Buffs Open 2015-16 Season Saturday, Host Loyola Marymount

THE GAME: The University of Colorado hosts Loyola Marymount in its 2015-16 season opener on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.

BROADCAST: Saturday's game will air live on KKZN 760 AM. Cory Lopez returns for his second year as Colorado's full time women's basketball play-by-play voice and Carol Callan of USA Basketball will provide the color commentary. A free live video stream will be available through Colorado's Pac-12.com video player. All CU women's basketball home games that are not televised will be available through Pac-12.com at this link
http://pac-12.com/videos/university-colorado
Non-televised Pac-12 road games are scheduled to be available on the opponents' similar video player, free of charge.

ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado head coach Linda Lappe begins her sixth season at the helm for the Buffaloes as the team will look to return to the postseason after missing it for the first time last season under Lappe's tenure. In 2014-15, the Buffs posted a 15-17 overall record and went 6-12 in Pac-12 play, finishing ninth.

Colorado returns seven letter winners from last season's roster and a highly touted group of five newcomers, four of whom are freshmen. The Buffaloes will turn to forward Jamee Swan for continued leadership both on and off the court as she is the lone senior on this year's team. As a junior, Swan led the Buffs in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.

Juniors Haley Smith and Lauren Huggins will provide support on the wing along with freshman Makenzie Ellis. Smith and Huggins are each coming off sophomore campaigns where they averaged 9.4 and 4.5 points, respectively.

Sophomore Brecca Thomas will be joined by freshmen Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson at the guard position to help run the backcourt. Thomas played in all 32 contests last year and tallied 40 assists, while averaging 3.3 points per contest.

Junior forward Zoe Beard-Fails and sophomore center Zoe Correal are also back and will be pivotal underneath as they each saw playing time in all 32 games during 2014-15.

Freshman Monica Burich and sophomore Ariana Freeman, both new faces on the team will not see action this year. Burich is out for the season with a torn ACL and Freeman will redshirt after transferring from Louisville.

GAME 1 FUN: All tickets to Saturday's opener are only $1 each. In addition, selected concessions will also be available for $1, including hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and soda. Tickets can be purchased on the day of the game or online by visiting CUBuffs.com/tickets. Season ticket holders will receive an extra perk with an exclusive t-shirt giveaway.

WHAT'S NEXT?: The Buffaloes return to the Coors Events Center and will host in-state opponent Northern Colorado on Thurs., Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. Colorado is 10-6 all-time against the Bears and have won seven straight meetings.

BUFFS EXHIBITION: The University of Colorado women's basketball team continued their perfect record in exhibition games on Saturday night defeating USC-Aiken, 86-46 at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes are now 26-0 all-time in exhibition contests.

“It was fun to see our players get excited about putting on their uniforms for the first time,” said head coach Linda Lappe. “We've been working really hard, they've been working really hard since the end of August and really the last four, five weeks of practice. They deserve to be able to finally put on those uniforms.”

This exhibition was slightly different than those in the past because of new rules for women's basketball. Instead of two halves, the teams played four 10-minute quarters, but the Buffs took the changes in stride.

In addition to the rule changes, Colorado has four freshmen who had never seen action in a collegiate game. Two of them, Makenzie Ellis and Kennedy Leonard, were part of the starting line-up.

“I thought they did a nice job,” Lappe said of the freshmen. “The great thing about it is that I don't even look at them as freshmen necessarily anymore. They've really earned that and they come to practice every single day and work hard. They are able to catch on to things fast.”

Leonard certainly excelled, recording 14 total points and dished out eight assists in the 26 minutes she played.

“I thought we all played really well for our first game. Nobody came out scared, so I think that was really good,” said Leonard. “We did a lot of things that we were doing well in practice that we put into the game. I think we have a lot of things to work on when we go back to practice. I think for the most part a lot of us went out there like we were ready to play and ready to go. I think that's a positive for the rest of the season.”

In the first quarter, the Buffs and Pacers had eight lead changes, but the period ended with CU in the lead, 19-18 and the Pacers never caught up.

