Colorado University Athletics
BUFFS LOOK TO EXTEND WIN STREAK TONIGHT AGAINST SYRACUSE
Tera Bjorklund and 13th-ranked Colorado will try for their seventh straight win when Syracuse visits the Coors Events Center on Tuesday night.
Bjorklund had 16 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes and Kate Fagan added 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in a 71-39 triumph over Wyoming on Sunday. Bjorklund, a 6-5 senior forward, played only 12 minutes in the second half as the Buffaloes (9-1) built a 29-point lead.
It was the 28th straight game Bjorklund scored in double figures, and her 21.5 points per game rank second in the Big 12. She also leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per contest. Fagan is the only other player averaging double figures with 14.3 points per game.
With a comfortable lead in Sunday's game, the starters played fewer minutes, resulting in Colorado's bench scoring 24 points.
"I really wanted to get the younger players in there,'' Colorado coach Ceal Barry said. "So I think the biggest thing was I wanted to get those younger players more experience.''
As if losing four of their last five hasn't been disheartening enough for the Orangewomen (3-4), the team recently learned that standout guard Shannon Perry will not return to the team.
Perry, who missed the fall semester due to academic issues, is the only player in school history to have 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 assists. On Monday, she informed the coaching staff and athletic director Jake Crouthamel that she would not rejoin the program next semester, regardless of her academic status, according to the university's sports information office.
Syracuse is coming off an 82-62 setback to Cornell on Dec. 20.
Senior guard Julie McBride scored 22 of her game-high 27 points in the second half, moving into fifth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,285 points.
McBride, who averages a team-best 20.1 points per game, extended her school record to 35 straight games with a 3-pointer.
This is the third meeting between the teams, with Colorado earning a 78-75 overtime win last season for a split of the all-time series.