http://cubuffs.com/news/2018/4/11/w...off-strong-finish-heading-into-offseason.aspx
Article says neither Janae Bunn or Jaimie Curtis will be returning. Definitely in need of a post player who can play immediately.
BOULDER – When the final whistle sounded on March 2 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, there was a sense of disappointment that the season was coming to an end as the Buffs finished just one game under .500, the mark needed to qualify for the postseason. Colorado's women's team was playing its best basketball of the season over the previous month and, while the postseason looked like a longshot at the end of January, it was within grasp by late February and early March.
Second-year head coach JR Payne had the tough task of acclimating eight new players to her program during the season, and there were several highs and several lows that team endured. But with such a young team, Payne was pleased with her team's improvement throughout the season, despite just missing out on a WNIT berth. Her team shocked the world by reaching the WNIT and winning 17 games in her first season in Boulder after a seven-win season in 2015-16, but Year 2 is often more of a challenge than Year 1.
"Our team really blossomed as the season went on," Payne said. "With a very young team, and many new players, I expected that we would improve as the year went on and that was certainly the case. Our cohesiveness, discipline and camaraderie was evident in the way that we played down the stretch of the season. Turnovers dropped, field goal percentage raised, and our level of competition in the Pac-12 was very good."
CU started the 2017-18 strong, going 9-2 in non-conference play with a win over No. 24 Miami (Fla.) before splitting its first four Pac-12 games. But a tough stretch of play in January and the departure of the team's starting post player sent the team scrambling to stay afloat in a tough Pac-12 that ended up sending three teams into the Elite Eight.
The Buffs took a six-game losing streak into the month of February that included the two worst defeats since CU joined the Pac-12, but things clicked midway through the first quarter of the team's game in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 1. Trailing 16-0 after missing their first 16 shots, Kennedy Leonard and Brecca Thomas caught fire, bringing the team all the way back to an incredible road win at Utah as Leonard dropped 31 points on the Utes and Thomas had 13 points off the bench in the second half.
"That was the first game where we all woke up and were like, 'we're pretty good when we want to be,'" Leonard said. "Obviously we had a couple rough games previous to that, but I think if we played the way we did after that game for the whole beginning of the season, I think things would have been a lot different."
But it was not all roses after that win and the team let one slip away three days later in the rematch in Boulder as the Utes overcame a fourth-quarter CU lead to edge the Buffs 78-74. Then came the Bay Area road trip the included a two-point loss at Cal and a nine-point loss at No. 17 Stanford, the closest the Buffs have come to a win over the Cardinal since 2015. The team was playing well, but still unable to get consistent results. That changed the following weekend.
The Buffs earned back-to-back conference wins for the first time since 2015, sweeping Washington (CU's second win over UW of the season) and Washington State at the Coors Events Center. Alexis Robinson dropped 18 points and Leonard had 14 points and 13 assists in a 76-56 victory over the Huskies on Feb. 16, and that duo each scored 15 in a win over the Cougars two days later.
Colorado continued strong play on the Los Angeles road trip to close out Pac-12 play, but was unable to pull out a win in two narrow losses at No. 10 UCLA and USC. The Buffs opened the Pac-12 Tournament by advancing past the first round for the first time since 2015, defeating Utah 66-56. But sixth-ranked Oregon was too much for the Buffs the next day and ended CU's season with a 15-16 record, including a 5-13 mark for the second consecutive year in Pac-12 play.
Leonard said it was a completely different CU team after the Feb. 1 Utah game compared to before that moment.
"I don't really know what made it happen or what changed, but just the way that we all kind of bonded together and just kind of the way we all care for each other [turned the season around]," Leonard said. "It wasn't that we didn't care for each other before, but it's like a whole different team. We watched film before we played Oregon [in the Pac-12 Tournament] from the first time against Oregon and it was so bad that everyone was like, 'please take this off the screen,' because this is not our team. The difference between the first time we played Oregon and the time we were going to play them in the tournament was like two drastically different teams. I have no idea what made that change, but I can tell you that it's probably the best thing that's happened to this program in a number of years."
Despite missing the postseason, there were many positives and highlights to look back on, and a lot to build off with a much more experienced squad coming back in 2018-19.
"A highlight during our preseason was a great win against No. 24 Miami," Payne said. "Winning a game in the Pac-12 Tournament and advancing to second round was a great experience for our team. It was the first time any players with the exception of our two seniors had that experience. Also, to sweep Washington was great for our ball club."
CU has a strong corps of upperclassmen returning with seniors Leonard and Robinson back for their fourth season anchoring the Buffs' backcourt, and junior Quinessa Caylao-Do is coming back after starting 22 times as a sophomore.
