Colorado University Athletics
Buffaloes Host Colgate Thursday
BROADCAST: Thursday's game can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Mike Rice will handle play-by-play duties while Carol Callan of USA Basketball provides the color commentary. Live internet audio is available on CUBuffs.com, through the BuffsRadio free subscription. Live video streaming of Thursday's game is available on BuffsTV, also a subscription service through CUBuffs.com.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado will be looking to get back on track after dropping both of its games at USC's Women of Troy Tournament in Los Angeles, Dec. 18-19. The Buffaloes fell to future Pacific-12 Conference rival and host Trojans 68-54 in the opening game and dropped a 70-50 decision to 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Dayton in the consolation round.
The 11-day layoff wasn't the only one this month for Colorado. Prior to the tournament at USC, the Buffaloes were off for 10 days for fall semester finals. Thursday's game will be just the third in 22 days for the Buffaloes.
Colorado has been successful at home, establishing a 7-1 mark at the Coors Events Center during the nonconference schedule. The Buffaloes are holding opponents to just 49.5 points per game and 34 percent shooting at home. CU is also winning the battle of the boards by 10 per game.
Colorado has had overall success on defense, allowing opponents just 54.9 points per game and 35 percent from the field (209-of-595). The Buffaloes have been even more stringent from the 3-point line, allowing just 22.5 percent from beyond the arc, ranking seventh in the nation through games of Dec. 19. Colorado has also been winning the battle of the boards, outrebounding its opponents by 7.1 per game. CU had outrebounded its first 10 opponents this season, before Dayton held the upperhand on the boards in the Buffs' last outing.
Senior guard/forward Brittany Spears leads CU and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring at 16.6 points per game. She is also fifth in defensive rebounds (5.7 drpg), eighth in overall rebounding (7.6 rpg) and ninth in 3-point field goals made (2.0 3mpg) on the league charts.
Spears was named to the USC Women of Troy All-Tournament team after scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the loss to Dayton. The double-double was her fourth of the season, and 26th of her career which ranks fourth on CU's all-time list. She has scored in double digits in 66 of her last 74 games and in 89 of 104 career outings. Spears' 22 point effort against Dayton was her 34th career game of 20 or more points.
Sophomore guard Chucky Jeffery is CU's top rebounder (9.1 rpg) total while ranking second on the team in scoring at 15.9 an outing. She also paces the Buffaloes and ranks 24th in the nation in steals (3.2 spg) and 37th assists (5.1 apg). Jeffery has a Big 12-leading five double-doubles this season, including the second triple-double in team history by recording 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Loyola Chicago. On the Big 12 charts she ranks first in steals, second in defensive rebounds (6.7 drpg), third in minutes (33.3 mpg), fourth in overall rebounding, fifth in assists, 10th in scoring and 14th in field-goal percentage (.500) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
Junior forward Julie Seabrook is averaging 7.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 54 percent from the field (32-of-59). She has shot 60 percent or better in six of 11 games, and 50 percent or better in eight of 11 outings. Seabrook, who attempted and made her first career 3-pointer in the win over CSU, has three games of double-digit rebounds including 10 against the Rams. She currently ranks 18th in the Big 12 in rebounding.
Sophomore guard/forward Meagan Malcolm-Peck is averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. Malcolm-Peck is heating up from the outside, making seven of her last 15 3-pointers (.467) spanning the last four games. She recorded her first career double-double with a 14-point, 10-rebound effort against Loyola Chicago.
Senior guard Britney Blythe is averaging 4.4 points over the first 11 games, mostly from long range. Thirteen of her 15 field goals this season have come from 3-point range. Her 13 3-point field goals are second on the team, behind just Spears who has 22.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS: Colgate is 5-7 overall, after dropping a 57-53 overtime decision at Northern Colorado on Dec. 28. The Raiders are on a three-game road swing through the Centennial State, as they will stay for the New Year and play at Air Force on Jan. 2. Colgate averages 64.2 points per game while opponents average just a shade over 63 per contest. The Raiders are shooting 39 percent from the field and shot just 25 percent in the loss to UNC. Colgate averages 42 rebounds per game and averages five more per game than its opponent.
Sophomore guard Jhazmine Lynch leads Colgate at 15.1 points and three steals per game, despite coming off the bench for 10 of her 11 games played. She made her first start of the season against UNC, registering 15 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Senior guard Tayler Wejnert averages 13.2 points per game and is the Raiders' top threat from 3-point range, making 41 percent on the season (16-of-39). Junior center, and Evergreen, Colo., native Tricia Oakes averages eight points and 4.7 rebounds per game, but did not play in the game against the Bears. Senior forward Krista Moser is Colgate's top rebounder, grabbing 7.2 per outing.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the first meeting between Colorado and Colgate and just the Buffaloes' fourth ever game against a current Patriot League school. CU is 2-1 against the Patriot League, facing a member institution for the first time since a 90-70 win over American University on Dec. 4, 1998, at a preseason tournament in Pullman, Wash.