Posts tagged Malcolm Peck
CU Women’s Basketball Celebrates Remarkable 2012-13 Season
Apr 15th
School administrators, family members, donors and fans celebrated the best season in a decade Sunday afternoon at the Byron R. White Club Level of Folsom Field.
Colorado’s coaching staff recognized 14 letterwinners, including the Buffaloes’ three seniors Chucky Jeffery, Meagan Malcolm-Peck and Brenna Malcolm-Peck. In addition, third-year head coach Linda Lappe and her staff also handed out several individual awards.
Sophomore Lexy Kresl and freshman Lauren Huggins shared the Crystal Ford-Adams Scholar-Athlete Award.
An integrative physiology major, Kresl was named to the Academic All-Pac-12 Conference second team and was the only underclassman out of the 10 student-athletes that made one of the all-academic squads. She averaged 6.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season and led the Buffaloes in 3-point field goals with 34.
A biochemistry major, Huggins has made the transition from high school to the college classroom smoothly, capturing the team’s best GPA during the 2012 fall semester and earning Dean’s List honors. She missed the final three months of the season with a stress fracture in her leg, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds in the five games she appeared in. It’s the second straight year a freshman has been recognized with the Crystal Ford-Adams Scholar-Athlete Award, as Kresl captured the honor last year.
Jeffery received the Lisa Van Goor rebounding award after leading the Buffaloes at 8.2 boards per contest. The award was presented by Van Goor, CU’s all-time leading rebounder. Jeffery ranked sixth in the Pac-12 Conference in rebounding and was especially tough on the defensive end. During Pac-12 play, she netted 7.1 defensive rebounds per game, ranking second on the conference charts. Jeffery had 11 double-figure rebounding games, 10 of which resulted in double-doubles.
Meagan Malcolm-Peck was presented the Ceal Barry Colorado Pride Award, named after the CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach. In the spirit of the Coaches Award given out by Barry during her 22-year career on the Buffaloes bench, this award is given to the player who shows pride in the program through leadership on the court, campus and community, work ethic on the court and in the classroom and who is unselfish and coachable.
A Boulder native, Malcolm-Peck, literally grew up around the Colorado basketball program attending Barry’s basketball camps as a youngster and watching her future team annually play on a national stage. She joined Colorado as a freshman in 2009 and over four years helped to build the program back to national prominence. Throughout her four years at Colorado, she filled any role needed, whether it be in a starting role or off the bench; and most importantly in the role of team captain as a senior.
Colorado finished the 2012-13 season at 25-7 overall and fourth place in the Pac-12 at 13-5. The Buffaloes, who were ranked No. 19 in the final AP Top 25 poll, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in team history and first time since 2004.
Troy Andre
Assistant SID/Internet Managing Editor
University of Colorado
CUBuffs.com
O: 303-492-4672 C: 303-903-3654
troy.andre@colorado.edu
Balanced Buffs Hold Off Vandals In Opener
Nov 12th
Release: 11/11/2012 Courtesy: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Linda Lappe knew depth would be among her third Colorado women’s basketball team’s strong suits – and it took only one game into the 2012-13 season for verification.
With returning scoring leader Chucky Jeffery benched for a violation of team rules, CU got contributions of some variety from nearly everyone Lappe used in a 70-65 win over Idaho on Sunday afternoon.
“Everybody gave us good minutes . . . the players off the bench came in and did their jobs,” Lappe said. “Everybody stepped up at different times. No one player dominated the game, and that’s what you want to see.”
CU junior guard Brittany Wilson led all scorers with 18 points, including eight-of-eight from the free throw line. Four of Wilson’s foul shots were clutch, coming in the final 17.9 seconds as the Buffaloes were holding off the hard-to-bury Vandals. Her eight made free throws were a career high, her eight attempts tied a career high.
The Buffs also received a strong debut performance from Arielle Roberson, and if a single player did flirt with dominance at the Coors Events Center, it would be the redshirt freshman from San Antonio.