Early in the second quarter, sophomore Brecca Thomas broke away with the ball toward the basket to make a lay-up and brought the score to 22-18. After the surge in energy, CU never slowed down. Junior Lauren Huggins hit a three pointer late in the second quarter and pushed the lead to 42-26. In total, the Buffs had five three-pointers in Saturday's game and took a 42-26 advantage into halftime.

The Buffs continued to play strong defense in the third quarter and held USC-Aiken to just eight points over the 10 minutes. After a three-pointer from freshman Alexis Robinson, the Buffs ended the third quarter with a 76-34 lead.

“You want effort on the defensive end and then just positioning and understanding what position we are supposed to be in,” Lappe said. “They communicated really well. They were calling screens really well. They were helping each other out. The first quarter, there were a few miscommunications but we got those fixed and I liked our effort and thought we had pretty good positioning.”

Colorado finished with 42 points in the paint, while the Pacers had eight. USC-Aiken had 11 points off turnovers and the Buffs earned 32 total.

“Starting fast and finishing strong is something we talk about here in practice, in the weight room, all of the time no matter what we're doing,” said senior Jamee Swan, who led the team with 19 points in 22 minutes on the floor. “I think our team is going to do really well this year. We're going to start fast in every game and finish strong.”

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Loyola Marymount went 7-24 in 2014-15 and was 4-14 in West Coast Conference play, finishing seventh overall.

The Lions return eight letterwinners from last season's roster and three starters, including junior guard Leslie Lopez-Wood, who led the team in scoring as a sophomore with 13.5 points per game.

Senior guard Sophie Taylor also returns, coming off a junior campaign in which she averaged 11.7 points per outing, third most on the team and was second on the squad, grabbing 6.2 rebounds during each contest.

The Lions played in a pair of exhibition games as a tune-up for the regular season, winning both on their home court. They first defeated Cal State San Bernadino by a score of 64-59 and then earned a 20-point victory over Bethesda, 101-81.

Loyola Marymount is led by fourth-year head coach Charity Elliott, who is 29-63 in three seasons at the helm for the Lions.

THE SERIES: This will be the third meeting between Colorado and Loyola Marymount and first in over 10 years. The Buffaloes won the previous meeting a 75-58 decision on Nov. 19, 2004, in a neutral site contest. Colorado is 26-10 all-time against teams that currently make up the West Coast Conference.

The Buffaloes are 1-1 all-time against the Lions. Linda Lappe has never faced Loyola Marymount as head coach of the Buffs.

FOR OPENERS: Colorado is 36-5 (.878) in all-time season openers and has won the last 15. The Buffaloes will start the season with a home game for the 29th time in 42 seasons. Colorado is an outstanding 39-2 (.951) all-time in home openers and has never lost its overall season opener when played at home (28-0).

All-Time Home Openers
11/28/75 FLATIRONS W 49-42
11/18/76 ST. MARY'S W 80-56
11/11/77 HELPING HAND W 79-38*
11/25/78 NEBRASKA W 63-62
11/16/79 COLORADO STATE W 112-48*
11/18/80 COLORADO WOMEN'S COLLEGE W 107-73*
11/18/81 PACIFIC CHRISTIAN W 108-43
11/19/82 UTEP W 76-45*
11/18/83 BYU W 89-72*
11/28/84 NEW MEXICO W 71-69
11/23/85 ADAMS STATE W 106-54*
12/2/86 WYOMING W 80-57
12/3/87 PURDUE W 79-55
11/25/88 DAYTON W 86-53*
11/24/89 WESTERN ILLINOIS W 78-59*
11/23/90 GONZAGA W 87-59*
11/22/91 WICHITA STATE W 82-55*
12/8/92 ARKANSAS W 94-67
11/26/93 WEBER STATE W 84-53*
11/25/94 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN W 72-48*
11/15/95 NEW MEXICO W 63-56*
11/29/96 BOWLING GREEN W 74-62
11/22/97 BYU W 84-68*
11/14/98 DENVER W 70-58*
11/21/99 MICHIGAN L 63-77
11/17/00 ALBANY W 93-43*
11/9/01 ORAL ROBERTS W 78-49*
11/22/02 RICE W 85-66*
11/14/03 OLD DOMINION W 84-67*
11/26/04 PENNSYLVANIA W 69-49
11/18/05 CAL STATE-FULLERTON W 100-71*
11/10/06 SAN FRANCISCO W 62-56
11/23/07 SIENA L 74-83
11/16/08 UCF W 86-59*
11/15/09 UC IRVINE W 61-56
11/12/10 REGIS W 76-38*
11/11/11 NORTHERN ARIZONA W 84-60*
11/11/12 IDAHO W 70-65*
11/15/13 ALCORN STATE W 83-33
11/15/14 NORTH DAKOTA W 68-59*
*Also Season Opener

