Buffs Face USC-Aiken In Exhibition Game Saturday

THE GAME: The University of Colorado hosts USC-Aiken in an exhibition women's basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.

BROADCAST: Saturday's game will not be carried on the radio, however 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.

BROOKS' SEASON PREVIEW: Basketball and most other sports have a simple premise: Games are won by outscoring the other team – or flipping that, by preventing the other team from outscoring you.

The latter half of that principle is called defense, and it's where Linda Lappe's fifth University of Colorado women's basketball team did a collective face-plant in 2014-15.

Offensively, the Buffaloes were just fine, thank you. Defensively . . . better let Lappe explain it:

“Last year it was the best offensive team I've ever coached in what, seven or eight years? And it was the worst defensive team I've ever coached. Consequently it was the worst team record I've ever had.”

The unsightly numbers back Lappe up. Her Buffs finished 15-17 overall, 6-12 in the Pac-12 Conference. And a peek behind those records reveals that Lappe is spot on in saying last season's team might have had problems getting a significant stop against a mediocre high school team.

CU averaged 69.1 points a game last winter and allowed 68.3 – the highest yield in Lappe's five years in Boulder. The Buffs' margin for error was miniscule, their errors were monstrous. Averaging 17 turnovers a game, they were last in the Pac-12 in that category with a turnover margin of minus-5.28.

Couple those lost possessions with a squishy defense and managing even 15 wins borders on miraculous.

Lappe's best defensive team at CU (2012-13) allowed 54.5 points a game – a figure that can atone for a multitude of offensive sins and even compensate for double-digit turnovers on occasion. But a scoring differential of less than a point (69.1-68.3) for a 'D'-deficient, error-prone team is the stuff of nightmares for a hoops coach.

So when practice began in October, the Buffs went back to basics. Which means every time they lace up their sneakers they're thinking first of putting a hand in someone's face, moving their feet faster, fighting through screens, filling passing lanes . . . generally playing stronger defense.

“Offense is putting the ball through the hoop and we can do that,” said forward Jamee Swan, the Buffs' only senior. “But defense is something you don't really learn growing up. The first thing you do when you play basketball is shoot. So we're putting offense on the back burner. We still work on it every day, but our defensive presence is going to be phenomenal this year and I can't wait for everybody to see how fired up we are on defense.”

Swan concedes that she and her 2014-15 teammates, for some reason, ranged from cool to frosty on the idea of defensive dirty work.

“Yeah,” Swan said, “I was very slow on my feet and backtracked from what I had done the season before. I'm not sure what the cause was, but I felt like I was behind in everything. I didn't foul as much as I did the year before but I was never in the right position to play defense.”

Lappe recognized it in Swan and everyone else, but couldn't seem to get the Buffs on the same wavelength. My bad, she admitted at Colorado's annual hoops media day in October: “We felt like we didn't have the right mindset last year, and that's on me . . . . We were a little less aggressive in how we coached defense. This year, we're back to our aggressive defensive style – getting up and pressing the basketball, moving our feet, getting in the gap, passing lanes – just being there, wherever we need to be.

“Last year we didn't play a great system of team defense. We talk about playing five versus one – whoever has the ball is not just going against their opponent, but going against the five that are on the floor. Really it's just taking pride in our defense and understanding that it's how we're going to win.”

With Swan being the only senior and the rest of the roster composed of four juniors, three sophomores and four freshman, the Buffs will be among the youngest teams in the Pac-12. It also will be among the youngest teams Lappe has coached.

But her freshman class is expected to be atypical in terms of its talent and collective basketball IQs. Lappe projects that three of the frosh foursome – 6-2 Monica Burich, 6-2, Makenzie Ellis, 5-8 Kennedy Leonard, 5-10 Alexis Robinson – might be on the floor at any one time.
“They have to be on a fast track . . . they have to catch on quickly,” Lappe said, noting that by the time non-conference play begins on Nov. 14 against Loyola Marymount the young Buffs should be working their way up to speed.