Roberson, an athletic 6-1 forward, sat out her first season while rehabilitating from hip surgery. CU coaches believed her return would boost the Buffs’ inside play as well as their defense – and they were correct.
In addition to her 16 points, Roberson collected six rebounds and blocked two shots. She also contributed five steals – one in the final minutes when the Vandals were continuing to make the Buffs uncomfortable.
“She did some really good things,” Lappe said. “In the second half, there was one stretch where she came off the bench for the very last time and we really needed her to step up. She did that.”
Of Roberson’s overall contribution, Lappe added, “That’s who Arielle is . . . she can score in a lot of different ways. She’s going to play a lot of different positions for us. She’s probably a little more effective on the block than anywhere else, but she’s going to keep getting better than what we saw today.”
After a year’s absence, Roberson simply was elated to get back onto the court. “I just wanted to go out and play like I know I can and show everybody what I can bring to this team,” she said. “My family was here (the Robersons watched Arielle’s older brother, Andre, open with the CU men’s team on Friday night) and of course it was my first game, so that’s extra motivation as well. I also don’t like to lose, so I think my drive to win was definitely a good push.”
And the Buffs definitely needed it to finally put away the Vandals, who lost their opening game at Wyoming 86-53. Idaho scored Sunday’s first basket, but that 2-0 lead was the visiting team’s last advantage. That doesn’t mean CU went unchallenged the rest of the way; in fact, the Buffs’ first afternoon on the court was a wire-to-wire fight.
“It was definitely tighter than we thought it was going to be,” Brittany Wilson said. “I think you see what we’re saying about this team being so special now . . . you never think your first game is going to be so close, but it was. We were about to come together as a team; we fought until the end and ended up coming out on top.”
Lappe credited Idaho: “They came out and fought and kept coming at us, which was great. It was a great game for us to be in.”
Of the ten players Lappe used, nine scored; and nine of those ten players’ minutes were in double figures. Lappe cited off-the-bench contributions by Lexy Kresl, who drained three-pointers on two of CU’s first three second-half possessions, and Jen Reese, who scored six of her eight points during the first 10 minutes of the second half. Roberson also got half of her total during that span.
Lappe said Jeffery could be reinstated for CU’s trip to Missouri-Kansas City on Sunday, Nov. 18. Had Jeffery not been in the lineup last season against Idaho, the Buffs would have been in trouble. With the Vandals up 59-58 with just over 2 minutes remaining in that meeting, Jeffery went on a tear, scoring seven of her career-best 30 points to rescue the Buffs, 68-59.
But CU would have to do without Jeffery this time around – and her teammates coped well. Idaho’s Ali Forde scored the game’s first points, but the Vandals’ 2-0 lead – the last of the afternoon – was quickly erased by a Meagan Malcolm-Peck three-pointer. Roberson took over from there, scoring CU’s next six points. Malcolm-Peck and Brittany Wilson combined for 10 of the next 15 points as the Buffs built an 11-point (25-14) cushion.
The Vandals wouldn’t go away then or later. They used an 11-2 run to pull to 27-25, before baskets by Jasmine Sborov and Rachel Hargis gave the Buffs a 31-26 halftime lead.
CU ended the first half with 11 turnovers, a number that didn’t please Lappe. But in the second half, especially coming out of time outs, she said her team’s overall execution was better: “We did a much better job . . . of scoring or at least getting a shot out of a timeout and being a little bit more careful with the ball, which you could see in our turnovers.” CU cut its second-half turnovers to seven, finishing with 18.
Behind Kresl’s three-point shooting and Roberson’s inside work, the Buffs built a pair of eight-point leads in the first 6 minutes of the second half. Kresl pair of treys during that span marked her 19th career game with two or more three-pointers.
But the Vandals weren’t lacking for long-distance shooters. They got treys from Connie Ballestero, Christina Salvatore and Stacey Barr to creep to within four (43-39) with 14 minutes to play.
