Ultimately, this season has to be considered a minor success for the women's team. They weren't quite as good as their undefeated non-conference schedule made them out to be, but they weren't as bad as their 6-12 conference schedule made them look. Ultimately, I think the truth lies in their NIT run where they went 3-1 and hung close with an Oklahoma State team that ended up winning the NIT tournament and, according to many, was robbed from an NCAA Tournament bid due to a disastrous loss in the Big XII Tournament.
As with the men, let's start by taking a look at next season's roster.
While the Buffs will lose Julie Seabrook, they return everyone else on the roster (note: like the men's team, walk-ons have been removed for this exercise). The woman who kept the team running, Chucky Jeffery will be back once again to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists like she did last season. The key will be finding someone to step up and take some of the pressure off of Jeffery. It would be absolutely huge if Kyleesha Weston could step in and provide 10-15 minutes per game running the team and allowing Jeffery to not have the pressure of keeping everything running.
While the Buffs will be without Seabrook's presence in the post, they have re-enforcements ready to go. Along with both Rachel Hargis and Jen Reese, who provided solid minutes for the team last year, the team will have Arielle Roberson and Jamee Swan coming in. Reese was really starting to show some progress before her unfortunate injury late in the season and should be expected to take a good step forward next year. If Roberson's game is similar to her brothers, that should help the team with rebounding. Swann should be able to provide some low post scoring. The team will miss Seabrook's three point shooting however as she led the team in percentage.
The backcourt is where things are a little exciting. Along with Jeffery, the team returns Meagan Malcolm-Peck (who started all but two games this season) to go along with Brittany Wilson and Lexy Kresl. Kresl brought the outside shooting we hoped she would, leading the team in 3 point attempts. Now it'd be nice to see her shooting accuracy rise a bit. 31.8% isn't too bad, but if she can get closer to Jeffery's 34.8%, she could be deadly. It will also be interesting to see if Meagan Malcolm-Peck can re-discover her three point stroke. Last year she shot 18.5% from behind the arc. The year before she was 35.8% from back there. Her finding her stroke again could be a huge key to if the team is a tourney contender or headed back to the NIT. Wilson should continue to provide solid all-around play in the backcourt. Jasmine Sborov and Brenna Malcolm-Peck (if she can finally get the injury gods to stop cursing her) should round out the backcourt rotation.
I'm excited to see where Lauren Higgins ends up playing. She's similar in size to the Malcom-Peck twins, and she's another one whose shooting ability makes her dangerous. She's not a danger to take the ball to the post, but according to HoopGurlz her range extends "feet behind" the three point line. So with both her and Kresl out there, it should open things up down low for Reese, Swann and the other front court players.
So what to expect for next season? Honestly, I think the NCAA tournament is a realistic goal. It's going to be tough, but if they can get a little help at the PG position, then the pieces could be in place for a decent run. Like the men's team, the women will be going on a trip this summer. They'll be heading to Italy. For such a young team, it should help them gel. Also, the team has two scholarships available at any time if they do find another player that they would like to add to the roster. The only recruit that AllBuffs is aware of that the Buffs are still in the race for is Asia Booker, a PG from Texas. It'll be interesting to see if the team tries to add a little depth behind Watson or if they hold those scholarships over.
As with the men, let's start by taking a look at next season's roster.
| 2012 Roster | ||||
| Position | Senior | Junior | Sophomore | Freshman |
| Guard | Chucky Jeffery | Ashley Wilson Brittany Wilson | Lexy Kresl Jasmine Sborov | Kyleesha Weston |
| Wing | Meagan Malcolm-Peck | Brenna Malcolm-Peck* | Lauren Huggins | |
| Forward | Jen Reese | Arielle Roberson* Jamee Swan | ||
| Post | Rachel Hargis | |||
| * = Redshirted | Official CU Roster |
While the Buffs will lose Julie Seabrook, they return everyone else on the roster (note: like the men's team, walk-ons have been removed for this exercise). The woman who kept the team running, Chucky Jeffery will be back once again to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists like she did last season. The key will be finding someone to step up and take some of the pressure off of Jeffery. It would be absolutely huge if Kyleesha Weston could step in and provide 10-15 minutes per game running the team and allowing Jeffery to not have the pressure of keeping everything running.
While the Buffs will be without Seabrook's presence in the post, they have re-enforcements ready to go. Along with both Rachel Hargis and Jen Reese, who provided solid minutes for the team last year, the team will have Arielle Roberson and Jamee Swan coming in. Reese was really starting to show some progress before her unfortunate injury late in the season and should be expected to take a good step forward next year. If Roberson's game is similar to her brothers, that should help the team with rebounding. Swann should be able to provide some low post scoring. The team will miss Seabrook's three point shooting however as she led the team in percentage.
The backcourt is where things are a little exciting. Along with Jeffery, the team returns Meagan Malcolm-Peck (who started all but two games this season) to go along with Brittany Wilson and Lexy Kresl. Kresl brought the outside shooting we hoped she would, leading the team in 3 point attempts. Now it'd be nice to see her shooting accuracy rise a bit. 31.8% isn't too bad, but if she can get closer to Jeffery's 34.8%, she could be deadly. It will also be interesting to see if Meagan Malcolm-Peck can re-discover her three point stroke. Last year she shot 18.5% from behind the arc. The year before she was 35.8% from back there. Her finding her stroke again could be a huge key to if the team is a tourney contender or headed back to the NIT. Wilson should continue to provide solid all-around play in the backcourt. Jasmine Sborov and Brenna Malcolm-Peck (if she can finally get the injury gods to stop cursing her) should round out the backcourt rotation.
I'm excited to see where Lauren Higgins ends up playing. She's similar in size to the Malcom-Peck twins, and she's another one whose shooting ability makes her dangerous. She's not a danger to take the ball to the post, but according to HoopGurlz her range extends "feet behind" the three point line. So with both her and Kresl out there, it should open things up down low for Reese, Swann and the other front court players.
So what to expect for next season? Honestly, I think the NCAA tournament is a realistic goal. It's going to be tough, but if they can get a little help at the PG position, then the pieces could be in place for a decent run. Like the men's team, the women will be going on a trip this summer. They'll be heading to Italy. For such a young team, it should help them gel. Also, the team has two scholarships available at any time if they do find another player that they would like to add to the roster. The only recruit that AllBuffs is aware of that the Buffs are still in the race for is Asia Booker, a PG from Texas. It'll be interesting to see if the team tries to add a little depth behind Watson or if they hold those scholarships over.
