CU To Host Northern Colorado Monday
THE GAME: The University of Colorado (7-17, 2-10 Big 12) steps out of Big 12 Conference play to host NCAA Division I Independent University of Northern Colorado (12-10) on Monday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
BROADCAST: MondayGÇÖs game will be broadcast live on KKZN 760 AM, BoulderGÇÖs Progressive Talk Station. Tim Smile will handle play by play duties and is joined by USA BasketballGÇÖs Carol Callan with the color commentary. Internet audio streaming of the game will be available through Yahoo! Sports. Live video streaming of MondayGÇÖs battle will be available to Stampede Online subscribers at CUBuffs.com.
OPENING TIP: Colorado will be looking to break an overall three-game losing streak and a four-game slide at the Coors Events/Conference Center. Northern Colorado has won seven of its last nine and is out for its first win over CU since 1978.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado, which currently resides in 11th place in the Big 12, will be looking for its third win in its last 14 games when the Buffs host the Bears on Monday. The Buffaloes are coming off a 76-56 setback at Texas Tech on Saturday.
The thin air in Boulder has apparently affected the shooterGÇÖs touch this season -- for both CU and its opponents. Colorado is shooting 39.7 percent at home in 2005-06 as opposed to 43.1 percent on the road and its opponentGÇÖs margin is even greater. While CU opponents are enjoying a solid 47.3 percent field-goal percentage at home, in Boulder the BuffsGÇÖ field-goal percentage defense tightens, allowing just 39.6 percent from the field at Coors.
Sophomore Jackie McFarland leads Colorado in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg), just under a season-long double-double. McFarland has 11 games of 10-plus rebounds, the ninth-best single-season performance in team history. Junior Jasmina Ilic is second in scoring (14.8 ppg) and leads CU with 41 3-point field goals, three better than her total from 28 games last season. Ilic has seven games of 20-plus points including a Big 12 season-best 36 against Nebraska on Jan. 4. Junior Anna Nedovic has started all 24 games for the Buffaloes averaging 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Nedovic has had seven or more rebounds in three of the last seven games.
CUGÇÖs back-court trio of senior Whitney Law and sophomores Lauren Lubin and Yari Escalera have put up some impressive numbers. Law, who hit the 20-point mark for the third time this season in the win at Kansas, has ranked among the Big 12GÇÖs top 10 in assists and assist/turnover ratio all season. Escalera, the fourth-best foul shooter in the Big 12 at 81.4 percent, has scored in double digits in four of the last six games and has 16 3-pointers in the last seven. Lubin, who started 11-straight games before being sidelined with a mild concussion, has hit 50 percent of her 3-point attempts this season (11-of-22) and is fourth on the team in assists. Escalera (.814), McFarland (.803) and Ilic (.789) each rank among the top 10 free-throw shooters in the Big 12 for the leagueGÇÖs best free-throw shooting team (.746). Lubin is right there as well at .821, but has dipped under the minimum number of attempts to qualify for the Big 12 rankings.
NOT JUST FRESHMAN ANYMORE: ColoradoGÇÖs freshman duo of forward Caley Dow and guard Hannah Skildum have played key roles off the bench this season. In CUGÇÖs road win over Kansas, the duo combined for 22 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 16 rebounds. Dow recorded her second double-double in three games with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas State. She is ColoradoGÇÖs second-leading rebounder at 5.2 per game and has 35 rebounds over the last four contests. Skildum, averaging 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, has three games of double-digit points this season, all of them on the road against Big 12 teams.
LAST TIME OUT: Sophomore Jackie McFarlandGÇÖs team-high 22 points were not enough as Colorado fell to Texas Tech 76-56 Saturday night at the United Spirit Arena.
The Buffaloes, playing on the road for the first time in 10 days, stayed with Tech for the first 12:58 of the game. Hannah Skildum hit her second 3-pointer of the season with 7:02 remaining in the first half to tie the score at 18.
However, the game got away from Colorado in the final seven minutes of the half. McFarland accounted for the only basket -- a layup with :25 left in the half -- in a 16-2 run by the Lady Raiders to end the period. During the run Texas Tech (12-0, 7-4) was 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line. In comparison, CU was just 1-of-8 during the same stretch and had three turnovers.
Texas TechGÇÖs LaToya Davis had a big night for the Lady Raiders scoring 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds. Center Erin Myrick had 12 points and nine rebounds. Texas Tech, coming off two-straight games of scoring just 48 points, hit 50 percent from the field and 89 percent from the line to reach the 70-point mark for just the second time in its last 11 games.
