Buffs Set For Super Bowl Sunday Matinee With Arizona
THE GAME: The University of Colorado hosts the University of Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 11 a.m. at the Coors Events Center.
BROADCAST: Sunday's game is scheduled to air live nationally on the Pac-12 Networks. Anne Marie Anderson will have the play-by-play with Maylana Martin-Douglas with the color commentary. Sunday's game will air live on KKZN 760 AM. Cory Lopez will have the call with Carol Callan of USA Basketball providing the color commentary.
OPENING TIP: Thirteen of Colorado's 20 games have been decided by nine points or less with the Buffaloes 5-8 in those contests.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 9-11 overall and in ninth place in the Pac-12 at 2-7. The Buffaloes are just three games out of sixth place and will play all four schools 1-to-3 games ahead of them in the standings in the next three weeks. Colorado dropped its third straight game, and eighth of its last 10, after falling to No. 11 (AP & USA Today) Arizona State 68-60 Friday night at the Coors Events Center. The margin of those eight losses is just 8.9 points per game. Last weekend was one of missed opportunities as the Buffaloes dropped tightly contested road games at Washington (85-82) and Washington State (73-68). Colorado had double-digit leads in both contests, but fell short at the end.
Colorado is averaging 71.9 points per game on 43.5 percent shooting. The Buffaloes' scoring has dipped slightly during Pac-12 play, as is the norm with stiffer competition, but still checks in at a solid 69 points per game. CU has shot better during Pac-12 play, hitting 44.0 percent, including a Pac-12 best 40.2 percent from 3-point range. Colorado registered its sixth 80-point game of the season after putting up 82 at Washington, the most for the Buffaloes in a conference road game since an 84-60 win at Nebraska on Feb. 26, 2002. Colorado's 84 points against UCLA are the most against a conference opponent since putting up a similar number against Oregon on Feb. 10, 2013.
Defensively, Colorado has allowed 71.9 points per game on 38.1 percent from the field. Colorado is second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (43.2 rpg), defensive rebounds (29.7 drpg) and blocked shots (5.1 bpg) while ranking third in 3-point defense (.286), rebounding margin (+5.8), 3-point percentage (.385) and free throw percentage (.731).
Junior forward Jamee Swan leads Colorado at 14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while hitting 50.2 percent from the field. She recorded her team best fifth double-double of the season ,and seventh of her career, with 10 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, and 11 rebounds against Arizona State. Swan left Friday's game early with an ankle injury and is listed as day-to-day. She is coming off a strong weekend averaging 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3.5 assists while shooting 66 percent from the field in the two games against Washington and Washington State. Swan had 22 points and 11 rebounds at Washington and then scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting and matched a personal-best five blocked shots at WSU. She became the ninth player in Colorado history to reach 100 career blocks
In the Pac-12 Swan ranks second in blocks, third in offensive rebounds (3.1 orpg), sixth in overall rebounding, ninth in field goal percentage, 12th in scoring and 15th in defensive rebounds (4.8 drpg).
Senior Jen Reese is second in scoring (13.5 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), free throw percentage (.840) and field goal percentage (.476). She scored a career and team season-high 30 points in the loss to UCLA which put her over the 1,000-point mark in her career. She made 14-of-19 from the field and also dished out five assists, all career-highs. The 30 points are the most by a CU player since Chucky Jeffery had 30 against Idaho on Dec. 4, 2011. Reese is hitting 50.6 percent during Pac-12 games (43-of-85).
Reese has scored in double figures in 13 of 20 games - scoring nine in three others including the last two - and has three double-doubles. She has four games of 20 or more points this season. On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Reese is fourth in free throw percentage, ninth in overall rebounding, 10th in defensive boards (5.3 drpg), 13th in scoring and 14th in field goal percentage.
Senior guard Lexy Kresl is averaging 12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds while leading the Buffaloes at 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Kresl has upped her scoring average to 18.8 per game over the past six, including an 18-point performance against Arizona State tying career highs for field goals made and attempted at 8-of-16. She led Colorado at Washington with 23 points, her fifth career 20-point outing. Kresl has made 18 of her last 32 from 3-point range (.563) and is closing in on 1,000 career points entering Sunday's game at 961. Kresl scored a career-high 26 points in the overtime win over Utah hitting 6-of-8 from the field and setting personal bests with 11-of-16 from the foul line.
On the Pac-12 charts Kresl ranks fourth in 3-pointers made (2.1 3mpg), fifth in assists, seventh in 3-point percentage (.413), 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and 20th in scoring.
