THE GAMES: The University of Colorado will host the Omni Hotels Classic on Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Coors Events Conference Center. Harvard and New Orleans will tip off first on Friday at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Buffaloes playing against Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Friday's losers will play in a consolation game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. while the winners will play in the championship at 7 p.m.
BROADCAST: All Colorado women's basketball games can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Mike Rice will handle play-by-play duties with USA Basketball's Carol Callan providing the color commentary. Live internet audio of all CU basketball games is available on BuffsRadio, a subscription service through CUBuffs.com. Live internet video streaming of Colorado's Omni Hotels Classic games are available on BuffsTV, also a subscription service through CUBuffs.com. Please note the BuffsRadio audio and BuffsTV video are separate subscriptions.
NAME CHANGE, SAME TOURNAMENT: This is the 23rd straight year Colorado has hosted an early season women's basketball tournament. The previous 22 seasons the tournament was known as the Coors Classic, but this year the name has changed to the Omni Hotels Classic. Colorado is 34-10 all-time in its home holiday classic and has won 12 of the 21 tournament titles contested. The Buffaloes will be looking for their first team title since 2003, placing fourth in 2008, third in 2005 and 2007 and second in 2004. No team champion was crowned at the 2006 Classic as the tournament switched to a true "Classic" format where Colorado and Wyoming played Nevada and Charlotte on consecutive nights, with the Buffaloes and Cowgirls winning both their games.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 2-1 overall after splitting its games at the Minnesota Subway Classic last weekend. The Buffaloes defeated Illinois-Chicago 63-49 in the Classic's opening game before falling to host Minnesota 87-78 in the final. By defeating Illinois-Chicago, CU was able to snap a six-game losing streak in game away from the Coors Events Center. Brittany Spears and Bianca Smith were named to the Subway Classic All-Tournament team.
Spears leads the Buffaloes in scoring (21.3 ppg) and rebounding (11.3 rpg). Smith leads Colorado in 3-point shooting (8-of-19) and is second in scoring at 12.7 per contest. Colorado's depth is starting to show with eight players averaging at least four points per game and six averaging at least three rebounds per contest.
ABOUT THE EAGLES: Georgia Southern enters the Omni Hotels Classic at 1-2, with the two losses coming against a Who's Who of college women's basketball. After a 96-44 win over NAIA Brewton-Parker to open the season, the Eagles fell 69-42 at No. 11/12 Duke and just missed knocking off perennial SEC power Auburn on the road, dropping a 62-56 decision to the Tigers on Nov. 24. Senior forward J'Lisia Ogburn leads the Eagles' attack averaging 13.3 points per game while hitting an impressive 62 percent from the field (18-of-29). Senior forward Jessica Geiger is GSU's top rebounder at 6.7 per game while averaging 7.0 points per contest. Freshman guard Kayla Dayton is averaging 9 points and has dished out 10 assists through three games and is hitting 52 percent (11-of-24) from the floor.
ABOUT THE PRIVATEERS: New Orleans arrives in Boulder with a 2-1 mark, winning its first two against McNeese State (62-53 on Nov. 14) and Nicholls State (60-50 on Nov. 18) before falling to SMU 63-52 on Nov. 21. Senior guard Brittany Helm leads New Orleans at 13.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. She also tops the Privateers in shooting at 53 percent (18-of 34) and with 10 steals. Senior forward Candace McGee is UNO's top rebounder with 9.0 per game while averaging 8.3 points per outing. Senior forward Talishia Young averages 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
ABOUT THE CRIMSON: Harvard has the most games under its belt of any Omni Hotels Classic participant, arriving in Boulder with a 2-2 record. The Crimson won their first two, both at home, but have dropped road decisions to Sacred Heart (92-77 on Nov. 21) and New Hampshire (78-65 in OT on Nov. 24) heading into this weekend. Harvard is easily the highest scoring team in the field averaging 74 points per contest, but is also giving up 77 per game. Junior forward Emma Markley leads the way at 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Victoria Lippert is right behind at 15 points per contest and is shooting 50 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Brogan Berry is averaging 11.3 points per game and leads Harvard at 7.3 assists per outing.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the first meeting between Colorado and Georgia Southern, and would also be a first time meeting between CU and New Orleans if the teams meet on Saturday. The Buffs have played Harvard once, an 85-81 win in the first round of the 2003 Minnesota Subway Classic, a tournament CU just returned from.