McFarland hit 9-of-15 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, but was held to a season-low three rebounds. Senior guard Whitney Law had nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Freshman Caley Dow had seven points -- all in the second half -- and five rebounds. SaturdayGÇÖs game was the first time this season the Buffaloes had only one player score in double digits.
In the second half
Texas Tech increased its lead to 20, 51-31, with 12:17 remaining
when Colorado started to make a run.
The Buffaloes connected on five straight field goals and 6-of-8
overall to spark a 14-6 run to get within 12 points at 57-45. Texas
Tech responded with a 10-0 run of its own to put the game out of
reach. Lady Raiders guard Erin Grant scored 12 of her 16 points in
the second half to help Texas Tech hold off the Buffs
charge.
ABOUT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado is 12-10 overall coming off a 75-73 loss to Utah Valley State University on Feb. 11. Freshman guard Jabrenta Hubbard leads the Bears in scoring at 13.4 points per game and is coming off a 34-point performance in the loss to Utah Valley State. UNC, 3-5 on the road this season, will come to Boulder ready to launch it from downtown. The Bears average 8.5 3-point field goals per game and 46 percent of their field-goal attempts come from outside the arc. UNC has four players with at least 23 3-point field goals led by junior guard Jena Fosdick with 41. Junior forward Heather Barbour is second with 36 3-pointers and is also the BearsGÇÖ second-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game. Hubbard is UNCGÇÖs most accurate sharp shooter at nearly 40 percent (31-of-79). Junior center Danielle Hagen, who has 10 3-pointers of her own, is UNCGÇÖs leading rebounder at 6.5 per contest and is the BearsGÇÖ top field-goal shooter at 54.4 percent (74-of-136). The Bears are in their third year of a four-year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I and will officially join the Big Sky Conference for the 2006-07 season.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 14th meeting between Colorado and Northern Colorado with the Buffaloes holding a 7-6 advantage. The two teams meet for the second straight year after a 19-year hiatus in the series. Colorado defeated the Bears 77-58 at the CECC on Dec. 29, 2004. Last yearGÇÖs battle was the first for Northern Colorado as an NCAA Division I school as the Bears were a member of NCAA Division II for the first 12 contests in the series. CU has won four straight in the series with the last UNC win coming in Greeley, 59-53, on Jan. 27, 1978. UNCGÇÖs last win in Boulder was a 55-52 decision on Feb. 12, 1977.
CUGÇÖS LAST 10 GAMES AGAINST NORTHERN COLORADO
Date Result Date Result
12/29/04 W, 77-58 (H) 11/29/77 W, 67-56 (N)
11/26/85 W, 91-50 (H) 11/22/77 W, 62-53 (H)
2/1/79 W, 87-62 (H) 2/12/77 L, 52-55 (H)
12/1/78 W, 87-68 (A) 1/10/77 W, 58-57 (A)
1/27/78 L, 53-59 (A) 2/21/76 L, 55-81 (A)
Kathy McConnell-Miller is has never faced Northern Colorado as a head coach.
RARE LATE BREAK FROM CONFERENCE ACTION: MondayGÇÖs game will mark the first time CU has taken a break in the middle of league play for a non conference game since the Buffaloes participated in the 1997 Big 12/ACC Challenge. CU hosted North Carolina State on Feb. 1, 1997, coming away with a 67-62 win. This will be the latest in the season the Buffaloes have ventured out of conference for a regular season game since CU defeated Colorado College, 83-58, on Feb. 15, 1983, at the Coors Events Center.
McFARLAND NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Sophomore forward Jackie McFarland has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII University Division WomenGÇÖs Basketball first team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
McFarland, an accounting major who sports a 3.97 grade point average, is the lone sophomore joining four seniors on the five-member first team. She is now eligible for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team which will be announced on Feb. 28.
A native of Derby, Kan., McFarland is a two-time member of the DeanGÇÖs List and earned the CU Athletic DepartmentGÇÖs Academic Excellence Award in the fall of 2004 with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She is also a team representative for the Student Athlete-Advisory Committee.
The District VII University Division is comprised of NCAA Division I schools from the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. McFarland is the first CU womenGÇÖs basketball player to be named to the academic all-district team since Randie Wirt was a second-team member in 2004.
RECORD NIGHT FROM ?3GÇÖ: Colorado entered its game at Kansas shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range for the season, but on a night when everything seemed to go right, the Buffaloes set a single-game team percentage record (minimum eight attempts) from downtown by hitting 6-of-8 (.750) against the Jayhawks. The previous best was a 69.2 percent performance (9-of-13) against Oklahoma on Mar. 8, 2001.
