Things are looking up for the women’s basketball team.
Junior guard Chucky Jeffery, this week’s CUI Athlete of the Week, racked up 21 points of the women’s basketball team’s 69-59 win against the University of Arizona Wildcats at the Coors Events Center on Thursday night.
“Chucky, from the opening shot, showed how she was going to play that game . . . that set the tempo,” said head coach Linda Lappe to the Sports Information Department. “She took it with confidence and even if she missed it, she still had the same confidence . . . she really controlled the game from start to finish.”
Chucky Jeffery takes a pull up shot over Arizona's Aley Rohde at Coors Events Center on Thursday. Jeffery returned to Boulder scoring 21 points after her historic game against Oregon in which she became just the 24th player in CU women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. (CU Independent/Annie Rumbles)
The Buffs, who before Thursday were struggling through a three-game losing streak, looked to Jeffery to bring the team back to form. The 10-point margin of victory against Arizona is the largest the Buffs have had in their inaugural Pac-12 season. Their record now improves to 16-7 overall and 5-7 in Pac-12 play.
On Thursday night, it didn’t matter how the Buffs had played lately — Jeffery was too hot for the Wildcats to handle.
“When I feel like my shot is good, I get encouraged to hit another one if I’m open,” Jeffery said. “So I wasn’t going to be hesitant. I missed a couple, but I just kept shooting when I was open. That’s what I am told to do. We focus on catching the ball and getting ready to score every time.”
The effort wasn’t all Jeffery, though. Several other CU women played well on Thursday, including freshman Jasmine Sborov, who recorded 7 rebounds and a career-high 10 points.
Another key to the Buffs’ victory was their dominating performance off the glass. The Buffs out-rebounded the Wildcats 41-27, which led to 21 second-chance points.
“[The team] came out ready to play . . . came with that aggressive mentality,” Lappe said. “Our defense really struggled in the first half, but we came out [strong] in the second half. Our players really did a good job of adjusting.”
Adjustments have been a theme throughout the Buffs’ season. From adjusting to non-conference play to to a new Pac-12 conference to winning on the road, it’s been a wild ride for Jeffery and friends.
CU plays again in Boulder this Saturday against the Arizona State University Sun Devils, a team that held the Buffs to a nine-point first half performance earlier this year in Tempe, Ariz.
It will be interesting to see how the Buffs adjust on Saturday, but Lappe said that just like any other game, victory is all that matters.
“Anytime you get a win in the conference it’s a good thing,” said Lappe.
All statistics and quotations courtesy of the University of Colorado Sports Information Department.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Joseph Wirth at Joseph.wirth@colorado.edu.