“We have seen it; we saw it last year a little bit,” Lappe said of Idaho’s long balls. “They have quick releases and get off shots fast.”
Thanks to Roberson, CU was able to temporarily pull away before Idaho could fashion its next run. She scored consecutive baskets to restore a double-digit Buffs lead (54-44), but the Vandals weren’t folding.
They closed to 56-50 on a conventional three-point play by Alyssa Charlston (team-best 16 points) and a trey by Krissy Karr, then to 56-52 on another basket by Charlston with just over 5:30 remaining. Another three-pointer by Karr less than 2 minutes later pulled Idaho to three back (58-55), but CU answered with one of two free throws by Roberson and an Ashley Wilson layup to go ahead 61-55.
The Vandals answered on three of four free throws by Charlston to cut their deficit to 61-60 with 3:04 remaining. Ashley Wilson responded with another layup for a 63-60 CU lead. After an Idaho miss and a CU rebound, Reese hit a pair of clutch foul shots to put the Buffs up 65-60 with 51.6 seconds to play, and Roberson followed by hitting one of two free throws 11 seconds later for a 66-60 CU advantage.
Idaho called timeout with 37.2 seconds remaining, then another with 22.5 showing after the Vandals couldn’t get off a shot. When they did, they missed, but a double foul was called. Brittany Wilson and Charlston each made their free throws (68-62), then Barr hit a long trey to draw the Vandals to within 68-65.
With 13.8 seconds left, Brittany Wilson’s pair of foul shots gave the Buffs their final five-point advantage.
“Win No. 1 is good to get; it feels good,” Lappe said. “It was great to play somebody else other than ourselves. We have a lot of things to work on but we’re happy where we’re at . . . we had a lot of different players step up in crucial situations, which was good to see.”
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Brooks: Deep, Talented CU Women’s Team Awaits Opener
Nov 10th
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Release: 11/10/2012 Courtesy: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor
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BOULDER – It might be a stretch for a college junior to be reflecting on how it was “back in the day,” but Brittany Wilson vividly recalls how things were in Colorado women’s basketball a mere three seasons ago. “In my freshman year,” “B-Wil” remembered the other day, “we got down to six players when we played Iowa State.” Technically, the Buffs were down to eight players, but first-year coach Linda Lappe‘s primary rotation that day was six – with the five starters playing at least 33 minutes each in a game that pushed into overtime. But here’s Wilson’s point: Her first CU team didn’t have a deep end; most of the time it flailed away in shallow water. Things have changed. Big-time.  Brittany Wilson looks to be a force for CU Women’s Basketball team this season The CU team that opens its 2012-13 season Sunday afternoon against Idaho (2 p.m., Coors Events Center) has plenty of bodies that play plenty well. What’s more, the daily competition goes from whistle to whistle and isn’t for the gentle and meek. “Coaches have to stop practice sometimes to get people off the floor,” Wilson said. “We haven’t had the competition on the floor like this. You have to come out and compete for your spot every single day, because there’s 13 girls that can play. If you don’t come out ready to defend your position – if you are a starter – or to earn your playing time, either you’re not going to start or you’re not going to get that playing time.” That’s exactly the way Lappe and her staff want it, although her priority as Sunday’s opener approached was identifying enough consistency among those talented 13 players to pencil in a starting lineup. As of Tuesday, she had “no idea,” but she will by Sunday morning.  Senior Megan Malcolm Peck’s leadership roles and all-around skills should play a big role in the team’s success It’s a good problem to have, one that will sort itself out as Lappe’s very balanced bunch advances. If her number of better players this season creates a different kind of dilemma, it’s still one she relishes. She and her staff “take a lot of stock in who brings it every day in practice” and use that as a guide in determining how 40 minutes on game day is split. “But day to day that changes with our team,” Lappe said. “That’s been the most unsettling thing as a coach – the consistency of our players and who we think can provide us major minutes during this first game. It’s something that as the year goes along will change