Colorado University Athletics
CU, Texas To Lock Horns Saturday
THE GAME: The University of Colorado (7-14, 2-7 Big 12) continues its Big 12 Conference schedule by hosting the University of Texas (11-8, 5-4 Big 12) on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 12 p.m. MST, at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORT DAY: Prior to the Colorado-Texas game, the CU Athletic Department will host a morning full of activities in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sport Day. Click here for further details!
BROADCAST: SaturdayGÇÖs game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net. Kevin Eschenfelder will provide play by play of the nationally televised game while Debbie Antonelli will give the color commentary. SaturdayGÇÖs game will also 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.
OPENING TIP: ColoradoGÇÖs has matched its Big 12 win total from a year ago and will be gunning for its first back-to-back wins in conference play since the tail end of the 2003-04 season. This game will likely come down to who takes care of the ball better. Texas averages 18 turnovers per game while Colorado is just slightly better at 17.9 per contest.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado, which currently resides in 11th place in the Big 12, snapped a school-record tying 12-game road losing streak with a 77-71 win over Kansas on Feb. 1. The win also snapped a five-game overall losing skid as the Buffaloes swept the season series from the Jayhawks.
Colorado will be looking to reach the .500 mark at home this season, as the Buffs currently stand at 5-6. The thin air in Boulder has apparently affected the shooterGÇÖs touch this season -- for both CU and its opponents. Colorado is shooting 40 percent at home in 2005-06 as opposed to 44 percent on the road and its opponentGÇÖs margin is even greater. While CU opponents are enjoying a solid 47 percent field-goal percentage at home, in Boulder the BuffsGÇÖ field-goal percentage defense tightens, allowing just 39 percent from the field at Coors.
Sophomore Jackie McFarland leads Colorado in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg), just dipping under a season-long double-double at Missouri. McFarland has 10 games of 10-plus rebounds, tying for the ninth-best single-season performance in team history. Junior Jasmina Ilic is second in scoring (15.6 ppg) and leads CU with 38 3-point field goals, tying her total from 28 games last season. Ilic has six games of 20-plus points including a Big 12 season-best 36 against Nebraska on Jan. 4. Junior Anna Nedovic has started all 21 games for the Buffaloes averaging 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Overall, Nedovic is hitting 44 percent from the floor, but that number has climbed to 48 percent over the last 17 games.
When they havenGÇÖt been fighting injuries, 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 83.3 percent, has scored in double digits in the last three games and has 11 3-pointers in the last four. Lubin, who started 11-straight games before being sidelined with a mild concussion, is hitting nearly 50 percent from the field as a starter (18x39) and is third on the team in assists and fourth in rebounding. Escalera (.833), McFarland (.788), Ilic (.774) and Law (.724) each rank in among the top 15 free-throw shooters in the Big 12 for the leagueGÇÖs best free-throw shooting team (.741). Lubin is right there as well at .842, but has dipped under the minimum number of attempts to qualify for the Big 12 rankings.
NOT JUST FRESHMAN ANYMORE: In ColoradoGÇÖs 77-71 win over Kansas the freshman duo of forward Caley Dow and guard Hannah Skildum played pivotal roles in helping the Buffaloes break their 12-game road losing streak. The duo combined for 22 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 16 rebounds. Dow recorded her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. She is ColoradoGÇÖs second-leading rebounder at 4.8 per game, reaching the 100 mark for the season against KU. Skildum, coming off the bench for the first time in seven games, had 11 points on 5-of-7 from the floor and five rebounds. Skildum has three games of double-digit points this season, all of them on the road against Big 12 teams.
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Colorado has announced a time change for its home game with Kansas State and a change to its television schedule with Fox Sports Net-Rocky Mountain.
ColoradoGÇÖs game against Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Coors Events/Conference Center will now be played at 7 p.m. MST and will still air live as planned on FSN-Rocky Mountain. The game will immediately follow the CU-Texas A&M menGÇÖs contest scheduled to air live from College Station, Texas, on FSN-Rocky Mountain at 5 p.m. MST. The KSU game was originally scheduled for 8 p.m.
Additionally, FSN-Rocky Mountain opted to televise the CU womenGÇÖs home game against Texas A&M on Jan. 24, and will no longer air the home contest against Missouri on Saturday, Feb. 18. The change was made due to a scheduling conflict with FSN-Rocky Mountain on Feb. 18. Game time against Missouri on Feb. 18 remains 7 p.m.