Sophomore guard Haley Smith leads the team in free throw percentage (.864) while ranking third in field goal percentage (.465) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) and fourth in scoring (10.2 ppg). She saw her streak of consecutive free throws made end at 20 during the Washington State game. She has made 21-of-23 from the line during league play, giving her the top mark in the Pac-12 during that span at 91.3 percent. On the overall Pac-12 leaderboard Smith ranks 19th in rebounding.
Senior guard Jasmine Sborov is averaging 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and ranks second on the team in assists with 51. Sborov had a career and team season-high four steals at Washington to go along with six points, five rebounds and five assists. She scored in double figures for the fourth time this season with 10 points against USC on 5-of-10 from the field. Her 10 points marked just her third Pac-12 game scoring in double-digits and just one off her league best of 11 set at UCLA last season. Her five field goals made were a Pac-12 best. Against Iowa, Sborov led Colorado with career-highs in points (17) and rebounds (12) for her second career double-double. Sborov also dished out a career-high nine assists against San Jose State.
Sophomore wing Lauren Huggins is second on the team with 28 3-pointers and has hit 35.9 percent from long range. Sophomore forward Zoe Beard-Fails earned a starting role for the Buffaloes front court for a recent five-game stretch. Overall on the season she has averaged 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds. Beard-Fails had nine points, five rebounds and tied a career-best with three assists at Washington. Against Long Beach State she had career highs in points (14), rebounds (8) and field goals made and attempted (7-of-13).
Colorado's freshmen have steadily increased their productivity as the Pac-12 season gets into full swing. Wing Alina Hartmann scored a career-best eight points in the win at Utah, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. Brecca Thomas is averaging 4.0 points during Pac-12 play, hitting 43 percent from the field including 60 percent (7-of-12) from 3-point range during that span. Zoe Correal logged double-digit minutes in both wins over Utah pitching in 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds. She had a personal best six points on 3-of-6 shooting at Stanford.
ABOUT ARIZONA: Arizona is 8-11 overall and tied for 11th place in the Pac-12 at 1-8. On Friday, the Wildcats shot just 28.3 percent in a 62-48 loss at Utah. Keyahndra Cannon came off the bench to lead Arizona with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals. The Wildcats snapped a seven game losing streak with an 81-78 overtime win over Oregon in Tucson on Jan. 25 for their first Pac-12 win. Arizona ranks 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring (59.5 ppg) and 12th in field goal percentage (.364). The Wildcats are one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the league, grabbing just under 14 per game. Defensively, Arizona holds its opponents to 65.4 points per game on 41.2 percent from the floor. The Wildcats have done well defending the perimeter, allowing only 28.5 percent from 3-point range, the second best mark in the Pac-12.
Senior guard Candice Warthen leads Arizona in scoring (12.9 ppg), assists (3.0 apg) and steals (1.2 spg) while ranking second in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and 3-point field goals (14). Sophomore forward LaBrittney Jones tops the Wildcats in rebounding (6.2 rpg), blocks (1.3 bpg) and field goal percentage (.447) and is second in scoring (9.0 ppg). Freshman guard Charise Holloway leads Arizona in 3-pointers made and attempted (24-of-80) and is third in scoring (7.7 ppg). Sophomore guard Malena Washington is second in assists (2.2 apg) while pitching in 7.1 points per outing.
Niya Butts is in her seventh season as the head coach at Arizona with a record of 87-120.
THE SERIES: This will be the 16th meeting between Colorado and Arizona with the Buffaloes holding a 12-3 series lead. Colorado has won nine straight over the Wildcats including all six meetings as Pac-12 rivals. The Buffaloes swept last season's series, winning in Boulder, 68-47, on Jan. 24 and then needing overtime to pick up the win in Tucson, 61-56, on Feb. 23.
Linda Lappe is 6-0 against Arizona as a head coach. Niya Butts is 0-6 against Colorado as a head coach.
CONNECTIONS: Colorado has two Arizona natives on its roster. Senior guard Lexy Kresl is from Paradise Valley, a suburb of Phoenix. Junior forward Jamee Swan is from Marana which is near Tucson.
SMITH PERFECT FROM FREE THROW LINE: Sophomore Haley Smith was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the home win over Utah. Both numbers represent career highs for Smith with the 11 free throws made tying for the team season high along with Jen Reese (11-of-13) and Lexy Kresl (11-of-16).
Smith's 11-for-11 outing also ties for Colorado's fourth best single game performance for free throws made with out a miss. She had a string of 20 straight free throws made end with her only attempt at Washington State. Smith has made 21-of-23 in Pac-12 play (.913), the league's best mark during that span.