CLOSING IN ON 100: Linda Lappe only needs two victories to reach 100 wins as Colorado's head coach. She is 98-69 through five seasons and her career record stands at 148-105 in eight seasons.

DOMINANT IN NON-CONFERENCE: The Buffaloes have been dominant in regular season nonconference games under Linda Lappe. Colorado is 50-10 in that stretch since the beginning of the 2010-11 season. The Buffaloes have won 43 of their last 49 regular season nonconference contests.

RETURN TO 'D': Defense has been a staple to the Colorado program under Linda Lappe and for the Buffaloes to be successful in 2015-16, toughness on that side of the court will once again be paramount as the Buffs look to make a priority once again this year after facing some challenges last year.

Three of Colorado's top four single-season field goal percentage defense totals have come under Lappe's direction. The 2012-13 NCAA Tournament team set the bar with a school-record effort at .350. The 2013-14 season's squad came in with the third-best total at .369 and its total during that same year ranked third on the Pac-12 leaderboard and 34th in the nation.

Two of Colorado's top 10 scoring defense totals have come under Lappe's reign including a school-best 54.5 ppg in 2012-13. Three of CU's top 10 rebounding margins have also come in that time frame, including 2013-14's mark of plus-5.0, the eighth best in team history.

HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 404-142 all-time record at the Coors Events Center (.740). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CEC in 26 of 37 years. The Buffaloes have enjoyed five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94) at the CEC. Colorado was 10-7 at Coors in 2014-15.

BUFFS SIGN STANDOUT GUARD RICE TO LETTER OF INTENT: Bria Rice has signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of Colorado women's basketball team and continue her education beginning in 2016-17, head coach Linda Lappe announced on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's early signing period.

“Bria is a high energy player who will increase our overall speed and athleticism especially on the defensive end of the floor,” said Lappe. “She will give us depth in the guard position and we look for her to compete as a freshman. She has high character and loves to win so she fits in great here at Colorado.”

Rice, a 5-foot, 8-inch guard from Federal Way, Wash. is preparing for her senior year at Todd Beamer High School where she helped lead the Titans to a school best third-place finish at the 2015 Class 4A state girls' basketball tournament.

“When I came to Colorado on my official visit, I already felt like I belonged as the team and coaches felt like family,” said Rice. “I am looking forward to getting better and using my skills to help the team continue to improve.”

The Washington native earned a scout grade of 90 on ESPN.com and is described as a jet-quick floor leader, pesky defender in pressure while flourishing in up-tempo situations.

The high school standout averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.5 steals as a junior and has guided her team to three-straight 20+ win seasons, culminating in an impressive 73-9 record.

Rice refers to her style of play as intense and aggressive, and will look to bring that same approach with her when she steps onto campus next fall.

“The fact that the team pushes each other, I love that,” Rice said. “Because if you're not pushing each other you're not making each other better. Not only are they there to encourage each other they are there to make each other better and I'm excited to be on a team that has the same mentality that I do.”

Rice has earned numerous accolades during high school. She was voted the 2014-15 SPSL 4A Northwest Division Most Valuable Player, which Rice highlights as the biggest moment of her high school career thus far. Her MVP honors came in the same year she helped Todd Beamer qualify for the state tournament for the first time in school history. She also was named The News Tribune's Girls All-Area Basketball Player of the Year.

In addition to her consistent contributions to the Titans, Rice played AAU for Tree of Hope in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, the same team current Buff Haley Smith was a member of during her prep career. Rice's team placed second in 2014 and then earned a third place finish in 2015 at Nike Nationals.

BUFFS ON TV: Colorado women's basketball will be televised to a regional or national audience at least 16 times during the regular season, including 14 games on the Pac-12 Networks during league play. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Buffaloes will have double-digit regional or national television appearances.