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.
LAST TIME OUT: The Colorado Buffaloes made their free throws down the stretch and held off Kansas, 77-71, to win its second Big 12 game of the season Wednesday snapping a 12-game road losing streak.
Colorado was led by senior Whitney Law who had 21 points while playing all but 36 seconds of the game and freshman Caley Dow, who recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, a career high. Three other Buffs, Jackie McFarland (16), Yari Escalera (14) and Hannah Skildum (11), scored in double digits making the first time five women have reached that mark in the same game since December 8, 2004 against CSU.
For the game, Colorado shot a season-high 61.9 percent from the field. They went 16-19 on free throws in the second half. The last time the Buffs had won on the road was last season when they beat Missouri 56-51 in Columbia, Mo. The second victory in Big 12 play equals the total Colorado had last season.
Kansa fought back from a 12 point half time deficit behind the efforts of Kaylee Brown who contributed a career-high 24 points. The Jawhawks got to within three points with just 28 seconds left in the game but were forced to foul the Buffs and Colorado took advantage hitting 7-of -8 free throw attempts to seal the game.
Free throws were not the only reason Colorado came up with the victory in the end. McFarland came up with and offensive rebound on the only miss from the charity stripe in the stretch at the end the game. Dow was also key as in the last two minutes she had a steal, four points, two rebounds and a block.
Colorado came out smoking in the first half as they shot 16-24 (67 percent) from the field including 5-of-7 (71 percent) from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the charity strip. Law made her first six shots and did not miss until there were just 44 seconds remaining in the half.
The game was tied at 10 apiece at the 16:08 mark before Colorado went a 10-2 run over the next four minutes. Kansas pulled within two points at 20-18 but Colorado finished the half on a 20-8 run to lead by 12, 40-28, at the break. CUGÇÖs backcourt combination of Law (14) and Escalera (11) combined for 25 points in the first half.
Kansas came out of the lockerroom and used a high pressure defense to force Colorado into three turnovers and two missed shots to begin the second half. The Jayhawks whittled the lead down to just four points at the 14:04 mark of the second half. The Buffaloes, adjusting to the increased pressure went on a 15-5 run capped by a Skildum jumper.
The see-saw nature of the game then continued as Kansas went on a 10-0 run to get right back in it and set up the close finish.
NOTEABLE FROM THE KU GAME: The Buffaloes, who entered the KU game shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range for the season, 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.
CUGÇÖs 40 first-half points against Kansas were the most the Buffaloes have scored on the road since claiming a 40-39 lead at Colorado State on Dec. 3, 2003.
CUGÇÖs 12-point halftime lead at Kansas was its most on the road against a Big 12 opponent since a 20-point margin at Baylor (36-16) on Jan. 3, 2004.
CUGÇÖs Kathy McConnell-Miller presided over her 200th game as a collegiate head coach at Kansas and needs just two more wins for her 100th career victory.
ABOUT THE LONGHORNS: Texas is 11-8 overall and tied with Kansas State for sixth place in the Big 12 standings at 5-4. The Longhorns, who are receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, are coming off an 84-63 loss at Texas Tech and this will be their fourth road game in their last six outings. UT is just 1-6 on the road this year, with the lone win coming at Nebraska, 70-62, on Jan. 18. Texas is led by All-Big 12 forward Tiffany Jackson who averages 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and a Big 12 leading 2.8 steals per game. True-freshman guard Erika Arriaran is second on the squad in scoring (10.9 ppg) and is UTGÇÖs top 3-point threat with 29 on the season. The Longhorns rank second-to-last in the Big 12 in scoring offense (65.5 ppg) and field-goal percentage (.404) and are last in the league in 3-point field goals (2.4 3pg) and assist to turnover ratio (0.61). Texas is the Big 12GÇÖs best shot blocking team (5.9 bpg) and ranks third in steals (10.3 spg).
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 15th meeting between Colorado and Texas, all but three have been as members of the Big 12. The Longhorns hold an 11-3 series lead over Colorado and are riding a current six-game winning streak. CUGÇÖs last win against Texas was also its only home win in five tries against the Longhorns -- a 79-75 triumph on Feb. 19, 2000.
