BOULDER - After having played with Brittney Griner in summer leagues in the Houston area, Bianca Smith knew what to expect from Baylor's fab freshman when Colorado visited Waco, Texas, early last month.
"I'd seen her and knew what she was capable of," said Smith, CU's newly crowned career leader in three-point shooting. "But I saw her lose in the (Texas) state championship game, so I knew she wasn't Goliath."
Smith's teammates, though, had only tape and hype to acquaint them with the 6-foot-8 Griner. Unfortunately for the Buffs, neither the tape nor the hype lied. Griner was Goliath.
In Baylor's 76-42 blowout win on Feb. 6, she dominated and intimidated CU with a triple-double - 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. The Buffs' game plan, fashioned from other Big 12 Conference teams' meager success against her, was to be physical in the low post, contest her shots and occasionally challenge her inside.
"We talked about going at her, how we were going to play her," CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "(But) from a mental standpoint, the shots she blocked, she really impacted our comfort level. We settled for a lot of things on the perimeter."
Added Smith: "I think it was easy for us to say we were going to stick with what we do best when she was in the game. But when we got there, it was a completely different situation.
"Her presence, whether it was blocking shots or rebounds or just her emotions in the way she fueled her team, I think it was very intimidating for the younger players - even myself."
No. 11 seed CU faces No. 6 Baylor again Thursday night (6:30 p.m., MST, streamed live on Big12Sports.com) in the first round of the Big 12 tournament - and this time there's no Griner to befuddle the Buffs. She's serving the second of a two-game league/school suspension for punching Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle during a 69-60 Baylor win on March 3.
In the first game of Griner's suspension, Baylor lost 70-54 to Texas in both teams' regular-season finale. The Lady Bears obviously missed her 19 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6 blocked shots, and Smith and the Buffs also hope they can take advantage of her absence.
"Without her, they're a completely different team," Smith said. "The paint is going to be a lot more open for drives and back-doors - a lot of things we look for in our offense that we weren't able to get (in the first meeting) because she would sag off.
"We're so used to being able to get back doors, get fouls called . . . when you have a player of her size and stature in the paint blocking shots, it's very difficult to stick to doing that and not going outside your game, fading away or taking bad shots. It was hard for us to try and stick with what we do best."
On the flip side, the Lady Bears know they must compensate better Thursday than they did in Game 1 minus Griner. And McConnell-Miller isn't underselling the Baylor roster.
"Yeah, they're a different team . . . they run different things with her off the floor," she said. "They don't pound it inside as much. She's their go-to player and a lot of what they run, they run through her.
"Now, they've got a balanced squad. They move the ball, they pass the ball and do a good job of executing within their strengths. They're still a very talented team; all of their freshmen were very highly recruited and are very capable of putting up points and numbers - but in a different fashion.
"They know they're very different without Griner on the floor. Their roles have changed, and I think that's what happens with good teams. They're a great team with her or without her - they're just a very different team."
At 13-16, the Buffs' only chance at postseason play is making a deep run into the conference tournament. For Smith, one of two CU seniors, "It means a lot . . . it could be my last time in a Colorado uniform. So I'm kinda looking forward to winning as many as we can and staying out there as long as we can."
Leading scorer (17.5 points) and rebounder (8.0) Brittany Spears has practiced for the past three days after a sinus infection sidelined her for the second half of last Saturday's loss at Iowa State.
The Buffs enter the Big 12 tournament having lost three straight and 11 of their last 12 regular-season games. Baylor has beaten CU in their six most recent meetings, but Griner being a spectator Thursday offers the Buffs a glimmer of hope to keep playing.
Otherwise, their season is over.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