ILIC HITS 30 TWICE: Jasmina IlicGÇÖs 36 point performance against Nebraska is the best individual total in the Big 12 Conference this year and third on CUGÇÖs all-time single game list just behind co-record holders Susan Horner who had 38 against Weber State on Mar. 10, 1979, and Tracy Tripp who also had 38 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 4, 1987. Ilic is the first player in team history to score 33 or more points twice in the same season as she had 34 points in CUGÇÖs season-opening win over Cal State-Fullerton.
McFARLAND SCORING AND REBOUNDING NEARING TOP 10: Jackie McFarland leads Colorado in scoring by averaging 17.2 points per game. Her current average would place her among the to 10 in school history and she is also on pace to become the the eigth CU player to score 500 points in one season. She is the first player in CU womenGÇÖs basketball history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds over the first seven games of a season.
CU SINGLE SEASON SCORING AVERAGE LEADERS:
Name Season Average
1. Jamillah Lang (32 games) 1993-94 19.2
2. Lisa Van Goor (36 games) 1981-82 18.8
3. Tera Bjorklund (32 games) 2002-03 18.5
4. Lisa Van Goor (33 games) 1980-81 18.5
5. Tera Bjorklund (30 games) 2003-04 18.1
6. Diane Hiemstra (28 games) 1983-84 17.6
7. Jackie McFarland (24 games) 2005-06 17.2
8. Lisa Van Goor (29 games) 1982-83 17.0
9. Jeannie Raikes (26 games) 1976-77 16.9
10. Diane Hiemstra (29 games) 1982-83 16.7
McFarlandGÇÖs current average of 9.1 rebounds per game would be the ninth best single-season mark in team history if the season ended today and her current pace would leave her with 272 rebounds, just outside the single-season top 10 (based on a guaranteed six more games).
LUBIN BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLES: With her performances against Utah State and Colorado State sophomore guard Lauren Lubin became just the fifth true guard in team history to record two or more points-rebounds double-doubles in a career and only the second to do it back-to-back games. Former Big Eight Conference MVP Bridget Turner did it in back-to-back games during the 1988-89 season and leads all CU guards with nine total points-rebounds double-doubles. Lubin joins three other guards with two points-rebounds double-doubles and included in that list is teammate Whitney Law who had a pair last season. Lubin had 13 points and 13 rebounds against Utah State and had 15 points and 10 rebounds at CSU.
McFARLAND DOUBLES: Sophomore forward Jackie McFarland has 11 double-doubles this season, the fifth-best single-season mark in team history. She is just the third individual to achieve the feat as Lisa Van Goor (three times) and Erin Scholz hold the other four instances. McFarland, who currently ranks third in the Big 12 in double-doubles, has 16 for her career, tying for sixth on CUGÇÖs all-time list.
CLIMBING THE ?3GÇÖ LADDER: Jasmina Ilic hit one 3-point field goal against Kansas State and is in ninth place on CUGÇÖs all-time list with 80. She needs five more 3-pointers to pass La Shena Graham (1994-98) who currently resides in eighth place with 84.
Junior Anna Nedovic is in 14th place on CUGÇÖs all-time list with 47. Sophomore Yari Escalera is 15th with 46 while senior Whitney Law is 19th with 33.
BLOCK PARTY: Sophomore Jackie McFarland is 11th on CUGÇÖs all time list for blocked shots with 57. She has 33 this season -- nine more than her freshman season total -- including a school-record tying eight in one game against South Dakota State on Dec. 28. Her 33 blocks are 18th on CUGÇÖs single-season list and fourth-best single-season performance by a sophomore on the team charts.
GETTING TO THE LINE: Jackie McFarland has 126 free-throws made this season, ranking seventh on CUGÇÖs single-season list. At her current pace of 5.3 free-throws made per game, she would break the school single-season record of 154 set by Bridget Turner in 1988-89. McFarland, shooting 80.3 from the line this season, has hit 31-of-34 (.912) over the last five games.
Colorado is the top free-throw shooting team in the Big 12 at 74.6 percent, a mark that ranks 20th in the nation. CU has five players with 30 or more free throws made hitting 70 percent or better. Lauren Lubin leads the way at 82.1 percent followed by Yari Escalera (.814), McFarland (.803), Jasmina Ilic (.789) and Whitney Law (.728).
Through games of Feb 11, ColoradoGÇÖs 420 team free-throws made are more than six Big 12 teams have attempted for the season. The nearest team to CU in terms of free throws made is Oklahoma with 325. Colorado has attempted 563 free throws, 75 more than second place Missouri (488).
