Colorado Hosts No. 17/16 Iowa State Saturday
THE GAME: The University of Colorado continues Big 12 Conference action by hosting No. 17 (AP)/16 (WBCA) ranked Iowa State University on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 4 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
PROMOTIONS: Saturday is Youth Day for the women's basketball team. All kids 13 & under will receive admission for $1 and there will be a post-game autograph session with the team.
BROADCAST: Saturday's contest can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Mike Rice will handle play-by-play duties while Carol Callan of USA Basketball provides the color commentary. Live internet audio is available on CUBuffs.com, through the BuffsRadio free subscription. Live internet video streaming of Saturday's game is available on BuffsTV, also a subscription service through CUBuffs.com.
OPENING TIP: Senior guard/forward Brittany Spears needs just five points to become the fourth player in team history to reach 1,800 in her career.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 9-6 overall and 0-2 in league play after dropping a 68-58 decision to the University of Kansas on Jan. 12. The Buffaloes have dropped four of their last six games, but continue this string of four out of five at home where CU is 9-2 inside the friendly confines of the Coors Events Center this season.
Colorado has played well defensively this season, giving up just 58 points a game while opponents are only shooting 37 percent from the field. The Buffaloes have been even more stringent from the 3-point line, allowing just 25 percent from beyond the arc, ranking second in the Big 12 and have been among the nation's leaders all season (CU's 24.2 percent as of Jan. 10 ranked eighth in the nation). Colorado has also been winning the battle of the boards, outrebounding its opponent in 11 of 15 games and by an average of six boards an outing. The Buffaloes rank fifth in the Big 12 in steals (9.3 spg) and also 3-point field-goals made (6.0 3mpg).
Senior guard/forward Brittany Spears leads CU and ranks fifth in the Big 12 in scoring at 17.5 points per game. She is also fifth in defensive rebounds (5.3 drpg) and 3-point field goals made (2.5 3mpg), ninth in overall rebounding (7.8 rpg) and 14th in offensive rebounds on the league charts. Spears is coming off a 16-point, 10-rebound performance against Kansas, her fifth double-double of the season and 27th of her career. She is averaging 20.2 points over the last five games. Spears has registered double digits in 14 of 15 games this season and in 93 of 108 career outings. She is also tied for the team lead in blocks (12), is second in steals (27) and fourth in assists (24).
Sophomore guard Chucky Jeffery is CU's top rebounder (9.2 rpg) while ranking second on the team in scoring at 15.3 an outing. Jeffery has seven double-doubles this season, ranking second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State's Toni Young who has eight, including the second triple-double in team history by recording 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Loyola Chicago. Jeffery leads the Big 12 in steals at 3.3 per game (49) and is also third in defensive rebounding (6.6 drpg) and overall boards, seventh in assists (4.7 apg) and minutes (32.9), 12th in scoring, 13th in offensive rebounds (2.6 orpg) and field-goal percentage (.492) and 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1).
Sophomore guard/forward Meagan Malcolm-Peck is averaging 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds and is tied with Spears for the team lead in blocked shots (12). She is averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last three games and has made 12 of her last 25 field goal attempts (.480), including 6-of-14 from 3-point range.
Junior forward Julie Seabrook is averaging 6.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 51 percent from the field (40-of-78). She has shot 60 percent or better in seven of games, and 50 percent or better in nine outings. Seabrook has three games of double-digit rebounds.
Freshman guard Brittany Wilson is averaging 7.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and is one of three Buffs -- joining Spears and Jeffery -- with at least 20 assists and 20 steals. Since entering the starting lineup against North Dakota, Wilson has averaged 11.3 points while shooting 42 percent (5-of-12) from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE CYCLONES: No. 17 (AP)/16 (WBCA) ranked Iowa State is 13-3 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play. The Cyclones fell to top-ranked Baylor, 70-58, in the league opener and bounced back to defeat Nebraska, 64-43, at home on Jan. 11. Iowa State is sports the Big 12's second-best scoring defense (50.8 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (.324). The Cyclones are also tough on the boards, averaging 40.4 per game and holding their opponents to a league-low 31.1 per contest. Long known as a 3-point shooting team, ISU ranks third in the Big 12 in that category at 7.2 per game and shooting at a 38-percent clip.
