Colorado University Athletics
NO. 12 COLORADO TAKES DEEP-BREATH FOR TOP-RANKED LONGHORNS
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - On a campus in need of a wholesome diversion, the timing couldn't be better: No. 12 Colorado will host top-ranked Texas in a Big 12 Conference showdown Saturday night.
"It's exciting," said Buffs center Tera Bjorklund, who will be matched up against fellow All-America candidate Stacy Stephens. "It's always fun to be able to say you play against the No. 1 team in the nation."
Only three times in its 29-year history has the Colorado women's basketball team played a top-ranked team. They are 0-3, but have never lost by more than 6 points. The last game was in 1995.
"This is the first time anybody on this team has ever gotten to play against a No. 1 team," senior guard Kate Fagan said.
The showdown comes as Colorado deals with the fallout of a recruiting scandal in its football program. The school is investigating allegations that sex and alcohol were used to lure recruits.
Texas (22-2, 10-1 Big 12) sits atop the Big 12, just ahead of Kansas State (18-3, 9-1) and Colorado (19-3, 7-2).
Colorado coach Ceal Barry said her team has maintained its composure this season, but will probably be fired up for Texas.
"We're going to have to block out, that's No. 1," she said. "And secondly, we're going to have a good defensive effort on their inside game."
At 6-feet-5, Bjorklund has 4 inches on Stephens. But Barry said the Texas center will be a difficult matchup for her team.
"She's got experience, strength," Barry said Thursday. "She's got huge hands, so she can really catch the ball and she scores a lot of points on putbacks. Defensively, she's really tough because she uses her size to push you around."
The Longhorns also rely on junior point guard Jamie Carey, a former Thornton prep star. It will be Carey's first game in Colorado as a collegian.
"There will be lots of people I know coming to the game, but when the ball goes up, all that goes away and it's just another game," Carey said Wednesday after the Longhorns' 66-55 victory over Texas A&M.
One of the Buffs who will try to slow down Carey will be freshman guard Emily Waner. She remembers Carey from her high school days.
"I'd go to those camps and she was all anybody talked about," Waner said. "I'm a little bit intimidated, but I'm trying to get over it."
Barry sees the game to see how her team stacks up against a potential national champion. Colorado was blown out by Minnesota early in the season and has twice lost to Kansas State.
"To me, these are top-five teams: Minnesota, Texas, Kansas State," Barry said. "They could all win the national championship. ... You kind of want to be in the ballpark."