Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Continue Pac-12 Play, Host Washington State
January 03, 2016 | Women's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado continues Pac-12 play at home, hosting the Washington State Cougars on Monday, Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. MT at the Coors Events Center.
BROADCAST: Monday's game is scheduled to air live on the Pac-12 Mountain and Pac-12 Washington channels. Cindy Brunson will have the call alongside Chiney Ogwumike. The game will also be available on KKZN 760 AM with Cory Lopez and USA Basketball's Carol Callan.
ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado enters Monday's contest with a 5-7 record and is 0-1 in Pac-12 play. The Buffs opened their conference season on Saturday against Washington and after rallying from 20 points down, which included the team scoring a season-high 35 points in the third quarter, Colorado fell just short of the comeback as the Huskies topped the Buffs 76-74 at the Coors Events Center.
Colorado will look to earn its first Pac-12 win of the year against Washington State before embarking on a four-game road trip.
On offense, the Buffaloes are averaging 70.9 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the field. Colorado is a stellar 77 percent at the free throw line, seventh best in the nation and second in the Pac-12 Conference. The team has also found success shooting from long distance as CU ranks tenth in the country and second among Pac-12 teams in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 40 percent of its shots from behind the arc.
Defensively, opponents have shot 40 percent against the Buffs and CU records an average of 27.7 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in that category. Colorado ranks in the top half of the conference—fifth with 5.2 blocked shots per game.
In her final year playing in a Buffs' uniform, senior Jamee Swan has emerged once again as Colorado's top scorer and rebounder. Swan is averaging 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds while hitting 49 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line. Swan has also recorded a team-leading 24 blocks on the season and three double-doubles.
Swan ranks 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring, ninth in free throw percentage, 12th in overall rebounding, is 11th with 5.6 defensive rebounds per game, tied for 13th with 2.3 offensive rebounds a game and is fourth in blocked shots (2.0 bpg).
Freshman Kennedy Leonard has made a significant impact for the Buffaloes in her debut season. She enters the game as Colorado's second highest scorer, averaging 12.8 points per game and has also dished out a team-leading 64 assists, averaging 5.3 in each contest.
On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Leonard is fifth in free throw percentage (.811) tied for sixth in assists, eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.87) and 20th in scoring.
Junior Haley Smith has remained a constant in the Buffs' starting line-up, while averaging 10.1 points per game (30th in the Pac-12) and 5.1 rebounds. She has been one of Colorado's most accurate shooters from the field with a .500 field goal percentage and has gone 18-of-20 (.900) from the free-throw line.
Junior wing Lauren Huggins is averaging 9.1 points per game and is fourth on the team in 3-point shooting, connecting on 27-of-69 from long range for a .391 field goal percentage from behind the arc. Huggins hit four of her five 3-pointers against Loyola Marymount and four of eight against Presbyterian, tying a career-high with 16 points in both contests to help the Buffs earn two victories. The Littleton, Colo. native is sixth in the conference in 3-point field goals made as she averages 2.3 per game and 14th in 3-point field goal percentage.
Freshman Alexis Robinson has provided a nice spark off the bench as the Ashland, Ky. native is averaging 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in about 24 minutes per game. She has posted the team's second best shooting percentage from behind the arc at 50 percent (10-of-20) and has connected on 38 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 WASHINGTON STATE: The Washington State Cougars are 9-4 on the season and 0-2 in Pac-12 play, after dropping its first two conference matches. The Cougars lost a close game at Utah on Saturday, 73-71 and fell to Washington in their Pac-12 opener, 79-64 at home on Dec. 29 after finishing their non-conference season with a 9-2 record. Washington State arrives in Boulder having lost two straight and three of their last four games.
The Cougars are anchored on offense by freshman forward Borislava Hristova, who ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring as she averages 18.3 points per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds in each contest. Senior guard Dawnyelle Awa is second on the team in scoring, averaging 7.2 points and leads the Cougars with 38 assists (2.9 apg).
As a team, Washington State ranks among the top four in the conference in several categories, including blocked shots (5.2 bpg), steals (11.1 spg) and turnover margin (+2.8).
The Cougars have posted a 4-3 record on the road during their 2015-16 campaign and are guided by ninth year head coach June Daugherty.
THE SERIES: Colorado is 4-4 all-time against Washington State and holds a 3-3 record vs. the Cougars since becoming a member of the Pac-12 Conference. This will mark the fifth time Washington State has traveled to Boulder where the Buffs are 3-1 all-time on their home floor against WSU.
WHAT'S NEXT?: The Buffaloes begin a four-game road trip, first traveling to the west coast to face the California Bears on Friday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. MT. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