Senior guard Kelsey Bolte leads the Cyclones at 16.3 points per game. Bolte is the Big 12's top 3-point shooter, making 3.1 per game, and her 45 percent accuracy from downtown ranks third on the league charts. Iowa State has four other players averaging right around 8-10 points per game. Freshman forward Hallie Christofferson averages 9.8 per contest while shooting a team-best 55 percent from the field. Sophomore post Anna Prins is at 9.6 points per game and is a threat from outside with 15 3-pointers this season. Sophomore Chelsea Poppens averages a team-best seven rebounds per game while pitching in 8.6 points. Junior guard Lauren Mansfield also averages 8.6 points per game while topping the Big 12 in assists at 6.5 an outing.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 66th meeting between Colorado and Iowa State with the Buffaloes holding a 36-29 series edge. The Cyclones have held the upper hand in recent years, winning eight straight and 13 of the last 14 contests. Colorado holds an 18-10 advantage in Boulder, but ISU has won the last three at the Coors Events Center. CU's last win over Iowa State was an 81-67 decision in Boulder on Jan. 10, 2007.
COLORADO AND IOWA STATE, LAST 10
Date Result Date Result
3/6/10 (A) L, 41-59 1/30/08 (A) L, 45-65
1/16/10 (H) L, 62-68 1/13/08 (H) L, 77-84 2OT
2/25/09 (A) L, 63-76 2/17/07 (A) L, 55-74
2/7/09 (H) L, 47-53 1/10/07 (H) W, 81-67
3/11/08 (N) L, 50-76 3/2/06 (A) L, 46-56
CONNECTIONS: Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly, in his 15th season, is one of five Big 12 coaches that were at their current position when CU head coach Linda Lappe played for the Buffaloes from 1998-2003. Lappe is an Iowa native, as is assistant coach Jennie Baranczyk who was a standout at ISU's rival Iowa from 2000-04. ISU assistant coach Jodi Steyer played at Colorado State, graduating in 1989 as the Rams' all-time leading scorer. ISU sophomore center Anna Prins is a native of Broomfield, Colo.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: Colorado will be looking to end a 24-game losing streak against ranked teams and 21-game skid against teams ranked in both AP and WBCA Coaches polls (Iowa State was ranked only in the WBCA poll in one meeting last season as was Kansas State in two meetings in 2008-09). CU's last win over a ranked opponent was a 73-68 decision over No. 15/15 Kansas State on Feb. 23, 2008.
FIRST LINEUP SHAKE-UP NETS GREAT RESULTS: After sporting the same starting lineup for the season's first 12 games, the Buffaloes made a switch against North Dakota by giving freshman guard Brittany Wilson her first career start and bringing forward Meagan Malcolm-Peck off the bench, and both players responded in outstanding fashion. Wilson scored 15 points including a career-best four 3-pointers. Malcolm-Peck responded with her second career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
JEFFERY 'STEALS' THE SHOW: Sophomore Chucky Jeffery had a career and team season-high seven steals in the win over Colgate. It's the 21st time a Buff has registered seven or more steals in a game, but the first since Damietta Velicica had seven vs. Tulane on December 6, 1997. Jeffery, leads the Big 12 at 3.3 steals per game, has had six steals in three other games this season (Regis, Evansville and Kansas) and has at least three steals in nine of 15 games.
DALE RETURNS: In six games back from missing the fall semester with academic issues, senior guard Chelsea Dale has fit nicely into the CU rotation. She is averaging 4.7 points while grabbing 2.5 reboudns over six games. Dale had a career-high with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the win over Colgate. Dale's 28 points in six games back is just one less than the 29 she scored over 23 games in 2009-10. She made her season debut at USC, contributing 10 points and a career-best five rebounds off the bench in the loss to the Trojans.
SPEARS' STARTING STREAK: Senior Brittany Spears is scheduled to make her 109th career start Saturday, leaving her just three behind Amy Mathern (1989-93) for the longest streak in team history. Mathern started the final 112 games of her distinguished career. Spears already holds CU's mark for most consecutive starts at the beginning of a career as she passed Lisa Van Goor (1980-85) when she started her 101st game against Illinois on Dec. 4. With her 109th start, she will tie Mandy Nightingale (1998-02) for the seventh most overall career starts.
SPEARS CLIMBING CAREER LADDERS: Senior guard/forward Brittany Spears needs just five points to become the fourth player in team history to reach 1,800 for her career. She is now 63 points behind recent CU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Tera Bjorklund (2000-04) for third place on CU's all-time scoring list. Spears also ranks second in field-goal attempts (1,539), fourth in field-goals made (656), 3-point field-goal attempts (561) and double-doubles (27), fifth in rebounds (837) and blocked shots (128), sixth in 3-point field-goals made (190), seventh in minutes (3,569), eighth in steals (203) and games started (108) and 13th in free-throws made (293) on CU's all-time charts.
She is only the third player in team history, joining Lisa Van Goor (1980-85) and Jackie McFarland (2004-08) to record 1,700 points and 800 rebounds in a career.