Colorado's first scheduled appearance will be at Kentucky on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 12 p.m., on the SEC Network. A second non-conference contest will be televised on Saturday, Dec. 12 when the Buffs host former Big-12 opponent Missouri at the Coors Events Center, slated for a 1:30 p.m. MT tip off.

Colorado's first four Pac-12 games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks as will seven of the Buffaloes' nine home conference games. All remaining home games, and conference road games, that aren't televised will be scheduled to be streamed live through Colorado's Pac-12.com video portal.

Entering this season, Colorado has tipped off on 143 national or regional telecasts since the fall of 2001, and 44 since the advent of the Pac-12 Networks in 2012.

BUFFS IN EXHIBITION: Colorado improved to a perfect 26-0 in exhibition games with its 86-46 win over USC-Aiken on Nov. 7. The Buffaloes have outscored their opponents by 32 points per game (86.0 to 54.0) in those contests. The Buffaloes have played at least one exhibition game in all but one year (2009) since 1997. CU's exhibition games have featured a mix of NCAA II schools, foreign teams and traveling all-star teams. CU's closest exhibition contest came in 1997, a 77-72 win over Athletes in Action.

BUFFS PICKED NINTH: In what is expected to be one of the most competitive league races in recent memory, Colorado was tabbed to finish ninth in the 2015-16 Pac-12 Conference standings according to the annual coaches preseason poll, announced at Pac-12 Media Day on Oct. 14.

Oregon State was voted the preseason favorite for the first time in the history of the poll, claiming 121 points and 11 first place votes. Stanford was second with 104 overall points. The other first place nod went to Arizona State, selected to finish third overall with 102.

California and UCLA were fourth with 88 points apiece followed by was fourth with 84 points followed by Washington (68), USC (60), Oregon (52), Colorado (39), Washington State (30), Utah (23) and Arizona (17).

In the media's preseason poll, Colorado was also picked ninth with 88 points.

BUFFS HOST FIFTH ANNUAL ONE-ON-ONE EVENT AHEAD OF SEASON TIP OFF: The University of Colorado women's basketball team welcomed fans to the Coors Events Center on Tuesday evening for its fifth annual One-On-One event.

A favorite among many, the premise of the One-On-One event is to have each student-athlete pair up with a prominent female member of the university's faculty/staff and get to know them outside of a classroom or office setting. The pairs then introduce each other to fans in attendance for the main program.

The campus leaders participating this year included department directors, professors and PhD candidates.

Student-athletes and their presenters first sat down at a team dinner to learn about one another. After the dinner concluded, the public event began with a reception where players, the coaching staff and campus leaders greeted the fans in attendance. Former head coach Ceal Barry, who held a similar event during her tenure, served as the event's emcee and brought each player and presenter to the stage.

Each presenter introduced their student-athlete and what they learned about them before asking a question for the player to answer. Questions included everything from a fun, light-hearted “if you take a trip anywhere in the world where would you go?” to “if you had the choice to eliminate either world hunger or all types of discrimination what would you choose?”

“I had a great time,” said freshman Kennedy Leonard as she thanked her presenter Cindy Pickett, senior executive aide to the senior vice chancellor & CFO.

The evening was filled with quite a few laughs and entertainment, especially when the student-athletes took the mic to answer the questions, which allowed their personality to shine through. The event also allowed the fans in attendance to get to know each student-athlete a little bit better as some presenters talked about each players' favorite hobbies, goals after college among other topics.

The program closed with head coach Linda Lappe thanking the campus leaders for their continued support and involvement with the event and fans for coming to support the team ahead of tip off to the 2015-16 season.

BURICH TO MISS SEASON: Freshman Monica Burich will miss the 2015-16 women's basketball season after tearing the ACL in her left knee.

Burich, a 6'2” forward, suffered the injury during a routine practice drill late in October.

A three-sport high school standout from Roseville, Minn., Burich averaged over 18 points per game and nine rebounds as a senior. She finished her prep career with 1,266 points, 830 rebounds, 342 assists and 302 steals and was a two-time Class 4A All-State selection by the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association.