Colorado University Athletics

Colorado Visits South Dakota In WNIT Second Round Monday

Colorado Visits South Dakota In WNIT Second Round Monday
Related Links
Game Notes

THE GAME: The University of Colorado will hit the road for the second round of the 2012 Postseason WNIT and will play the University of South Dakota on Monday, March 19, at 6 p.m. MDT at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.

BROADCAST: Monday's WNIT game will be broadcast live on KKZN AM 760. Mike Rice will give the play by play with USA Basketball's Carol Callan with the color commentary. Live internet audio of all CU basketball games is available on BuffsRadio, a free subscription service through CUBuffs.com. Live internet video streaming of Monday's game is available on www.usdcoyotes.com.

POSTSEASON FACTS: Colorado is in postseason play for the 20th time in team history with an overall record of 30-19. The Buffs played in four AIAW Tournaments from 1979-82 (5-4) and have made 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances (17-12).
- Colorado makes back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since advancing to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2001 to '04.
- This is Colorado's fourth trip to the postseason WNIT, and first back-to-back appearance, with an overall record of 8-3. The Buffaloes also participated in the 1999 event (1-1), reached the 2008 semifinals (3-1) and 2011 quarterfinals (3-1).
- Monday will be Colorado's second-ever road WNIT game. Colorado defeated Wyoming 70-58 in the third round of last season's WNIT.
- CU is 2-6 all-time on an opponent's home court in the postseason (AIAW, NCAA). The Buffaloes first ever NCAA Tournament win was the first road triumph, at Eastern Illinois (78-72) on March 16, 1988.
- CU is 21-6 all-time at home in postseason (12-3 NCAA, 7-3 WNIT, 2-0 AIAW) and has won nine of its last 11.
- Colorado is 3-0 in WNIT first round games (CU had a first round bye in 2008); CU has won its first WNIT game in all four appearances.
- Colorado head coach Linda Lappe will make her fourth appearance in the WNIT as a coach, and second as a head coach. She was on the Drake staff that went to WNIT's in 2004 and '06.
- Lappe was a true freshman on CU's 1999 WNIT team
- CU assistant coach Jennie Baranczyk was an assistant on the Marquette team that defeated Colorado in the 2008 WNIT semifinals, eventually winning the tournament title.

COLORADO IN THE WNIT
1999 (1-1)
First Round: at Colorado 70, BYU 53
Second Round: Drake 82, at Colorado 66

2008 (3-1)
First Round: BYE
Second Round: at Colorado 82, Gonzaga 68
Third Round: at Colorado 64, Villanova 58
Quarterfinals: at Colorado 96, TCU 90 (OT)
Semifinals: Marquette 86, at Colorado 72

2011 (3-1)
First Round: at Colorado 71, UC Riverside 62
Second Round: at Colorado 81, California 65
Third Round: Colorado 70, at Wyoming 58
Quarterfinals: USC 87, Colorado 70

2012 (1-0)
First Round: at Colorado 54, Northern Colorado 42

ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 19-13 overall after defeating Northern Colorado, 54-42, in the first round of the WNIT on March 14. The Buffaloes finished their first season in the Pac-12 Conference in 10th place at 6-12. Colorado was 1-1 at the 2012 Pacific-Life Pac-12 Tournament, picking up its first conference tournament win since 2007. The No. 10 seeded Buffaloes pulled off a 55-41 win over No. 7 Utah on March 7 before falling to tournament finalist, and No. 2 seed, California, 68-59 on March 8 in the quarterfinals. Colorado snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating Oregon State 67-57 in the regular season finale on March 3. After enduring a rough stretch that saw the Buffaloes lose eight of nine, CU has won three of its last four. The Buffaloes will be looking for their first 20-win season since going 22-8 in 2003-04. CU has also locked up back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since 2003-04.

