshman in 2006 scoring six points and two steals against San Francisco. Brittany Spears had 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals against USF in 2007. Last year, Alyssa Fressle had 10 points and four steals against UCF. Spears and Fressle would each go on to earn Big 12 All-Rookie team honors in their initial seasons.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado once again faces a tough schedule with potentially 16 games -- or 55 percent of the regular season schedule -- against 2009 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Six of CU's opponents were ranked in the 2009-10 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Preseason poll: Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia and Iowa State. Five are ranked in the Associated Press Preseason poll: Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Kansas. A host of others are receving votes in the intial preseason polls including Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Minnesota.

HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 330-106 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.757). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 20 of the previous 31 years. The Buffaloes have enjoyed five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94) at the CECC.

BUFFS ON TV: Colorado's regular season schedule features nine games that will be televised either regionally or nationally, eight of which are at home. CU opens its first of eight FSN Rocky Mountain games on Wednesday, Dec. 2, as the Buffaloes host Denver University. FSN Rocky Mountain will also televise home games against Virginia (Jan. 2), Missouri (Jan. 9), Iowa State (Jan. 16), Oklahoma State (Jan. 24), Nebraska (Jan. 30), Texas (Feb. 10) and Kansas (Feb. 16). The games against Missouri and Oklahoma State will be televised nationally on FSN as part of the network's Big 12 package. Colorado's game at Kansas State (Jan. 20) is set to air on FSN Kansas City.

Colorado was 2-5 in televised games during the 2008-09 regular season. CU has appeared on 72 regional or national telecasts over the previous eight seasons.

BUFFS SIGN THREE: Shae Kelley, Ashley Wilson and Brittany Wilson have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball and continue their education at the University of Colorado in 2010-11, CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller announced Nov. 12, during the NCAA early signing period. Kelley, a 6-foot forward from Denver, is a two-time All-State honorable mention and All-Denver Prep League pick out of East High School. Kelley will be the fifth Denver Public Schools player to suit up for the Buffaloes and the first since Montbello's Nikki Weddle (1997-99). Ashley and Brittany are identical twin 5-8 guards from Long Beach, Calif. Playing for one of the most storied programs in Southern California, the Wilson twins have won three consecutive CIF Division I state titles with nationally-ranked Long Beach Poly.

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

In one of the closest votes at the top in recent memory, Baylor was picked to win the 2010 title with five first place votes and 109 total points, edging out Texas and Kansas who tied for second with 106 points (3 first place votes each). Texas A&M was picked fourth with 87 votes and picked up the final first place vote. Defending champion Oklahoma was fifth (86), followed by Nebraska (80), Iowa State (59), Kansas State (44), Oklahoma State (41), Texas Tech (38), Colorado (22) and Missouri (15).

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

Season Preseason Actual

2009-10 11th ??

2008-09 11th 12th

2007-08 11th 9th

2006-07 11th t-7th

2005-06 12th 11th

2008-09 SEASON IN REVIEW: Colorado battled through one of the toughest schedules in 35 years of women's basketball in 2008-09. The Buffaloes played in 11 games against ranked teams, the second most in team history and played 17 games in 2008-09 against teams that would go on to qualify for NCAA or WNIT postseason play.

The Buffaloes were 8-5 during the nonconference portion of their schedule, highlighted with wins over Colorado State and 2009 NCAA participant UCF and by capturing the 2009 Paradise Classic tournament title in Honolulu. Colorado defeated Pepperdine and Hawaii on back-to-back afternoons to win the tournament.

Playing in the nation's toughest conference was no more evident than the opening stretch of the 2009 league schedule. CU played four straight games against ranked teams to open the conference season including home games against regular season champion Oklahoma and tournament champion Baylor.

The Buffaloes picked up their first Big 12 win of the season on the road against Missouri and claimed home wins over Nebraska and Kansas during the league season. CU's 75-73 win over Nebraska was a thrilling nationally televised affair in which the Buffaloes rebounded from a 14-point deficit to win in the finals seconds.

Colorado completed its 35th season of women's basketball with an overall record of 11-18 and a 12th place finish in the Big 12 Conference at 3-13.

Sophomore guard/forward Brittany Spears led Colorado and ranked third overall in the Big 12 in scoring at 18.3 points per game, the sixth best single-season scoring average in team history. She became just the second CU player to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore, joining CU Athletic Hall of Famer Lisa Van Goor, and her 530 points this season were the ninth most in team history.

Spears had 12 games with 20 or more points and logged eight double-doubles, five of which came during Big 12 play. She had the highest individual scoring output in the Big 12 in 2008-09, notching 36 against UMass in the first round of the Coors Classic, a Classic record and tying for the third best total in team history (Jasmina Ilic scored 36 against Nebraska on Jan. 4, 2006). Spears ranked second in the Big 12 in minutes (35.4 mpg), seventh in overall rebounding (7.8 rpg), eighth in steals (1.9 spg) and in 3-point percentage (.328), ninth in blocks (1.1 bpg), 10th in field-goal percentage (.434), 12th in 3-pointers made (1.5 3mpg) and 14th in free-throw percentage (.721).

Senior center Kara Richards led the Big 12 in field-goal accuracy at 57.7 percent (153-of-265) while ranking second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg). Over the final six games she is averaged a team-best 20.2 points per contest while shooting 60.8 percent from the field (48-of-79). She ranked 10th in rebounding and scoring in the final Big 12 standings. She had three of her five career double-doubles in the last seven games, including a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against Missouri. Richards had five double-digit rebounding efforts this year, all coming during Big 12 games including back-to-back games of 15 rebounds to start the conference season. Richards was named to the Paradise Classic All-Tournament team averaging 14 points and seven rebounds while hitting 71 percent from the field (12-of-17). Richards eclipsed the 20 point mark six timess, and four times in the final six games.

Junior guard Bianca Smith was third on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per contest and was Colorado's leading 3-point shooter with 63 on the season, ranking third in the Big 12 (2.2 3mpg). Smith had one of the most memorable stretches in team history in January making 20-of-33 (.606) over a four-game span. During that four game run, Smith twice tied the school record for 3-pointers made in a game (7) and in one half (5). She had five games of 5-plus 3-pointers this season and hit 50 percent or better from 3-point range in nine games. Named to the Paradise Classic All-Tournament team, Smith had a game-high 23 points against Hawaii on 6-of-7 from 3-point range, a personal best from downtown in terms of accuracy.

True freshman guard Alyssa Fressle gave the Buffaloes good all-around play. Fressle led all Big 12 freshmen in steals (1.8 spg), assists (3.4 apg) and minutes (30.9 mpg) and was third in scoring at 7.7 per game. Overall in the conference rankings she was ninth in assists, 10th in steals and 11th assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9).

Spears was named to the All-Big 12 Conference second team while Richards was an honorable mention selection. Fressle was named to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team. Richards and senior Hannah Skildum were named to the Academic All-Big 12 team.

Spears earned team Offensive Player of the Year honors while Fressle was named Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year. Richards was the recipient of the Most Improved Player and Ultimate Team awards. Skildum earned the "Sixth-Man" Award and the Crystal Ford Adams Scholar-Athlete Award. Whitney Houston earned the team's Community Service Award while Chelsea Dale earned the Practice Player Award.