ColoradoGÇÖs season mark of 74.6 percent would rank the seventh-best in team history if the season ended today.
FREE THROWS MADE SINGLE SEASON:
Player (Season) FTM
1. Bridget Turner (1988-89) 154
2. Bridget Turner (1987-88) 153
3. Mandy Nightingale (2000-01) 150
4. Erin Scholz (1995-96) 148
5. Tera Bjorklund (2002-03) 134
6. Debbie Descano (1979-80) 128
7. Jackie McFarland (2005-06) 126
8. Shelley Sheetz (1992-93) 123
9. Tera Bjorklund (2003-04) 120
10. Mandy Nightingale (2001-02) 119
FT SUCCESS UNDER PRESSURE: ColoradoGÇÖs success at the free-throw line in 2005-06 increases as games draw closer to the final buzzer. The Buffaloes have shot 72.5 percent from the line in the first half (158-of-218) and that number grows by percentage, and quantity, in the second 20 minutes. CU has shot 76.4 percent (256-of-335) in the final 20 minutes of games this year.
CUGÇÖs percentages climb even higher in the final minutes of games. The Buffs are hitting 77 percent in the final five minutes (114-of-148) and 78.4 percent (58-of-74) in the final two minutes. Jackie McFarland leads the way at 88.2 percent in the final five minutes (30-of-34) and 91.7 percent in the final two (11-of-12).
MILESTONES GALORE IN SEASON OPENER: Several milestones were reached in ColoradoGÇÖs season-opening 100-71 win over Cal State-Fullerton.
Junior Jasmina Ilic and sophomore Jackie McFarland each had 34 points, both career highs, marking the first time in team history two players hit the 30-point mark in the same game. McFarland recorded her sixth career double-double, grabbing a personal-high 15 rebounds. Ilic also had a personal-best 12 field goals and tied a career mark with 10 rebounds.
Whitney Law dished out a school record 15 assists, breaking the previous record of 14, which was done twice, last by La Shena Graham vs. Missouri in 1998. She also had nine assists in the first half, breaking a 26-year old school record. Sandy Bean recorded eight assists in a half against Northern Colorado on Feb. 1, 1979.
Colorado recorded its first 100 point game since a 114-52 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 1994. CUGÇÖs 58 first-half points tied for the sixth-most in team history, a feat also achieved against TCU on Dec. 7, 1993 and vs. St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 1994.
CLASSIC IN REVIEW: Colorado placed third in the 19th Annual Coors Classic Tournament Nov. 25-26 at the Coors Events Conference Center. The Buffaloes fell to Northern Iowa, 74-65, in overtime marking the first time in Coors Classic history that CU lost a first round match up. Colorado rebounded to take the consolation game from Utah State, 73-56. Northern Iowa would go on to take the tournament title by defeating Illinois 71-47.
Jackie McFarland was named to the All-Tournament team as she averaged 18 points, 8.5 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Northern Iowa senior center Cassie Hager, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against CU, was the tournament MVP.
RICHARDS WILL REDSHIRT: Sophomore center Kara Richards, who has not played in a regular season game this season due to a broken foot, will miss the remainder of the year and use this as her redshirt season CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller announced on Jan. 10.
Richards suffered a Jones fracture ? a fracture to the fifth meta-tarsal ? in her left foot on Nov. 15, just three dayGÇÖs before CUGÇÖs season opening win over Cal State University-Fullerton. She underwent surgery on Nov. 16 and the initial diagnosis had her missing anywhere from four to eight weeks. Richards was in a cast until Dec. 28, and returned to light practice the next week, but was not making the progress needed to return to the line up in the near future as soreness from her injury continues.
Richards will be a sophomore in eligibility for the 2006-07 campaign. She did appear in CUGÇÖs two exhibition games in November averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds.
A native of Graham, Texas, Richards started in 26 of 28 games for the Buffaloes as a true freshman last winter, averaging nine points, 5.3 rebounds and one block per game. She earned a spot on the Waco Tribune-HeraldGÇÖs All-Big 12 Conference Freshman team in 2004-05 and was named the BuffsGÇÖ Rookie of the Year.
WALLACE ACTIVATED: Junior forward Courtney Wallace has waited more than a year to put on the Buffaloes uniform and now laces them up with the rest of the squad. Wallace, a walk-on transfer from CU-Colorado Springs, was officially added to the active roster on Nov. 17. Wallace practiced with the Buffs for most of last season as she sat out her NCAA mandated redshirted year after transferring from the Springs campus. She has been practicing and conditioning with the Buffaloes since the start of the school year. Wallace played two years for the Mountain Lions and was a two-year letterwinner for Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, graduating in 2004.