Colorado has shown balance with five players averaging between seven and 15 points per game. Overall the Buffaloes are averaging 61 points per game and shooting 40 percent from the field. The Buffaloes rank third in the Pac-12 in rebounding defense (34.8), fourth in rebounding margin (+5.2) and fifth in scoring defense (58.2 ppg) and offensive rebounds (13.6 orpg). Colorado is on pace for the second-best field-goal percentage defense (.368), fourth-best scoring defense, sixth-best rebounding margin and eighth-best rebounding average (40.0 rpg) in team history.

Junior guard Chucky Jeffery leads the Buffaloes at 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. She is prominent on the Pac-12 leader board, ranking fifth in steals (2.3 spg), sixth in assists, seventh in scoring, eighth in overall rebounding and defensive rebounds (5.8 drpg), 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.8), 12th free-throw percentage (.698) and 13th in field-goal percentage (.443).

Jeffery has scored in double-figures in 27 of Colorado's 32 games and has reached the 20-point mark on seven occasions. She has a team-best seven double-doubles on the season, tied for ninth in the Pac-12, including a 20-point, 14-rebound performance in the first round conference tournament win over Utah. She has led or shared the team lead in scoring in 19 contests this season. Jeffery was the MVP of CU's Omni Hotels Classic and was named Pac-12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 4.

Senior forward Julie Seabrook leads Colorado in field goal accuracy at 48.4 percent while also ranking 15th in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds (2.2 orpg). She had a memorable senior night, recording her fourth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Oregon State. Seabrook, who ranked seventh in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage during conference games (.474) has shot 50 percent or better in 19 of 32 games, 10 of 18 in league play. She made 81 percent from the line (25-of-31) during conference play.

Sophomore guard Brittany Wilson is second on the team in assists (58), steals (43) and 3-point field goals (39) and third in scoring at 8.9 points per contest. She has been Colorado's leading scorer over the last three games averaging 16.3 points on 48 percent shooting overall (15-of-31) and 50 percent from 3-point range (7-of-14). Brittany's twin sister Ashley Wilson is hitting 47 percent from the floor while averaging 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Ashley had a good night against Northern Colorado scoring seven points with four rebounds and a career-best three steals.

Freshman guard Lexy Kresl averages 9.1 points per game and leads the Buffaloes in both 3-point field goals (58) and free-throw accuracy at 88.9 percent. Kresl scored a career-high 20 points in the win over Oregon State, including a personal best and team season high six 3-point field goals. On the Pac-12 charts she ranks fifth in 3-pointers made (1.8 3mpg), 13th in 3-point percentage (.322) and 27th in scoring.

Junior forward Meagan Malcolm-Peck is averaging 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She is second on the team in offensive rebounds (59), third in assists (41) and fourth in 3-point field goals (18). She has scored 30 points in the last six games after scoring only 10 in the previous six combined. Sophomore Rachel Hargis, who averages 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest, is second on the team in blocked shots with 24 and her 0.8 per game average during conference only contests ranks 14th in the Pac-12.

Freshman guard Jasmine Sborov has seen extended minutes the second half of the season and has started the last six games. Since the Stanford game in Boulder, she is averaging 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting a team-best 45 percent from the field during that span (21-of-47). She filled up the box score nicely against Arizona, scoring a career high 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.

ALL PAC-12: Junior guard Chucky Jeffery made it 2-for-2 in All-Pac-12 Conference honors as she was named to both the coach's and media teams. In addition, Jeffery was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team voted on by league coaches, while CU's freshman duo of Lexy Kresl and Jen Reese received honorable mention to the All-Freshman squad.

Jeffery becomes Colorado's first All-Pac-12 women's basketball player capping off the Buffaloes first year in their new conference. She is the 13th different CU women's basketball player to be recognized on a league's all-conference first team (Intermountain, Big Eight and Big 12) and it's the program's 19th such mention overall. CU had five first-team All-Big 12 Conference awards in 15 seasons.

Jeffery's defensive team honor is the first for the program in any conference. Her steals per game average rose to 2.7 during conference only games, ranking third in the Pac-12. She had eight games with four or more steals and topped six steals on three occasions. Jeffery's 74 steals this season rank 10th on CU's single-season list.