Kathy McConnell-Miller has never faced Georgia Southern or Harvard as a head coach. She is 0-1 against New Orleans, a game played while she was head coach at Tulsa.
SPEARS EARNS BIG 12 HONOR: Junior Brittany Spears was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Co-Player of the Week by a media voting panel for games from Nov. 16-22, the league office announced on Monday.
Spears was named to the Minnesota Subway Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds in two games. She scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in a season-low 25 minutes in the 63-49 win over Illinois-Chicago. She then recorded her 17th career double-double and second of the season with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds against Minnesota in the tournament final. She reached a double-double before intermission with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Spears hit 10-of-20 shots from the field and added four assists and four steals.
Spears earns her fifth career Big 12 weekly honor, and first as Player of the Week. She earned four Big 12 Rookie of the Week citations as a freshman in 2007-08. It's also the first Big 12 weekly honor for the Buffaloes since Alyssa Fressle gained Rookie of the Week honors in the final week of the 2008-09 season.
SPEARS' HOT START: Brittany Spears is off to a great start. Her 11.3 rebounds per game lead the Big 12 Conference and her 21.3 points per game rank second. She has double-doubles in two of three games, tying for the league lead. Spears also ranks third in both offensive (4.3) and defensive (7.0) rebounding, sixth in minutes (33.7) and free throw percentage (.875), tied for eighth in blocks (1.3 bpg) and tied for ninth in steals (2.0 spg) on the Big 12 charts.
SMITH OFF THE BENCH, SAME RESULTS: After starting the entire 2008-09 season, senior guard Bianca Smith has come off the bench for the first three games of 2009 without missing a beat. She is averaging 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game and is still displaying her sharp-shooting abilities. Smith leads CU and is tied for third in the Big 12 with eight 3-pointers in her first three games and hitting 42.1 percent from downtown. She is also CU's top free-throw shooter making 10 of her first 11 attempts on the season (.909).
MULLANEY'S HOME COOKING: No one was looking more forward to CU's trip to Minnesota than Minneapolis native Kelly Jo Mullaney, and she responded in a big way. Against Illinois-Chicago, Mullaney came off the bench to score 13 points and record a career-high seven rebounds in the win. She also played well in the classic final against Minnesota with nine points on 3-of-4 from the field.
Mullaney has come out looking for her shot this year, especially from 3-point range. She already has one-third of her total 3-point field goals from last year, making 3-of-4 (9-of-20 in 28 games in 2008-09), and overall she is shooting 57 percent while ranking fourth on the team in scoring with nine points per outing.
HOUSTON WE HAVE A RETURN, DESPITE BUMPS: Junior Whitney Houston made her much anticipated return to the CU lineup against UC Irvine. Houston redshirted last year after a preseason knee injury forced her to miss the 2008-09 campaign. She finished with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting with two steals in 26 minutes. Houston hit a couple of big buckets down the stretch, including a layup which gave the Buffaloes their first lead at 54-52 with just 1:37 left in the game.
She sat out the Illinois-Chicago game due to a slight concussion sustained in the UC Irvine game, but returned against Minnesota two days later and put up nearly identical numbers, scoring 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting while dishing out three assists.
GETTING 'ER DUNN: Senior center Courtney Dunn made her first two collegiate starts at the Minnesota Subway Classic, averaging 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 50 percent in the two game set. Dunn scored seven points and had career bests with eight rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes against Illinois-Chicago.
FRESHMAN DEBUTS: A pair of true freshmen made their collegiate debuts and made significant contributions to the Buffaloes come-back win against UC Irvine. Forward Meagan Malcolm-Peck got the starting nod and responded with six points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Guard Chucky Jeffery came off the bench and registered four points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Malcolm-Peck's start marked the fourth straight year the Buffaloes have had a freshman in the initial season starting lineup. The three others: Bianca Smith in 2006, Brittany Spears in 2007 and Alyssa Fressle in 2008.
Two additional players from CU's heralded freshman class saw court action for the first time in Minnesota. Brenna Malcolm-Peck and Melissa MacFarlane saw spot duty in the win over Illinois-Chicago, each playing five minutes. The 6-foot-7 MacFarlane was fouled literally one second into her collegiate debut, off an inbounds pass, and hit 1-of-2 from the line. MacFarlane also had three rebounds and a block against the Flames. Brenna Malcolm-Peck recorded one defensive rebound in her debut.