CUGÇÖS LAST 10 GAMES AGAINST TEXAS
Date Result Date Result
2/23/05 L, 40-83 (A) 1/31/01 L, 62-65 (A)
2/14/04 L, 45-51 (H) 2/19/00 W, 79-75 (H)
3/13/03 L, 47-62 (N) 1/2/99 L, 65-83 (A)
2/19/03 L, 55-75 (A) 2/18/98 L, 71-75 (H)
1/6/02 L, 68-70 (H) 3/6/97 W, 64-50 (N)
Kathy McConnell-Miller has never faced Texas as a head coach.
SOUTHERN DROUGHT: Colorado will be attempting to snap a 10-game losing streak against Big 12 Southern Division opponents, dating back to the 2003-04 season. CUGÇÖs last win over a Big 12 South team came in a 72-57 decision over Oklahoma State on Feb. 21, 2004.
VAST IMPROVEMENTS: With two-thirds of regular season in the books, a few Colorado players have already surpassed last year totals in several different categories. Whitney Law has a team-best 73 assists this season compared to 48 in 27 games in 2004-05, and has nine more points than she had as a junior. Jasmina Ilic has 327 points which has passed her 2004-05 total of 280, and has four more steals (18) than she did in 28 games last year. Yari Escalera has 176 points, 60 more than she did all of last year and has also passed her rebouding output rom her freshman campaign. Jackie McFarland has 92 more points, 32 more rebounds, 11 more steals and seven more blocks through 21 games than she did in 27 games as a freshman.
LIC 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 20-10: Jackie McFarland 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, in fact, she was the first to do it in the first four games of a season. McFarland dipped below the 20-10 numbers at the San Juan Shootout, and is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
ILIC, McFARLAND TOP SCORING DUO: Jackie McFarland and Jasmina Ilic are 1-2 in team scoring and can threaten to become the highest scoring duo in team history over an entire season. McFaralnd currently holds CUGÇÖs sixth best point total through 21 games while Ilic is tied for 10th. Lisa Van Goor and Diane Hiemstra hold the title of CUGÇÖs highest scoring pair. Van Goor averaged 17 points and Hiemstra 16.7 per game in 1982-83.
POINTS AVERAGE FIRST 21 GAMES
Name (Season) PPG Total
1. Jamillah Lang (1993-94) 20.1 422
2. Tera Bjorklund (2003-04) 19.5 409
3. Lisa Van Goor (1980-81) 18.6 390
4. Lisa Van Goor (1981-82) 18.3 384
5. Diane Hiemstra (1983-84) 17.6 370
6. Jackie McFarland (2005-06) 17.3 363
7. Lisa Van Goor (1982-83) 17.1 360
8. Tera Bjorklund (2002-03) 16.7 350
9. Diane Hiemstra (1982-83) 15.9 334
t-10. Jasmina Ilic (2005-06) 15.6 327
t-10. Shelly Sheetz (1992-93) 15.6 327
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 hads 10 double-doubles this season, tying for the fifth-best single-season mark in team history. She is just the third individual to achieve the feat as Lisa Van Goor (3) and Erin Scholz (2) hold the other five instances. McFarland, who currently ranks third in the Big 12 in double-doubles, has 15 for her career, ranking seventh on CUGÇÖs all-time list.
CLIMBING THE ?3GÇÖ LADDER: Jasmina Ilic hit two 3-point field goals against Nebraska and is in ninth place on CUGÇÖs all-time list with 77. She needs eight more 3-pointers to pass La Shena Graham (1994-98) who currently resides in eighth place with 84.
Junior Anna Nedovic had a pair of 3-pointers against Iowa State to move into sole possession of 14th place on CUGÇÖs all-time list with 46.
BLOCK PARTY: Sophomore Jackie McFarland is 11th on CUGÇÖs all time list for blocked shots with 52. She has 31 this season -- seven more than her freshman season total -- including a school-record tying eight in one game against South Dakota State on Dec. 28. Her 31 blocks are tied for the 18th best single-season mark in team history, currently sharing that spot with Crystal Ford (1986-87). The mark is also the fourth-best single-season performance by a sophomore on the team charts. McFarland needs four blocks to move into the career top 10.
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.
Senior 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.
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, is the highest ranked team on the schedule, checking in at No. 10 in both polls. Oklahoma is 11th in the AP poll and 13th in the coaches poll. Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas are receiving votes in both polls. Kansas State and South Florida are also receiving votes in the coaches poll.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 294-84 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.778). 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 returns home to host Kansas State University on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The game will air live on Fox Sports Net-Rocky Mountain.
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