Buffs believe off-season improvements will pay off at season opener
The CU women’s basketball team will tip-off its season Friday against San Francisco on the road. After finishing last season with a 1-10 road record, the Buffs are hoping their new offense can help the team win more games away from Boulder.
“We’re bigger, stronger and faster,” said Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller.
Last season, the team mainly had a forward offense that didn’t have a lot of depth. Shooting occurred within the two-point range, and passing wasn’t consistent. The 2007-08 squad looks completely different, with a wide arsenal of weapons in their offense.
“It’s intangible. We all play better. Our outside shooting has a lot more consistency,” senior forward Jackie McFarland said.
McFarland has been the star of the team throughout the past few years at CU, but senior guard Susie Powers has been improving vastly on the defensive end and sophomore guard Whitney Houston has honed her skills more than any other player, McConnell-Miller said.
“She is by far the most improved from the off-season in every aspect–decision making, form and perimeter,” McConnell-Miller said. “She has big expectations but also the tools to meet them.”
Houston led the team in assists last season with 64 and was third in the team in points per game. At practice, she is typically the first person to show up and the last person to leave.
Although the team has focused a lot on its offense, defensive improvements haven’t just been left in the dust.
“We do make an emphasis every night to go over the principles, and it is not everyone’s favorite part of practice, but we do go over the basic shell ideas of the defense,” said senior guard Susie Powers.
The Buffs are hoping that both offensive and defensive improvements during the off-season will translate into wins on the court. But McConnell-Miller said this team has something that her previous teams have not had.
“They are the most conditioned, strongest and most experienced team I’ve had here. We have a great combination of experienced players and young, talented players,” McConnell-Miller said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Justin Sedgwick at justin.sedgwick@thecampuspress.com
