THE GAMES: The University of Colorado takes to the road for the first time this season as the Buffaloes face the University of Illinois-Chicago and the University of Minnesota at the Subway Classic in Minneapolis. The Buffaloes will play UIC in the first game on Friday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m. MST and will face the host Gophers on Sunday, Nov. 22, also at 5 p.m. MST. Minnesota and Illinois-Chicago will play on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m.
BROADCAST: All Colorado women's basketball games can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Chris Lewis will deliver play-by-play of the Subway Classic games. Live internet audio of all CU basketball games is available on BuffsRadio, a subscription service through CUBuffs.com.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado won its season opener for the 31st time in 36 seasons at the Buffaloes erased a 14-point second half deficit and defeated UC Irvine 61-56 on Nov. 15 at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The win also snapped a six-game losing streak for Colorado dating back to last year. Colorado will now be looking to snap another six-game losing streak, this one in games away from Boulder. The Buffaloes last win outside the Coors Events Center was a 61-56 decision at Missouri on Jan. 24.
SPEARS ROLLS: Junior Brittany Spears topped the Buffaloes in the UC Irvine game with 18 points and 14 rebounds. It was her 16th career double-double and the 14 rebounds tied her previous best she initially set as a freshman against Baylor (2/27/08). Spears also reached another milestone in the UC Irvine game on the boards. Her 14 rebounds put her at exactly 500 for her career, becoming the 19th Buffalo to reach that mark.
HOUSTON WE HAVE A RETURN: Junior Whitney Houston made her much anticipated return to the CU lineup. 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.
FRESHMAN DEBUTS: A pair of true freshmen made their collegiate debuts and made significant contributions to the Buffaloes come-back win. 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.
REBOUNDING WOWS: Colorado enjoyed success on the boards, grabbing 50 rebounds against UC Irvine, its most since corraling 51 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 2, 2008. 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.
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.
ABOUT THE FLAMES: Illinois-Chicago is 0-2 on the young season, falling to Eastern Michigan 61-49 in its home opener on Nov. 13 and dropping a 79-64 decision at Bradley on Nov. 15. Senior center Cassie Johnson is averaging 11 points and 6.5 rebounds over the first two games while senior guard Jessie Miller is averaging 11 points, three rebounds and three steals. Sophomore forward Jasmine Bailey is the top rebounder for the Flames at eight per game while averaging 9.5 points.
ABOUT THE GOPHERS: Minnesota is 1-1 overall. The Gophers rolled to an 84-45 win in their season opener against Lamar on Nov. 15 then went on the road and fell 60-59 at Utah on Nov. 17. Sophomore guard Kiara Buford leads the way averaging 16 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Senior forward Ashley Ellis-Milan is also scoring in double digits at 13 points per game while also grabbing 6.5 rebounds.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the first meeting between Colorado and Illinois-Chicago. The Buffaloes are 2-0 all time against teams from the Horizon League, defeating Detroit in in 2002 and Wright State in 1999.
This will be the fifth meeting between Colorado and Minnesota with the Gophers holding a 3-1 series edge. CU's lone win against Minnesota was a 76-69 decision at home on Dec. 30, 1985. The two teams have met just once since 1986, in November 2003 when the Buffaloes last played in Minnesota's Subway Classic. That battle between a pair of Top 16 teams, was won in a runaway by Minnesota 95-61 in the classic's championship game.
The Minnesota game in 2003 was also the last time the Buffaloes faced an opponent from the Big Ten Conference. CU is just 5-14 all-time against the Big Ten.
Kathy McConnell-Miller has never faced UC Irvine or Minnesota as a head coach.
CONNECTIONS: Colorado junior guard Kelly Jo Mullaney is going home to play on a floor she won a state championship on as a prep. Mullaney, a Minneapolis native was a four-year letterwinner and a Miss Minnesota Basketball finalist for The Breck School, helping her team to a state title in 2004.
Minnesota Associate Head Coach Barb Smith spent nine seasons as a Colorado assistant coach (1988-97) under Ceal Barry. Smith was CU's top assistant and recruiting coordinator as the Buffaloes made eight NCAA Tournament appearances during her time in Boulder.
ON THIS DATE: Colorado is 4-2 all-time on Nov. 20, last playing on this date in 2004 in a loss at Nevada. This will be CU's first neutral site game on Nov. 20. The Buffaloes are 5-0 all-time on Nov. 22, four of which have come at home. CU's other win on Nov. 22 was actually at Williams Arena in Minneapolis as the Buffaloes defeated Harvard in the first round of the 2003 Subway Classic. Colorado is 102-32 all-time in the month of November, including an 8-1 mark in neutral site games. CU is 12-15 on the road in November.
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).
EARLY SEASON 'WHAT TO WATCH FOR': Junior Brittany Spears and Senior Bianca Smith continue to make their impressions on the CU record book as the new season begins.
Spears, who became just the second player in team history (Lisa Van Goor) to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore, is 22nd on CU's all-time scoring list with 1,020. She is 45 points from cracking the career top 20. She became the 19th player in team history to reach 500 rebounds and is just 21 rebounds shy of catching former teammate Kara Richards (2004-09) for 18th (521).
Smith is fifth in career 3-point field goals made (178) and attempted (479). She needs 19 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