Leonard eclipsed 1,000 points on Nov. 25, becoming the fifth-fastest in school history to that milestone. She finished her junior season averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 assists and has broken CU's single-season record for assists in back-to-back seasons, becoming the first Buff to total 200 in 2017-18. There is no doubt she will be hungry to get the Buffs into the postseason for the second time in her career when she is a senior.
Robinson had a somewhat surprising breakout season as she missed the entire offseason and part of preseason practice recovering from a torn ACL. She emerged to average a career-best 12.1 points in 29 starts and enters her final campaign just 57 points shy of 1,000. As a junior, she had four games of 20 or more points—all coming in Pac-12 play—including a career-high 31 points in a narrow loss at No. 10 UCLA on Feb. 22.
Caylao-Do also had a breakout season as a sophomore after averaging just 2.1 points as a freshman. She scored a career-high 18 points in CU's season-opening, come-from-behind win at Samford. After suffering an injury to her left hand that sidelined her seven games, she returned to the lineup for conference play. After a slow start returning from the injury, Caylao-Do averaged 9.1 points over the final seven games.
"Lex, Kennedy and Quinessa are already being called upon to help lead our ball club going into next season," Payne said. "They bring a tremendous amount of experience, work ethic and passion for both CU and our program. As a team, we are in a great place right now. Our ladies are motivated, driven and working extremely hard to get better. Ken, Lex and Q are leading the charge and I'm excited to see how they grown in the area of leadership throughout the upcoming summer and fall."
With such a young team, several freshmen made a large impact, led by the trio of Mya Hollingshed, Aubrey Knight and Annika Jank. Their roles will certainly grow even larger as sophomores.
Hollingshed, a 6-foot-4 wing, exploded in the second half of the season and was CU's third-leading scorer in Pac-12 play at 6.8 points, and averaged 9.8 over the final 11 games.
Knight, a 6-foot-1 wing, was fourth in the Pac-12 among freshmen in rebounding and averaged 3.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in her first year.
Jank, a 6-foot-3 post, was fifth among Pac-12 freshmen in scoring and second in rebounding with averages of 9.1 and 6.9, respectively. She scored 26 points on Dec. 11 against Dartmouth, the most for a CU freshman since Tera Bjorklund had 28 on Nov. 29, 2000. Jank was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times.
Guards Peyton Carter and Sara Castro will both be back for their sophomore seasons in 2018-19, as will junior Mathilde Diop.
CU adds two very talented players that signed in November. Cameron Swartz, a 5-foot-11 guard, led the state of Georgia in scoring at 32.1 points per game and was first-team all-state. Sirena "P-nut" Tuitele, a 6-foot-1 forward, averaged 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds, leading Pleasant Valley (Calif.) H.S. to the state tournament championship game. She was also three-time all-state.
Leonard offered a scouting report on the two newest Buffs.
"P-nut is big bodied, can run, can shoot, and is super competitive so she will make you compete," Leonard said. "Cam is a shooter as well, so I'm excited for them. They are going to come into a program that's a family, so I think they will bring us a lot. They're both competitors so if they don't bring us anything but competitiveness, it's a good trait to bring so I'm excited for them to get here."
"We will look to sign several players this spring and will work to fill the void left by seniors, Brecca Thomas and Zoe Correal," Payne said. "I am excited about the players that we are talking to and feel that we will be able to add some impact players this spring."
The team graduates just two seniors in Correal and Thomas. Correal's presence in the post will be tough to replace as the 6-foot-4 San Francisco native averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds and could stand up to the Pac-12's best post players on the defensive end. Thomas was one of CU's top reserves, averaging a career-best 5.1 points. Two juniors from last year, Janea Bunn and Jaimie Curtis, also will not return to the team next year.
For now, the nine returning Buffs are working hard together in the weight room and on skill work, and continuing to build team the team chemistry that came together in the second half of the season.
"As a team, we are all going to try to put on some weight," Leonard said. "We've got to get muscle on us. We are all going to do weekly team bonding stuff. It's not like the coaches are making us do it, we are all just going to do it, hang out with each other and stuff like that. And we want to get 20-plus wins in this upcoming season. Twenty wins gets you most of the time into the tournament, and we are going to hold each other accountable to that. And then we each went over our own individual goals we want for on the court and off the court. We are going to put them on our lockers so if I see every day [a teammate] wants to shoot this percentage in a game, then I can look at it and then if [she's] not in the gym shooting that percentage, I can [hold her accountable]. And so we just kind of talked about the accountability piece, and then the biggest thing is 20-plus wins and then just sticking together and having good chemistry, and taking care of one another."
Twenty wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance would be huge accomplishments, but those goals are not out of reach by any means. The Buffs beat Miami, a team that made the tournament, and were competitive with several other Pac-12 schools that went deep into the postseason. An NCAA berth would be a giant step into getting the program back to where it was in the mid-2000s when the Buffs were among the top programs in the country with four straight NCAA appearances that included an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen. It would also be the first NCAA appearance since 2013 and the 14th all-time.
