As they head into a new conference, the Buffs have something to prove.
The CU women’s basketball team, which begins its season on Nov. 6, was ranked 11th in the Pac-12 preseason coaches’ poll.
Some players feel that spot on the list was an underestimation.
“I think it’s a good thing … since we’re ranked as underdogs to prove people wrong,” said freshman forward Jen Reese.
Junior guard Chucky Jeffery said the ranking is giving her team motivation to work extra hard.
“We take that to heart and come out with a chip on our shoulder,” Jeffery said. “[The league] is not expecting much out of us, but we expect a lot.”
(CU Independent illustration/Josh Shettler)
Jeffery said the day the rankings were released, her team let out their anger and frustration on the court.
“We had a good practice that day,” Jeffery said. “It was intense in here.”
Despite being ranked low in the poll, the Buffs hope to finish their season in the top half of the Pac-12 conference.
“That’s one of the things we always talk about as a staff,” said head coach Linda Lappe. “If we’re not [in the top half], I don’t know that we’re going to think of it as that successful of a season.”
As part of the newly-formed Pac-12, the Buffs will battle challenging opponents like the Stanford Cardinal, which has won 11 straight conference crowns and which was ranked first in this year’s coaches’ poll for the 11th straight year. Another tough rival will be the USC Trojans, the runners-up in last season’s WNIT and the second-ranked team in the preseason poll.
Jeffery said she is confident that even against such talented teams, the Buffs will be able to keep pace.
“As long as we stay focused… on what we’re doing and not on what other teams are doing, I think we’ll be fine,” Jeffery said. “In the Pac-12s it’s more run, run, run, but we can keep up.”
Besides a conference switch, the Buffs will also adjust to changes in the coaching staff as well as the addition of freshman newcomers.
LaTonya Watson, who was an assistant coach for the Buffs under Ceal Barry from 1996-2005, will rejoin the CU staff this season. During her time away from CU, Watson worked as an assistant coach at American University for another three.
Lappe said Watson’s duties include freshman and sophomore recruiting as well as working with the guards during practice.
“She is a hard, hard worker,” Lappe said. “She is a teacher by trade, and we’ve seen that transition on the floor … we’ve seen our guards get better.”
The team also welcomes five new freshmen: guards Lexy Kresl and Esther Lee and forwards Jen Reese, Jasmine Sborov and Arielle Roberson, whose brother Andre is a sophomore on the CU men’s team this season.
Lappe pointed out that the freshmen are still adjusting to the pace of college play, but that they are learning quickly in practice. Without Brittany Spears, who graduated after becoming CU’s all-time leading scorer last season, Lappe said freshman scorers like Kresl may have to step up immediately.
“[Kresl] is a dynamite shooter … she’s one of the ones who might emerge as one of those players who wants to have the ball in their hands when we have to score,” Lappe said. “She’s still learning what it takes to get open at this level and the patience that that takes.”
Even with an all-star freshman class, however, Lappe said her team still needs to work on fixing its biggest weakness: communication.
“That has not emerged yet,” Lappe said. “Communication is getting there, but as a coach it can always be better.”
The Buffs believe if they can make those crucial improvements they will be able to show the Pac-12 Conference what they’re really made of.
“As long as we play hard and work together, we’ll surprise a lot of people,” Jeffery said.
The Buffs begin their season with an exhibition game against Regis University on Sunday, Nov. 6. The game, which will take place at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, is scheduled for 2 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Caryn Maconi at Caryn.maconi@colorado.edu.