Kresl and Reese have played pivotal roles in Colorado's success this season. Kresl, who was named to the media's Pac-12 All-Freshman team, is second in 3-point field goals (58) and fifth in scoring among freshmen. Reese averaged 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 25 games before a season-ending eye injury. She leads all freshmen in rebounding average had the second-best rookie field-goal percentage in the Pac-12 (.449), a mark that also ranks 12th overall on the league charts.

ABOUT THE COYOTES: South Dakota is 23-7 overall and finished third in the Summit League at 12-6. The Coyotes are in their fourth and final year of transitioning from NCAA Division II and will be eligible for Division I championships beginning next season. South Dakota averages 63 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free-throw line. The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (52.3 ppg), scoring margin (+10.7) and field-goal percentage defense (.335).

Senior forward Amber Hegge leads the Coyotes at 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She ranks second in the Summit League in scoring and leads that circuit in both rebounding and field-goal percentage (.523). Senior guard Annie Roche averages 9.8 points per game and is the Coyotes' top 3-point shooter with 49 on the season. Junior guard Alexis Yackley tops USD in assists (4.8 apg) and steals (1.9 spg) while averaging 6.8 points an outing.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the first official meeting between Colorado and South Dakota. The teams met in a preseason exhibition game in November 2004 while the Coyotes were still members of NCAA Division II. The Buffaloes won that contest 81-69 in Boulder. Colorado is 10-1 against current members of the Summit League. CU will face a Summit League opponent for the first time since defeating Southern Utah, 88-36, on Dec. 19, 2009.

Colorado head coach Linda Lappe has never faced South Dakota as a head coach. South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams has never faced Colorado.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Colorado and South Dakota played nonconference games against Northern Arizona and Creighton this season with both teams coming out winners in each contest. CU defeated Northern Arizona in its season opener 84-60 while the Coyotes did the same in theirs, 73-56. The Buffaloes defeated Creighton 52-49 at the UTSA Holiday Classic in San Antonio while the Coyotes won at Creighton in overtime, 56-53.

LEXY FROM '3': Guard Lexy Kresl hit two 3-pointers in the WNIT win over Northern Colorado to set the CU freshman season record at 58. She passed Brittany Spears (2007-08) and Shelley Sheetz (1991-92) who each had 57 in their rookie seasons. Kresl is already 16th in career 3-point field goals and her total is also 14th on CU's single-season list.

In the regular season finale against Oregon State she scored a career high 20 points on a career best 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. Kresl's 85.7% from beyond the arc against the Beavers is good for the best single-game 3-point field goal percentage in the Pac-12 this season.

CHUCKY REACHES 1,000: Junior guard Chucky Jeffery became the 24th player in team history to reach 1,000 career points during the loss at Oregon. She is the 10th player to achieve 1,000 before her senior year. Surpassing 1,000 in her 81st career game, she tied Tera Bjorklund (2000-04) for the ninth fastest to reach 1,000. Currently with 1,164 points, Jeffery is 18th on CU's all-time scoring list.

THANKS BUFF FANS, KEEP COMING OUT!: Colorado had a season-high 5,885 fans witness the nail biting overtime loss to UCLA on Jan. 29. The attendance number was the third highest for a Pac-12 league game this season, trailing only the California-Stanford rivalry games which drew 6,075 at Stanford and a conference season-best 7,864 in Berkeley on March 4. Overall the UCLA-Colorado attendance figure was the fourth best at a Pac-12 venue this season. Stanford had 7,329 for a nonconference game against national power Tennessee on Dec. 20.

The Buffaloes are averaging 2,735 for 17 home dates this season and 3,346 in nine Pac-12 home games, both figures trailing only Stanford (4,250 overall, 4,345 league). CU is on pace for its best home attendance average since the 2003-04 team drew 3,092 over 16 home games.

ROAD WARRIORS: Colorado has won seven of its last 13 road games and also eight of its last 15 away from home. Prior to the Washington game, the Buffaloes had won six-straight both in true road games and games away from Boulder, each being the program's best such streaks since the 2003-04 squad won six in a row in true road contests.