Article says neither Janae Bunn or Jaimie Curtis will be returning. Definitely in need of a post player who can play immediately.
BOULDER – When the final whistle sounded on March 2 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, there was a sense of disappointment that the season was coming to an end as the Buffs finished just one game under .500, the mark needed to qualify for the postseason. Colorado's women's team was playing its best basketball of the season over the previous month and, while the postseason looked like a longshot at the end of January, it was within grasp by late February and early March.
Second-year head coach JR Payne had the tough task of acclimating eight new players to her program during the season, and there were several highs and several lows that team endured. But with such a young team, Payne was pleased with her team's improvement throughout the season, despite just missing out on a WNIT berth. Her team shocked the world by reaching the WNIT and winning 17 games in her first season in Boulder after a seven-win season in 2015-16, but Year 2 is often more of a challenge than Year 1.
"Our team really blossomed as the season went on," Payne said. "With a very young team, and many new players, I expected that we would improve as the year went on and that was certainly the case. Our cohesiveness, discipline and camaraderie was evident in the way that we played down the stretch of the season. Turnovers dropped, field goal percentage raised, and our level of competition in the Pac-12 was very good."
CU started the 2017-18 strong, going 9-2 in non-conference play with a win over No. 24 Miami (Fla.) before splitting its first four Pac-12 games. But a tough stretch of play in January and the departure of the team's starting post player sent the team scrambling to stay afloat in a tough Pac-12 that ended up sending three teams into the Elite Eight.
The Buffs took a six-game losing streak into the month of February that included the two worst defeats since CU joined the Pac-12, but things clicked midway through the first quarter of the team's game in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 1. Trailing 16-0 after missing their first 16 shots, Kennedy Leonard and Brecca Thomas caught fire, bringing the team all the way back to an incredible road win at Utah as Leonard dropped 31 points on the Utes and Thomas had 13 points off the bench in the second half.
"That was the first game where we all woke up and were like, 'we're pretty good when we want to be,'" Leonard said. "Obviously we had a couple rough games previous to that, but I think if we played the way we did after that game for the whole beginning of the season, I think things would have been a lot different."
But it was not all roses after that win and the team let one slip away three days later in the rematch in Boulder as the Utes overcame a fourth-quarter CU lead to edge the Buffs 78-74. Then came the Bay Area road trip the included a two-point loss at Cal and a nine-point loss at No. 17 Stanford, the closest the Buffs have come to a win over the Cardinal since 2015. The team was playing well, but still unable to get consistent results. That changed the following weekend.
The Buffs earned back-to-back conference wins for the first time since 2015, sweeping Washington (CU's second win over UW of the season) and Washington State at the Coors Events Center. Alexis Robinson dropped 18 points and Leonard had 14 points and 13 assists in a 76-56 victory over the Huskies on Feb. 16, and that duo each scored 15 in a win over the Cougars two days later.
Colorado continued strong play on the Los Angeles road trip to close out Pac-12 play, but was unable to pull out a win in two narrow losses at No. 10 UCLA and USC. The Buffs opened the Pac-12 Tournament by advancing past the first round for the first time since 2015, defeating Utah 66-56. But sixth-ranked Oregon was too much for the Buffs the next day and ended CU's season with a 15-16 record, including a 5-13 mark for the second consecutive year in Pac-12 play.
Leonard said it was a completely different CU team after the Feb. 1 Utah game compared to before that moment.
"I don't really know what made it happen or what changed, but just the way that we all kind of bonded together and just kind of the way we all care for each other [turned the season around]," Leonard said. "It wasn't that we didn't care for each other before, but it's like a whole different team. We watched film before we played Oregon [in the Pac-12 Tournament] from the first time against Oregon and it was so bad that everyone was like, 'please take this off the screen,' because this is not our team. The difference between the first time we played Oregon and the time we were going to play them in the tournament was like two drastically different teams. I have no idea what made that change, but I can tell you that it's probably the best thing that's happened to this program in a number of years."
Despite missing the postseason, there were many positives and highlights to look back on, and a lot to build off with a much more experienced squad coming back in 2018-19.
"A highlight during our preseason was a great win against No. 24 Miami," Payne said. "Winning a game in the Pac-12 Tournament and advancing to second round was a great experience for our team. It was the first time any players with the exception of our two seniors had that experience. Also, to sweep Washington was great for our ball club."
CU has a strong corps of upperclassmen returning with seniors Leonard and Robinson back for their fourth season anchoring the Buffs' backcourt, and junior Quinessa Caylao-Do is coming back after starting 22 times as a sophomore.
Leonard eclipsed 1,000 points on Nov. 25, becoming the fifth-fastest in school history to that milestone. She finished her junior season averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 assists and has broken CU's single-season record for assists in back-to-back seasons, becoming the first Buff to total 200 in 2017-18. There is no doubt she will be hungry to get the Buffs into the postseason for the second time in her career when she is a senior.