and fluctuate. That’s probably been the hardest thing for me. But there’s good in that because now you do have 10-12 players that all could start on any given day.” Lappe has a pretty good handle on two members of Sunday’s starting five. That pair would be senior wingMeagan Malcolm-Peck and “B-Wil,” who sees herself in the next layer of leadership below Malcolm-Peck and senior point guard Chucky Jeffery. Here’s how Wilson perceives her game and her role: “Things have slowed down for me. I’m a junior now, I get the game. Although I played in two different conferences, now for me it’s like I don’t have to think so much. I can just go out and play . . . And now, I see myself as leader in helping (teammates) to follow. As Meagan and Chucky are leaders, I help others follow those two. If Meagan or Chucky is saying things that somebody might not be getting, then it’s usually me or the next person to tweak it a little so it is understood.” That’s a good position for now, but it probably will evolve into a full-blown take-charge role. And if not this season, then surely next, when she is a senior. Whichever of those scenarios occur, Lappe feels fortunate to be able to watch it happen. Her first two CU teams have a combined 39-30 record and a pair of WNIT appearances. Showing further progress in year three is paramount, and Lappe believes it can happen because of leadership that hadn’t fully developed in years one and two. “This is the first year to have some junior-senior leadership that has played a lot for our first two or three years,” Lappe said. “That’s definitely a bonus; it allows us to take that next step. We’ve never had that (and) it differentiates this team from some of the others. We also have some good talented young players who are maybe further ahead than some of the other freshmen we’ve had at different times.” How far ahead? Last season, CU played Idaho at the CEC on Dec. 4, winning 68-59. Tape of that game, said Lappe, shows this team – young as it is – to be further along in early November than her 2011-12 squad was in early December. “We look better now than at that point,” said Lappe, adding that the loss of senior post Julie Seabrook and her court communication on screens and setting the defense might be a temporary setback. “But overall we’re further ahead and much, much deeper.” Wilson agreed, noting that in this season’s pair of exhibition games, the Buffs “got it going early . . . last year we struggled (early) to get it going. There were stretches where we didn’t score for five or six minutes at a time, but this year the freshmen are catching onto the offense and we have a lot of upperclassmen now.” Although forward Jen Reese is entering her sophomore season, Lappe considers Reese well-seasoned. Reese does, too. She’s been waiting for Sunday’s opener longer than most; she missed last season’s last six games with an orbital eye socket injury and is wearing protective goggles now, although “it’s a hassle,” she said. Her vision slowly is returning to normal, but still can be a little fuzzy now when she gazes upward when under the rim. So she uses her neck more and tilts her head. But Reese clearly sees this: “These players have more confidence and that brings out more confidence in the team. We have leaders in Meagan and Chucky, when she’s the point guard. And I feel like we’ve been communicating better. The freshmen have been doing really well listening to us and improving every day in practice . . . I think we’re just more prepared.” More focused on a daily basis, too. Every team has reaching the NCAA Tournament as a goal, and that includes the Buffs, who could wind up playing in NCAA first- and second-round games in their building. But the approach this season is different, said Reese: “Last year we had a main goal of going to the NCAAs, but we weren’t more concerned with how to get there . . . this year we’re setting goals that we can reach (daily) to get to that level. That’s what I like about this year.” Reese says she’s among the Buffs whose confidence has skyrocketed, plus she’s stronger and better conditioned. And here’s something else – aside from the depth, the talent and the confidence – that Wilson says sets this team apart from others: “We’ve got 13 girls with heart, 13 girls that will punch you back if you punch them . . . we’re all competitors, that’s what different and special about this team.” Lappe is hoping it all translates into a special year. It gets underway on Sunday afternoon. [includeme src=”http://c1n.tv/boulder/media/bouldersponsors.html” frameborder=”0″ width=”670″ height=”300″] |