REBOUNDING WOWS: Colorado has enjoyed early success on the boards. The Buffaloes began the season with back-to-back 50-plus rebounding efforts, coralling 50 against UC Irvine in the season opener and improving on that mark with 52 against Illinois-Chicago.
Colorado had just one game all of 2008-09 with 50 or more rebounds, notching 51 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 2. CU's 52 rebounds against Illinois-Chicago were its most since recording 58 at Colorado State on Dec. 1, 2007.
The Buffaloes back-to-back 50-rebound effort was the teams first since stringing together three straight from Nov. 20-24, 2001 (50 vs. San Diego, 59 vs. Bowling Green, 50 vs. Houston). CU wasn't able to get a third 50-rebound game this time, grabbing just 24 against Minnesota, but it should be noted that both teams shot right at 50 percent from the field in that game, leaving rebounds at a premium (UM won the rebounding battle 32-24).
Against UC Irvine, Brittany Spears led the way with 14 while Meagan Malcolm-Peck grabbed 11 in her CU debut. It marked the first time the Buffs had two players reach double-digits in rebounds since Brittany Spears and Julie Seabrook each had 13 against Idaho State on Dec. 30, 2008. In the Illinois-Chicago game, the rebounds were well distributed. No one had double digits, but six players had four or more rebounds and all 10 that played had at least one.
Back to UC Irvine, Malcom-Peck's 11 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end, put her in some exclusive CU company. Her 11 boards are the third most in team history by a freshman in her CU debut and the most in 27 years:
No. Player Opponent
16 Monica Kosenski vs. Northern Arizona, 11/28/86
13 Kim Jackson vs. UTEP, 11/19/82
11 Meagan Malcolm-Peck vs. UC Irvine 11/17/09
10 Randie Wirt vs. Albany, 11/17/00
10 Lisa Van Goor vs. Colorado Women's, 11/18/80
9 Crystal Ford vs. Adams State, 11/23/85
8 Jamillah Lang vs. Gonzaga, 11/23/90
Chucky Jeffery had seven rebounds in her debut. She is one of eight different players, a list that includes Brittany Spears (at San Francisco, 11/16/07), to reach that number in her first collegiate game.
MEMORABLE COMEBACK: Colorado's comeback from a 14-point halftime deficit to win against UC Irvine ties for the third-largest margin achieved in team history. The Buffaloes trailed the Anteaters 33-19 at the break before outscoring them 42-23 in the final 20 minutes.
Colorado came back from 19 down against the University of Washington on Dec. 21, 1982, at the Guisti Tournament in Portland, Ore.CU trailed 35-16 at halftime before winning 67-65. Colorado came back from 15 points down against Kansas State on Jan. 31, 2007, that game included a 23-0 second half run.
CU's Top Halftime Comebacks:
Date Opp. Half Final Margin
12/21/82 Washington (N) UW 35-16 CU 67-65 19
1/31/07 Kansas State (H) KS 39-24 CU 66-55 15
11/15/09 UC Irvine (H) UCI 33-19 CU 61-56 14
12/1/83 Wyoming (A) UW 35-21 CU 57-56 14
12/20/03 Southern Cal (A) SC 39-27 CU 69-67 12
2/19/00 Texas (H) UT 38-26 CU 79-65 12
CAPTAINS NAMED: Before Sunday's opener head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller announced that Brittany Spears, Whitney Houston and Bianca Smith were named captains for the 2009-10 season. Smith is a captain for the second straight year while Houston and Spears are first time captains. CU captains are voted on by the players.
BUFFS IN OPENERS: Colorado is now 31-5 (.861) all-time in season openers and started the season with a home game for the 24th time in 36 seasons. Colorado is an outstanding 34-2 (.944) all-time in home openers. Colorado has never lost its overall season opener when played at home (24-0).
CLIMBING THE LADDERS: Junior Brittany Spears and Senior Bianca Smith continue to make their impressions on the CU record book.
Spears, who became just the second player in team history (Lisa Van Goor) to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore, is 20th on CU's all-time scoring list with 1,066. She is 34 points from becoming the 18th player to reach 1,100. She became the 19th player in team history to reach 500 rebounds and is just one rebound shy of catching former teammate Kara Richards (2004-09) for 18th (521). Spears is also eighth in blocked shots (89) and 3-point attempts (329) and ninth in 3-pointers made (105).
