Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Begin Three-Game Homestand, Face NAU Wednesday
December 09, 2015 | Women's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado begins a three-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 9 when they host Northern Arizona at the Coors Events Center. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. MST.
BROADCAST: Wednesday's game will air live on KKZN 760 AM. Cory Lopez has the call alongside Carol Callan of USA Basketball. 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 the Pac-12.com at this link: http://pac-12.com/videos/university-colorado.
ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado is 3-4 overall and will look to snap a three-game skid. Most recently, the Buffs dropped a road contest against Long Beach State on Sunday, Dec. 6 by the score of 59-42.
Collectively on offense, the Buffaloes are averaging 67.4 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the field. Colorado is a stellar 78 percent at the free throw line, second in the Pac-12 Conference and ranks six in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 36 percent of their shots from behind the arc.
Defensively, the Buffs are holding their opponents to 37 percent shooting and CU records an average of 30.3 defensive rebounds per game where Colorado ranks fourth in the Pac-12.
Freshman Kennedy Leonard has made quite the impact for the Buffaloes in such a short amount of time. She enters the game as Colorado's second leading scoring, averaging 12.7 points per game and has also dished out a team-leading 38 assists, averaging 5.4 in each contest.
On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Leonard is fourth in assists, sixth in free throw percentage (.818), 14th in assist/turnover radio (1.5) and 23rd in scoring.
In her final year playing in a Buffs' uniform, senior Jamee Swan has been consistent with her play over the season's first six games. Swan is averaging a team-best 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while hitting 41 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free throw line. Swan has also recorded a team-leading 12 blocks on the season.
Swan ranks 21st in the Pac-12 in scoring, seventh in free throw percentage, 14th in overall rebounding, ninth in defensive rebounding (5.9) and is tied for sixth in blocked shots (1.7 bpg).
Junior Haley Smith has remained a constant in the Buffs' starting line-up, while averaging a 9.9 points per game and 5.3 rebounds. She has been one of Colorado's most accurate shooters from the field with a .492 field goal percentage and has gone 8-of-9 (.889) from the free-throw line.
Junior wing Lauren Huggins is averaging 8.6 points per game and is second on the team in 3-point shooting, connecting on 16-of-44 from long range (36 percent). Huggins hit four of her five 3-pointers against Loyola Marymount and tied a career-high with 16 points in the Buffs' win. She is tied for seventh in the Pac-12 for most 3-pointers made this season as she averages 2.3 per game.
Freshman Alexis Robinson has provided a nice spark off the bench averaging 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in about 26 minutes per game. She has posted the team's most accurate shooting percentage from behind the arc at 54 percent (7-of-13) and has connected on 42 percent of her shots from the field. Robinson had one of her best offensive performances of her young career against UMass when she scored a personal-best 21 points.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks arrive in Boulder with a 3-4 overall record and have won two consecutive games after falling in their previous two contests. They defeated New Mexico Highlands 91-43 at home and then followed with a victory over UC Irvine, 71-55 on the road during their two-game winning streak.
The Lumberjacks are anchored on offense by freshman center and Thornton, Colo. native Alyssa Rader, who is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game and 9.7 rebounds. Junior guard Rene Coggins is the Lumberjacks' other player averaging double-digits, scoring 10.4 points each time on the court.
Collectively, the Lumberjacks are scoring 65 points in each game and average 43.3 rebounds. Head coach Sue Darling is in her fourth year at the helm for the Lumberjacks.
THE SERIES: Colorado is a dominating 14-2 all-time against Northern Arizona and has won three of the last four meetings. The Buffs are undefeated at home when facing the Lumberjacks as they hold a perfect 8-0 record in Boulder.
WHAT'S NEXT?: The Buffaloes continue their three-game homestand on Saturday, Dec. 12 when they host Missouri at 1:30 p.m. at the Coors Events Center. It will be the Tigers' first trip to the CEC since 2011.