MOST FREE THROWS WITHOUT A MISS:
13-of-13, Gretchen DeWitte vs. Nebraska, Feb. 7, 1987
12-of-12, Jackie McFarland vs. Missouri, Mar. 5, 2008
12-of-12, Mandy Nightingale vs. Florida, Dec. 22, 2000
11-of-11, Haley Smith vs. Utah, Jan. 14, 2015
11-of-11, Shelley Sheetz vs. Kansas, Feb. 12, 1992.
REESE'S TOP FIELD GOAL NIGHT: Senior forward Jen Reese had a career night with 30 points against UCLA. She made 14-of-19 from the field and the 14 field goals made tie for the third-best single-game total in team history. Reese joins 10 others who have had 14 field goals in a game, most recently by CU's all-time leading scorer Brittany Spears against California in the first round of the 2011 Postseason WNIT.
MOST FIELD GOALS IN ONE GAME:
17, Tracy Tripp at Oklahoma State, Feb. 4, 1987
15, Jean Raikes vs. Temple Junior College, Nov. 20, 1976
14, Jen Reese vs. UCLA, Jan. 11, 2015
14, 10 others, most recently Brittany Spears vs. Cal, Mar. 21, 2011
BACK TO THE BOARDS: Colorado has outrebounded, or been even, with 16 of its 20 opponents this season by an average of 5.8 per game. The Buffaloes are second the Pac-12 in overall rebounds (43.2 rpg) and defensive rebounds (29.7 drpg) and ranked sixth in offensive boards (13.5 orpg).
Colorado has five games with 50 or more rebounds, including the Long Beach State contest where the Buffaloes dominated the 49ers 50-26, the largest margin of the season and biggest since holding a plus-25 margin against Arizona (51-26) on Jan. 20, 2013. All five of Colorado's 50-plus rebounding games came over an eight-game span including a season-high 60 against San Jose State the program's most since pulling down 60 against Marquette in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
Colorado sports two of the top nine rebounders in the Pac-12, and is the only school with two in the top nine. Junior Jamee Swan is sixth at 7.8 per game while senior Jen Reese is ninth at 7.3 per contest.
KRESL'S DISH: Lexy Kresl recorded the fourth triple-double in team history by scoring 12 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists in the double overtime win over Colorado State on Nov. 29.
Her triple-double was the team's first since Chucky Jeffery recorded the second of her two triple-doubles at Oklahoma State on Mar. 25, 2012 during the Postseason WNIT. Sandy Bean achieved the program's first triple-double against Utah State on Feb. 16, 1979.
For Kresl, both the rebounds and assists figures were career-highs. It was actually her second "double" of the week. Kresl put together her first career double-double in the win over Denver with 10 points and 10 assists.
Nine of her assists in the Denver game came in the first 20 minutes, tying a school record for assists in one half originally set by Whitney Law against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 18, 2005.
Counting Colorado's prior three triple-doubles, Kresl's points-assists double-double was the 14th in team history and first since Jeffery's triple at OSU (12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists).
WORKING OVERTIME: Colorado has played in four overtime games, the most in one season in team history. As of January 27, it's tied for the second-most in NCAA Division I for the 2014-15 campaign (DePaul, Norfolk State, Purdue), trailing only Hofstra which has played in five. The NCAA I record for overtimes in one season is seven set by Wisconsin in 1998-99.
Colorado's 77-72 overtime win over Utah moved the Buffaloes to 3-1 on the season with the extra session and above .500 all-time at 24-23.
2014-15 OVERTIME GAMES
Nov. 17 vs. Western Kentucky (68-68) L, 78-79
Nov. 29 vs. Colorado State (64-64/74-74) W, 87-81
Dec. 5 vs. San Jose State (85-85) W, 97-89
Jan. 11 vs. Utah (63-63) W, 77-72
The Buffaloes had played three overtime games in one season on four other occasions, most recently in 1995-96. Colorado played in overtime in three of its first seven games marking the first time the Buffaloes had played three during the nonconference schedule. Overall it's the 14 time Colorado has played multiple overtime games in one season.
Colorado played back-to-back overtime games for the first time in team history with the San Jose State and CSU contests. The Buffaloes had two overtimes in a three-game span in February 1988.
The double overtime game with CSU was just the sixth in team history and first since an 84-77 setback to Iowa State on Jan. 13, 2008. Lexy Kresl set a school single game record by playing in 49 minutes against Colorado State. The Buffaloes are 3-3 overall in double overtime games.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Colorado has a record of 53-33 since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Of those 33 losses, 15 have been to ranked teams and 14 of those ranked higher than Colorado at the time the game was played. The Buffaloes have won 50 of their last 68 games against unranked opponents.