McCONNELL-MILLER 100 IN DEBUT: Kathy McConnell-Miller led Colorado to the century mark in her first game as head coach, by far the best total of any current Big 12 Conference coach in their debut at their school. Bill Fennelly of Iowa State was the closest as he led the Cyclones to an 82-55 win over Idaho State in his debut in 1995. Ironically, McConnell-Miller is not the first Colorado womenGÇÖs coach to debut with a 100-point performance. Sox Walseth led the Buffs to a 107-73 win over Colorado WomenGÇÖs College in his first game as womenGÇÖs head coach on Nov. 18, 1980. Here is the list of current Big 12 coaches and their first games:
Coach, School Opponent Date W/L Result
Kathy McConnell-Miller, Colorado Cal State Fullerton 11/18/05 W 100-71
Bill Fennelly, Iowa State Idaho State 11/24/95 W 82-55
Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech Abilene Christian 11/19/82 W 78-64
Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Baylor Miami (Ohio) 11/18/00 W 75-62
Cindy Stein, Missouri Bradley 11/19/98 W 73-57
Jody Conradt, Texas McLennan CC 11/22/76 W 72-58
Kurt Budke, Oklahoma State Texas State 11/19/05 L 69-77
Deb Patterson, Kansas State Memphis 11/22/96 W 68-60
Connie Yori, Nebraska Grambling State 11/22/02 W 63-40
Sherri Coale, Oklahoma Oral Roberts 11/22/96 W 62-50
Gary Blair, Texas A&M La Salle 11/22/03 L 62-67
Bonnie Henrickson Texas-Arlington 11/21/04 L 49-53
BUFFS IN OPENERS: With its win over Cal State-Fullerton, Colorado moved to 27-5 (.844) all-time in season openers and a whopping 31-1 (.969) all-time in home openers. CU has won six straight season debuts and 19 of its last 20 with the lone loss in that span coming at Denver on Nov. 19, 1999.
BUFFS IN PRESEASON: After its loss to Oregon, Colorado dropped to 5-7 overall meaning the Buffaloes string of five straight seasons of .500 or better during non conference action will end. It will be only the third time CU has finished below .500 during the nonconference schedule in the Big 8/Big 12 era going 5-6 in 1999-2000 and 4-9 in 1984-85.
BUFFS PICKED 12TH: Colorado was picked to finish 12th in the annual Big 12 Conference Coaches Preseason Poll. CU received 14 points meaning no less than eight Big 12 coaches picked the Buffaloes to finish in the 12th spot (coaches do not vote for their own teams). It is the first time the Buffaloes have been picked lower than eighth since the coaches poll began in 1997. Defending NCAA champion Baylor was picked to win its second consecutive Big 12 title, landing six first place votes and 113 total points to edge out second place Texas with two first place nods and 110 points. Texas Tech was a close third with the four remaining first place votes and 108 points. Oklahoma was fourth (91), followed by Nebraska (70), Kansas (66), Texas A&M (59), Kansas State (56), Iowa State (45), Missouri (37), Oklahoma State (23) and Colorado.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado once again faces a tough schedule, featuring at least 14 games against 2005 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Defending national champion Baylor, who the Buffs will face in Waco on Feb. 22, checks in at No. 11 in the coaches poll and No. 12 in the AP poll. Oklahoma is No. 9 in the AP poll and 12th in the coaches poll. Texas A&M made its debut in the polls this week as the Aggies are tied with Louisiana Tech at No. 24 in the AP poll and are No. 25 in the coaches poll. Missouri is receiving votes in both polls while nonconference opponent South Florida is receiving votes in the coaches poll.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 294-86 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.774). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 18 of the previous 27 years including five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94). Colorado had a rare sub-.500 season last winter at 5-9, marking just the second time the Buffs have been below .500 for a season in the 27-year history of the CECC.
BUFFS ON TV: ColoradoGÇÖs schedule features seven games that will be televised either regionally or nationally by Fox Sports Net. All but one of the FSN games is in Boulder, with the lone exception at Colorado State on Nov. 30. Buffs fans will see a familiar face on their TV sets during those games as longtime CU coach Ceal Barry is scheduled to provide the color commentary on a majority of the broadcasts.
UP NEXT: Colorado, in the middle of its Big 12 Conference bye week is off until Saturday, Feb. 18, when the Buffaloes will host the University of Missouri at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
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