She doesn't expect productivity to suffer because of youth. All, she said, have “high basketball IQs. Things you're normally teaching freshmen that these don't have to learn. They've played at a high level to this point. The things we're teaching them are positioning, getting through screens, offensive sets . . . not angles, how to pass, when to get the ball out of their hands.

“The things that are hard to teach, we're not having to teach these freshmen. It's been a lot of fun for our coaching staff to take the next step with our team . . . there's going to be some bumps along the way and it's going to be a constant learning process. But they're highly, highly competitive kids with great basketball IQs. They want to win and they're great teammates.”

Swan, who led the Buffs last season in scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (7.9 rpg) and blocked shots (1.9 bpg), hopes her final CU team can emulate her first. In her freshman year (2012-13), the Buffs set Lappe's gold standard for defense (54.5 ppg) and reached the NCAA Tournament.

Swan's best memories of that season include “the intensity on defense and everything that we did.” She recalled how Chuck Jeffery and the Malcolm-Peck twins (Meagan, Brenna) “didn't put up with anything.”

The intensity on defense and in everything that we do . . . (relates how Chucky and the Malcolm-Peck twins didn't put up with anything. When you came in after a bad practice, they would pull you aside and say you need to pull your head out of your butt and go.

“I want to recreate that and have Haley Smith (junior wing) be the Meagan Malcolm-Peck of our team and Lauren Huggins (junior wing) be the Chucky Jeffery . . . we need to have people that will make sure that everyone is on target, on the same page.”

That page, of course, is torn from the book on outrageous 'D.' What might have been underemphasized last season has been pushed to the forefront.

“Every single day when our players come (to practice) they have to know that we're going to be tough on the floor, that we're going to be focused, that we can get through anything mentally, any adversity,” Lappe said.

“We're going to be able to score at a high level; we have talented offensive players. But can we defend? I think the Denver Broncos are showing defense can do some really amazing things. When we went to the NCAA Tournament (in 2013-13) we were holding teams under 50 consistently, under 45 consistently. We want to get back to having a presence on the defensive side of things.”

It's all about “getting back to who we are,” she said. “And that's playing defense. If you can play defense, you're on the floor. It's a mindset.”

ABOUT THE PACERS: USC-Aiken is an NCAA Division II school located in Aiken, S.C. and competes in the Peach Belt Conference.

The Pacers are coming off an 18-12 season in 2014-15, finishing second in the PBC at 13-6; advancing to the semifinals of the Peach Belt Conference tournament.

Senior center Kassy Johannsen, a native of Broomfield, Colo. returns for her final year, coming off an impressive junior campaign, where she played in all 30 games, earning 28 starts. She averaged seven points per game along with 2.6 blocks and ranked second in the PBC in blocks and blocks per game.

USC-Aiken is led by Mike Brandt, a Colorado native and Sterling High School graduate, who enters his 14th season at the helm. Brandt is zeroing in on 500 career wins, owning a 498-276 record in 26 years as a head coach.

The Pacers have been picked to finish third in the 2015-16 PBC Preseason Coaches Poll. USC-Aiken will open its exhibition season on Friday, Nov. 6 against Colorado State in Fort Collins before traveling to Boulder. They begin their regular season campaign on Friday, Nov. 13, facing Carson-Newman in Greenwood, S.C.

BUFFS IN EXHIBITION: Colorado is a perfect 25-0 in exhibition games, outscoring its opponents by 32 points per game (86.3 to 54.3). 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. Colorado's last exhibition was a 90-57 decision over CSU-Pueblo prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.

This will be the first time Colorado and USC-Aiken have hooked up in an exhibition game.

SEASON OPENER: Colorado will officially open the 2015-16 season by hosting Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. MT at the Coors Events Center.

