Stafford Leaves Team

Boulder - University of Colorado sophomore women's basketball player Syreeta Stafford has decided to leave the team, head coach Ceal Barry announced Tuesday.

Barry met with Stafford on Monday evening, and the guard informed her of her intent to leave the team effective immediately. She will remain in school and finish the spring semester.

"We are all going to miss Syreeta," said Barry. "My understanding after talking with her at length is that she felt she needed to do what was best for her own basketball career."

Stafford played in 48 games at Colorado, starting 12 of 21 this season. She was scoring an average of 4.5 points per game during 2002-03, and playing 13.7 minutes per game.

"I feel confident that our team will stick to its goal of attaining an NCAA tournament bid," said Barry. "This will also increase the playing time of Maria Billingsley and Veronica Johns-Richardson."

Colorado's next game is against Oklahoma on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.