The Buffaloes have been dominant in regular season nonconference games under Linda Lappe. Colorado is 48-9 in that stretch since the beginning of the 2010-11 season. The Buffaloes have won 41 of their last 46 regular season nonconference contests. The Buffaloes put together 33 straight nonconference wins from Dec. 30, 2010 through Dec. 12, 2013.
REESE'S PIECES: Senior forward Jen Reese is the 13th player in team history to reach 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in a career.
She reached the 1,000-point milestone during her career-high 30-point effort against UCLA on Jan. 11 and is the 26th player to reach that mark. She is currently 25th on CU's career scoring list with 1,056 points.
Reese reached 600 at Washington State and is currently 15th on CU's all-time list at 609. She is 20th in career field goals made with 421.
KRESL SOLID FROM ARC, LINE: Senior guard Lexy Kresl ranks seventh in career 3-pointers made at 162 and is fifth in attempts with 511. She has made 18-of-32 over her last six outings.
She has made a 3-pointer in 83 of 113 career games and has 44 contests with two or more buckets from long range. Kresl hit five at Washington, tying a season high and also marking her seventh career game with five or more 3-pointers.
Kresl has also been one of Colorado's most reliable free throw shooters over the past three seasons. Her career percentage of 817 (165-of-202) would rank sixth on the Buffs' all-time list (minimum of 100 attempts).
She hit 84.1 percent from the line in 2013-14 (69-of-82) ranking third in the Pac-12 Conference. Her mark was also good for 19th on Colorado's single-season list.
Kresl is also closing in on the 1,000 point mark, entering Sunday's game with 961.
HUGGINS SHOOTS UP LIST: With 21 3-pointers over the last 16 games, sophomore Lauren Huggins has put herself among the Buffaloes' career leaders. She is currently 17th in career 3-pointers made with 68 and 18th in attempts at 188.
SWAN'S SWATS: Junior forward Jamee Swan ranks second in the Pac-12 in blocked shots at 2.1 per game. She has 24 blocked shots over the last 10 games (2.4 bpg) a number that includes a trio of career and team-season high five block efforts (Long Beach State, USC and Washington State).
Swan has 105 career blocks ranking eighth on CU's all-time list.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Colorado is 0-3 against ranked teams this season after dropping a 68-60 decision to No. 11/11 Arizona State on Jan. 30. The Buffaloes have dropped their last 15 against ranked opponents. Colorado is 62-157 all-time against ranked opponents.
STRONG SCHEDULE: Colorado currently holds down the 25th toughest schedule in the nation (through games of Jan. 27) as its opponents have a combined record of 196-120 (.620). The Buffaloes are third in the Pac-12 trailing UCLA (2nd, .671) and Arizona State (.637).
Taking into account the records of future opposition, Colorado jumps to 19th as its cumulative opponent record is 247-145 (.630), trailing only UCLA in the Pac-12 (2nd, .677).
Colorado opened a season with two teams that made the NCAA Tournament the previous year (North Dakota & Western Kentucky) for the first time since 2003-04 when the Buffaloes hosted Old Dominion and Notre Dame in the WBCA Classic. Only twice since then had the Buffaloes even played one team in their first two coming off a trip to the big dance, Loyola-Marymount in 2004-05 (Game 1) and Vanderbilt in 2006-07 (Game 2).
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 401-140 all-time record at the Coors Events Center (.743). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CEC in 25 of 36 years. The Buffaloes have enjoyed five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94) at the CEC.
Colorado is 7-5 at the Coors Events Center in 2014-15 and has won 25 of its last 37 and 36 of its last 51 at home.
BUFFS ON TV: Colorado women's basketball will be televised to a regional or national audience at least 13 times during the regular season, including 12 games on the Pac-12 Networks during league play. This marks the third consecutive year the Buffaloes will have double-digit regional or national television appearances.
Colorado made its television debut on ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain on Nov. 25, defeating Denver 77-49. Colorado's first eight Pac-12 games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks as will five of the Buffaloes' nine home conference games. All remaining home games, and conference road games, that aren't televised will be scheduled to be streamed live through Colorado's Pac-12.com video portal. In addition, CU's game at Missouri on Friday, Dec. 12, aired on SEC Network +, the SEC's online video streaming option.
Entering this season, Colorado has tipped off on 127 national or regional telecasts since the fall of 2001, and 28 since the advent of the Pac-12 Networks in 2012.