Robinson had a somewhat surprising breakout season as she missed the entire offseason and part of preseason practice recovering from a torn ACL. She emerged to average a career-best 12.1 points in 29 starts and enters her final campaign just 57 points shy of 1,000. As a junior, she had four games of 20 or more points—all coming in Pac-12 play—including a career-high 31 points in a narrow loss at No. 10 UCLA on Feb. 22.
Caylao-Do also had a breakout season as a sophomore after averaging just 2.1 points as a freshman. She scored a career-high 18 points in CU's season-opening, come-from-behind win at Samford. After suffering an injury to her left hand that sidelined her seven games, she returned to the lineup for conference play. After a slow start returning from the injury, Caylao-Do averaged 9.1 points over the final seven games.
"Lex, Kennedy and Quinessa are already being called upon to help lead our ball club going into next season," Payne said. "They bring a tremendous amount of experience, work ethic and passion for both CU and our program. As a team, we are in a great place right now. Our ladies are motivated, driven and working extremely hard to get better. Ken, Lex and Q are leading the charge and I'm excited to see how they grown in the area of leadership throughout the upcoming summer and fall."
With such a young team, several freshmen made a large impact, led by the trio of Mya Hollingshed, Aubrey Knight and Annika Jank. Their roles will certainly grow even larger as sophomores.
Hollingshed, a 6-foot-4 wing, exploded in the second half of the season and was CU's third-leading scorer in Pac-12 play at 6.8 points, and averaged 9.8 over the final 11 games.
Knight, a 6-foot-1 wing, was fourth in the Pac-12 among freshmen in rebounding and averaged 3.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in her first year.
Jank, a 6-foot-3 post, was fifth among Pac-12 freshmen in scoring and second in rebounding with averages of 9.1 and 6.9, respectively. She scored 26 points on Dec. 11 against Dartmouth, the most for a CU freshman since Tera Bjorklund had 28 on Nov. 29, 2000. Jank was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times.
Guards Peyton Carter and Sara Castro will both be back for their sophomore seasons in 2018-19, as will junior Mathilde Diop.
CU adds two very talented players that signed in November. Cameron Swartz, a 5-foot-11 guard, led the state of Georgia in scoring at 32.1 points per game and was first-team all-state. Sirena "P-nut" Tuitele, a 6-foot-1 forward, averaged 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds, leading Pleasant Valley (Calif.) H.S. to the state tournament championship game. She was also three-time all-state.
Leonard offered a scouting report on the two newest Buffs.
"P-nut is big bodied, can run, can shoot, and is super competitive so she will make you compete," Leonard said. "Cam is a shooter as well, so I'm excited for them. They are going to come into a program that's a family, so I think they will bring us a lot. They're both competitors so if they don't bring us anything but competitiveness, it's a good trait to bring so I'm excited for them to get here."
"We will look to sign several players this spring and will work to fill the void left by seniors, Brecca Thomas and Zoe Correal," Payne said. "I am excited about the players that we are talking to and feel that we will be able to add some impact players this spring."
The team graduates just two seniors in Correal and Thomas. Correal's presence in the post will be tough to replace as the 6-foot-4 San Francisco native averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds and could stand up to the Pac-12's best post players on the defensive end. Thomas was one of CU's top reserves, averaging a career-best 5.1 points. Two juniors from last year, Janea Bunn and Jaimie Curtis, also will not return to the team next year.
For now, the nine returning Buffs are working hard together in the weight room and on skill work, and continuing to build team the team chemistry that came together in the second half of the season.
"As a team, we are all going to try to put on some weight," Leonard said. "We've got to get muscle on us. We are all going to do weekly team bonding stuff. It's not like the coaches are making us do it, we are all just going to do it, hang out with each other and stuff like that. And we want to get 20-plus wins in this upcoming season. Twenty wins gets you most of the time into the tournament, and we are going to hold each other accountable to that. And then we each went over our own individual goals we want for on the court and off the court. We are going to put them on our lockers so if I see every day [a teammate] wants to shoot this percentage in a game, then I can look at it and then if [she's] not in the gym shooting that percentage, I can [hold her accountable]. And so we just kind of talked about the accountability piece, and then the biggest thing is 20-plus wins and then just sticking together and having good chemistry, and taking care of one another."
Twenty wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance would be huge accomplishments, but those goals are not out of reach by any means. The Buffs beat Miami, a team that made the tournament, and were competitive with several other Pac-12 schools that went deep into the postseason. An NCAA berth would be a giant step into getting the program back to where it was in the mid-2000s when the Buffs were among the top programs in the country with four straight NCAA appearances that included an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen. It would also be the first NCAA appearance since 2013 and the 14th all-time.