Smith is fifth in career 3-point field goals made (185) and fourth in attempts (494). She needs 15 3-pointers to move into fourth place on CU's all-time list. Smith would need 77 total 3-pointers this year to break Shelley Sheetz's career mark of 252, but it's possible. Smith holds CU's single-season mark hitting 80 from downtown in 2007-08.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado once again faces a tough schedule with potentially 16 games -- or 55 percent of the regular season schedule -- against 2009 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Six of CU's opponents are ranked in the current 2009-10 ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Preseason poll: Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia and Iowa State. Six are ranked in the Associated Press poll: Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Virginia and Kansas. A host of others are receving votes in the intial preseason polls including Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Minnesota.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 331-106 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.757). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 20 of the previous 31 years. The Buffaloes have enjoyed five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94) at the CECC.
BUFFS ON TV: Colorado's regular season schedule features nine games that will be televised either regionally or nationally, eight of which are at home. CU opens its first of eight FSN Rocky Mountain games on Wednesday, Dec. 2, as the Buffaloes host Denver University. FSN Rocky Mountain will also televise home games against Virginia (Jan. 2), Missouri (Jan. 9), Iowa State (Jan. 16), Oklahoma State (Jan. 24), Nebraska (Jan. 30), Texas (Feb. 10) and Kansas (Feb. 16). The games against Missouri and Oklahoma State will be televised nationally on FSN as part of the network's Big 12 package. Colorado's game at Kansas State (Jan. 20) is set to air on FSN Kansas City.
Colorado was 2-5 in televised games during the 2008-09 regular season. CU has appeared on 72 regional or national telecasts over the previous eight seasons.
BUFFS SIGN THREE: Shae Kelley, Ashley Wilson and Brittany Wilson have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball and continue their education at the University of Colorado in 2010-11, CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller announced Nov. 12, during the NCAA early signing period. Kelley, a 6-foot forward from Denver, is a two-time All-State honorable mention and All-Denver Prep League pick out of East High School. Kelley will be the fifth Denver Public Schools player to suit up for the Buffaloes and the first since Montbello's Nikki Weddle (1997-99). Ashley and Brittany are identical twin 5-8 guards from Long Beach, Calif. Playing for one of the most storied programs in Southern California, the Wilson twins have won three consecutive CIF Division I state titles with nationally-ranked Long Beach Poly.
SMITH GAINS FULL SEASON: Senior guard Bianca Smith was formally released from the National Letter of Intent she originally signed at the University of Tulsa earlier this summer, allowing her to gain back the semester of eligibility she would have otherwise had to surrender this season. Smith is now eligible to play the entire 2009-10 season for the Buffaloes. Smith, a native of Missouri City, Texas, had signed an NLI in November 2004 with Tulsa, who at the time was coached by current CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller. When McConnell-Miller took over the Colorado program in April 2005, Smith decided to follow her to Boulder.
She never enrolled at Tulsa, but was faced with sitting out two full seasons, one for not honoring her NLI commitment to Tulsa and a second for transferring to another NCAA Division I school. Smith was able to use her redshirt year to fulfill the NCAA transfer obligation, sitting out the 2005-06 season. She successfully petitioned the NLI Appeals Committee in 2005 to gain one semester back, but was still faced with losing one semester under the NLI commitment.
In the spring of 2009 then-CU-Boulder Chancellor Bud Peterson contacted Tulsa President, Dr. Steadman Upham, on behalf of Smith and the University of Colorado to ask for Smith's full release. Thanks to cooperation from both universities and athletic departments, Smith was released and rewarded a full final season.
BUFFS PICKED 11TH...AGAIN: For the fourth straight season Colorado was picked to finish 11th in the annaul Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
In one of the closest votes at the top in recent memory, Baylor was picked to win the 2010 title with five first place votes and 109 total points, edging out Texas and Kansas who tied for second with 106 points (3 first place votes each). Texas A&M was picked fourth with 87 votes and picked up the final first place vote. Defending champion Oklahoma was fifth (86), followed by Nebraska (80), Iowa State (59), Kansas State (44), Oklahoma State (41), Texas Tech (38), Colorado (22) and Missouri (15).
The Buffaloes have fared better than the Big 12 coaches preseason prediction three of four seasons under Kathy McConnell-Miller:
Season Preseason Actual
2009-10 11th ??
2008-09 11th 12th
2007-08 11th 9th
2006-07 11th t-7th
2005-06 12th 11th