The Loyola Marymount Lions were 7-24 overall in 2014-15 and went 4-13 in the West Coast Conference to finish in seventh place. Colorado and Loyola Marymount have met on two other occasions with the series tied 1-1. The last time they faced off was back on Nov. 19, 2004 with the Buffs earning a 75-58 win in a neutral site game.

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 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 Sate, 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.

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.

2014-15 SEASON IN REVIEW: Colorado finished the 41st season of women's basketball with a 15-17 record, along the way exhibiting an exciting brand of basketball that provided its share of memorable moments.

The Buffaloes had their best overall offensive effort in nearly a decade. Colorado had success scoring inside and out, and by utilizing a balanced attack. The more players involved the better as the Buffaloes had a sparkling record of 15-5 when three or more players scored in double digits.

Colorado averaged nearly 70 points per game and hit the 80-point mark eight times. Three-point efficiency was a strength as the Buffaloes led the Pac-12 and ranked eighth in the nation from beyond the arc at 38.2 percent. That figure ranks as the fifth best in team history and the best overall since 2001-02.

The Buffaloes efficiency from the field wasn't limited to the 3-point arc. Colorado's overall field goal percentage of 42.9 was its best mark since 2003-04 and its 74.8 percent showing from the foul line ranks ninth in the team annals.

Colorado also had its share of nail-biting moments. The season featured a school-record four overtime contests, three of which came in the first seven games, and the sixth double-overtime outing in program history. The Buffaloes had 16 games decided by 10 points or less with half of those coming against Pac-12 Conference opponents.

The Buffaloes embarked on one of the most competitive nonconference schedules in recent memory by participating in the 2014 Preseason WNIT, reaching the quarterfinals and finishing with a 2-1 mark. A consolation round win over Arkansas State sparked a season best five-game win streak which included a road win at Denver and also top honors at the 2014 Omni Hotels Classic.

Colorado won its home holiday classic for the 18th time, and in dramatic fashion. After cruising to a first round win against Missouri State, the Buffaloes had their hands full in the championship against Colorado State. Facing a 14-point second half deficit the Buffaloes fought back to win in double-overtime on the heels of Lexy Kresl who sported a triple-double (12 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) en route to Omni Classic MVP honors. Jen Reese also earned All-Tournament honors, registering 26 points and 14 rebounds against the Rams.

Colorado would finish out nonconference play at 7-4, against a schedule that collectively won 60 percent of its games and accounted for eight postseason appearances.

The Buffaloes then entered what would prove to be one of the most competitive Pac-12 seasons in recent years. Five teams would make the NCAA Tournament, the league's most in nine years, plus another two played in the WNIT.

Colorado had a rocky start to conference play dropping its first four, including the season's only meeting with Stanford and California on the road. The Buffaloes regrouped to sweep their home-and-home series with Utah.

After dropping five of its next six, four of which game against postseason teams, Colorado started to gain some momentum for the final stretch run. The Buffaloes put together their best all-around performance to date with a resounding 72-51 win over Washington State. Colorado was also able to celebrate Senior Day in style with an 84-69 win over Oregon.

Having split each of its final three weekends, Colorado finished out the Pac-12 season at 6-12 and in ninth place in the standings. In a season that had its share of highs and lows, the Buffaloes ended with a bang.

As the No. 9 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, Colorado matched up for a first round game with No. 8 USC. The Trojans swept the season series, winning a pair of games by an average of 18 points. But this was a different Colorado team. The Buffaloes shot 53 percent and controlled the game throughout, taking a 75-63 decision and in the process securing their streak of winning at least one game in each Pac-12 Tournament they've competed in since joining the league in 2011-12.

One night later, Colorado turned the heads of the entire nation, knocking off the top seed and No. 8/9 ranked Oregon State, 68-65 in the quarterfinals. Avenging a 22-point loss in Boulder just two weeks earlier, the Buffaloes became the lowest seed to ever defeat a No. 1 or 2 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament. Kresl scored 19 points and tied a tournament record by hitting 5-of-5 from 3-point range. Jamee Swan registered her eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds as Colorado advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three years.