Additionally, Colorado has won five of its last 11 conference road games after only winning four of the previous 30 dating back to the 2007-08 Big 12 season. CU had three conference road wins this season, its most since the 2003-04 NCAA Tournament squad won five league games away from Boulder.

Colorado began the Pac-12 season with three straight on the road finishing 2-1. It was CU's first three-game conference road stand since 1997, the inaugural season of the Big 12. In that string, the Buffaloes lost at Kansas State on Feb. 19, but bounced back to win games at Missouri on Feb. 23 and No. 12 ranked Texas on Feb. 26, sparking an eight-game win streak that carried Colorado through the first Big 12 Tournament Championship and an appearance in the 1997 NCAA Sweet 16.

Colorado returned home for California and Stanford after nearly a month away from home, spanning five games, which hadn't happened since the end of the 2001 season with a final regular season road game and then four neutral site Big 12 and NCAA Tournament games. The five away from home hadn't been done entirely in the regular season since the 1993-94 team played seven in a row away from Boulder in the late preseason (5) and early Big Eight Conference schedule (2).

DEFENDING THE HOOP: In 12 games against non-Pac-12 opponents this season, Colorado has allowed just 50.9 points on 32.7 percent shooting overall (34.0 percent on two-point attempts and 29.3 from three-point range). The Buffaloes have held six nonconference opponents under 50 points. CU has held its opponent under 50 points 13 times in CU head coach Linda Lappe's 65-game tenure.

REBOUNDING WOWS: Colorado has been even or outrebounded its opponent in 23 of 32 games, including 11 in a row prior to the Washington game. CU's margin of plus-5.2 on the season, ranks third in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes outrebounded Oregon State by 15 (46-31) their largest margin during the league season. CU had a big night on the glass against San Francisco, ending with a margin of plus-33 (53-20). That plus-33 margin overall is tied for the ninth best margin in team history and tied for the fourth best since the NCAA/Big Eight Conference era began with the 1982-83 season. It's also the widest margin since the Buffaloes put up a similar plus-33 margin against Bowling Green (59-26) on Nov. 23, 2001. Those two games are the best since CU outrebounded Northern Arizona by 34 (56-22) on Dec. 18, 1993.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chucky Jeffery earned Colorado's first ever Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week honor on Dec. 4. Her award was the fourth overall for the Buffaloes in their inaugural Pac-12 season, joining three football winners from earlier this fall. The league Player of the Week honor is also the first for women's basketball since Brittany Spears was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 23, 2009. For Jeffery, it's her second similar honor, as she was the Big 12 Freshman of the Week winner on Jan. 11, 2010.

Jeffery averaged 28 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 64.5 percent from the floor, leading the Buffaloes to wins over San Francisco (84-66) and Idaho (68-59).

CHUCKY DOUBLES: Chucky Jeffery has seven double-doubles on the season, tied for ninth in the Pac-12, including a string of three-straight (Wisconsin-San Francisco-Idaho). It was the first time a CU player had double-doubles in three-straight games since Jackie McFarland had two separate strings of three during the 2006-07 season. She joins Bridget Turner as the only other guard in team history with three-straight double-doubles. Turner pulled the trifecta during the 1988-89 season, with one of her doubles the points-assists variety.

Overall she is the seventh player to achieve three straight double-doubles. CU Athletic Hall of Famer Lisa Van Goor holds the consecutive mark of six during the 1980-81 season.

MALCOLM-PECK CLIMBING IN 3-POINTERS, BLOCKS: Junior Meagan Malcolm-Peck drilled her 78th career 3-pointer in the Oregon game, ranking 12th on CU's all-time list. She is also 12th in blocked shots with 65.

JEFFERY MOVING UP CAREER LADDERS: Junior guard Chucky Jeffery ranks among Colorado's all-time leaders in several categories. She is ninth in steals (208), 10th in assists (343), 13th in rebounds (628), 16th in blocks (56), 17th in field-goals made (433), 18th in scoring (1,164) and 20th in 3-point field goals made (49).