Colorado University Athletics
Lappe Preaching Urgency As No. 7 Oregon State Visits
BOULDER GÇô Colorado womenGÇÖs basketball coach Linda Lappe had one pervading message for her players when she gathered them after practice Wednesday afternoon GÇö sense of urgency. The Buffs played without urgency in their slow start against Washington last Sunday; by the time they discovered any, it was too late.
At the same time, Lappe impressed upon her team, Colorado will be unable to beat No. 7 Oregon State Friday night (6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) without imposing a sense of urgency on the Beavers GÇö disrupting their rhythm, harrying their offense, attacking them on defense.
GÇ£ItGÇÖs gotta be a will and a want-to and I think they have to know the expectation,GÇ¥ said Lappe, who watched the Buffs fall behind the Huskies 16-2 in what would ultimately be a 79-67 loss. GÇ£You have to rely on your seniors, you have to rely on your upperclassmen that have done it before. Our freshmen have never had that, so I canGÇÖt really rely on them to bring it even though itGÇÖs their job if theyGÇÖre on the floor to bring it.GÇ¥
Colorado (11-14, 4-10) kept nearly level in close losses to No. 18 Stanford and No. 12 Arizona State, the other ranked teams the Buffs have faced in conference play, but the Beavers (23-2, 13-1) are not simply the Pac-12GÇÖs best team GÇö they are its most dominant.
Oregon State has rolled through every portion of its schedule; its only blemishes came at No. 6 Tennessee, when the Beavers got into foul trouble and committed an uncharacteristically high 19 turnovers, and at Washington, where the Huskies got hot from deep in the second half.
There is no blueprint for beating Oregon State. The Beavers boast the Pac-12GÇÖs second-best scoring offense and second-best scoring defense. They lead the conference in field goal percentage (47) and in field goal percentage defense (34). They shoot 38 percent from 3-point range GÇö second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the country GÇö and allow opponents to sink just 26 percent of their treys, which ranks third in the conference. Oregon State has the Pac-12GÇÖs best rebounding margin and assist-to-turnover ratio, and it blocks more shots than any other conference team. The BeaversGÇÖ average margin of victory is 22 points.
But, said Lappe, GÇ£TheyGÇÖre like any other team, they have weaknesses. I mean, theyGÇÖve lost.GÇ¥
If anything, Colorado should be able to score with Oregon State GÇö the Buffs are third in the Pac-12 in assists and three-point shooting, and they are a deadly efficient offensive team if they protect the ball. ThatGÇÖs a colossal if, though; Colorado commits 18 turnovers a game, by far the worst in the conference. The Beavers donGÇÖt force many turnovers, but the Buffs have found ways to commit all manner of unforced errors this season.
When Colorado is clicking, though, it can certainly match Oregon StateGÇÖs whirring ball movement and sharp cuts; the Buffs will need that crisp passing, constant off-ball movement and old-fashioned physicality to keep Beavers junior center Ruth Hamblin out of the paint. Hamblin is the Pac-12GÇÖs leading shot-blocker, and she swats almost four per game.
GÇ£SheGÇÖs somebody who we have to get to move in the post,GÇ¥ Colorado forward Jamee Swan said. GÇ£SheGÇÖs very, very good defensively if she just has to stand there and put her arms up. We have to figure out a way to get her to move back and forth so that we have an angle and we can be able to see the rim through her 6-foot-5 hands.GÇ¥
Swan is formidable in the paint, herself, but for the past two games she and forward Jen Reese have come off the bench for the Buffs. The lineup change was mildly surprising, and Lappe hasnGÇÖt indicated whom she will start against the Beavers.
GÇ£ItGÇÖs always a challenge for me, knowing that I have to go in and replace the energy that was left from a teammate,GÇ¥ Swan said. GÇ£I wanna make whoever I take out proud that they got a break and that I didnGÇÖt lose their energy. Going from the bench you get a minute to see how the game is going, and to see how the refs are calling.GÇ¥
The starting lineup will ultimately be irrelevant; Swan and Reese played startersGÇÖ minutes even though they came off the bench, and Colorado has scoring talent up and down its roster. If the Buffs hold onto the ball and neutralize Hamblin, theyGÇÖll pile up points.
That wonGÇÖt be enough to upset the Beavers, though. Colorado allows more points per game than any team in the Pac-12 and Oregon State has the conferenceGÇÖs most balanced attack. Hamblin and guards Jamie Weisner and Sydney Wiese each average around 13 points per game, and they do it with remarkable efficiency.
Hamblin leads the conference in field goal percentage; she makes just shy of 60 percent of her attempts. Wiese is the Pac-12GÇÖs top three-point shooter GÇö she hits 46 percent of her treys GÇö and Weisner is fourth at 42 percent. TheyGÇÖre the conferenceGÇÖs most prolific snipers; together they make nearly six treys per game, and last week Wiese set the school record for career 3-pointers made despite being only three-quarters of the way through her sophomore year. She's also second in the conference in assists.
GÇ£WeGÇÖve gotta play some defense if we wanna win games,GÇ¥ Lappe said. GÇ£We can only score so many points.GÇ¥
Even if the Buffs play some defense, even if they score so many points, it will take near-perfection to knock off Oregon State. Colorado will have to protect the ball, move it with purpose, and attack with abandon. It will have to make the paint impassible and glue itself to shooters. The Buffs will have to manifest the urgency that Lappe implored them to if they want the win that they so urgently need.