The run came to an end in the semifinals as Colorado fell to No. 4 seed California 68-55, in a closely fought game in which the Bears pulled away late.

Junior forward Jamee Swan led Colorado at 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, earning honorable mention to the coaches All-Pac-12 team. Her 62 blocked shots rank fifth on Colorado's single-season list. She shot 46.7 percent on the season and also led the Buffaloes in free throws made (101) and attempted (141). Swan scored in double-figures a team-best 22 times including six of her last eight and 12 of her last 15. Swan also led the team with eight double-doubles and 10 double-digit rebounding games.

In the Pac-12 Swan ranked second in blocks, fourth in offensive rebounds (3.2 orpg), sixth in overall rebounding, 12th in defensive rebounds (4.8 drpg), 13th in scoring and 15th in field goal percentage.

Senior guard Lexy Kresl was third on the team in overall scoring at 12.4 points per game while pacing Colorado at 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per outing, joining Swan as an honorable mention Pac-12 pick. She was the team's top 3-point shooter at 40.7 percent (61-of-150). Her 61 3-pointers rank 13th on Colorado's all-time season list while her 134 total assists rank 11th.

Kresl was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team as she averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds while hitting 49 percent from the field. On the overall Pac-12 charts Kresl ranked fourth in assists and free-throw percentage (.818), sixth in 3-pointers made (2.0 3mpg), seventh in 3-point percentage, 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio and 19th in scoring.

Senior forward Jen Reese was second in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and field goal percentage (.470). She completed her illustrious playing career as one of only 11 Buffaloes to record 1,200 points and 600 rebounds. Reese recorded double figures in scoring in 21 games including a career and team-season high 30 against UCLA on Jan. 11, the game in which she surpassed 1,000 points in her career.

She finished 2nd in the Pac-12, and 24th in the nation, in overall free throw percentage (.864). Reese topped all Pac-12 players in free throw percentage during conference games hitting 93 percent (40-of-43) and at one point made a team season best 24 straight.

Also on the Pac-12 leaderboard, Reese was ninth in defensive boards (5.3 drpg), 11th in overall rebounding, 12th in field goal percentage and 15th in scoring.

Sophomore guard Haley Smith led Colorado and ranked ninth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.472). She hit 88 percent from the line (51-of-58) but fell just below the minimum number of attempts to be ranked on the league leaderboard. That number was good enough though for the ninth best single-season mark in team history (minimum 50 attempts). Smith was third on the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg) and fourth in scoring (9.4 ppg).

Senior guard Jasmine Sborov started all 32 games and averaged 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds and ranked second on the team in assists with 78. In the win over Oregon she scored 13 points, grabbed a team-best nine rebounds and dished out four assists. Sborov had one of her best all-around games of her career in this season's first game with Arizona scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists. It was her third career double-double, the second this season and first ever against a conference opponent. In fact all three numbers, points-rebounds-assists, are personal bests in a Pac-12 game.

Sophomore wing Lauren Huggins was second on the team with 43 3-pointers and hit 38.4 percent from long range, ranking 11th in the Pac-12. She made 14 of her final 28 from 3-point range including 7-of-13 over her final four contests. Sophomore forward Zoe Beard-Fails averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds and was second on the team in blocked shots with 16. Against Long Beach State she had career highs in points (14), rebounds (8) and field goals made and attempted (7-of-13).

Colorado received help from its freshman class throughout the season. Guard Brecca Thomas led the class in scoring by averaging 3.3 points per game. Forward Zoe Correal was the top rebounder in the group, averaging just over two per game. Correal also hit 55 percent from the field and had 10 blocked shots. Guard Alina Hartmann averaged 2.5 points as a first year Buff and made 45 percent from 3-point range. Center Bri Watts saw spot action in 18 games, including the final six.