Posts tagged Troy Andre
CU women put it all together–at last
Feb 12th
Colorado Uses Defense, Rebounding To Stop Oregon 81-75
Release: February 10, 2014
By: Troy Andre, Assistant SID
EUGENE, Ore. – Playing in her native Oregon, Jen Reese felt right at home scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds as Colorado clipped Oregon 81-75 Monday at Matthew Knight Arena.
Playing aggressive defense and dominating on the boards, Colorado held Oregon, the nation’s top scoring offense, 20 points below its season average. Colorado (14-9, 4-8 Pac-12) grabbed a season-high 54 rebounds, including 24 on the offensive end.
Colorado’s 24 offensive boards translated into 25 second-chance points.
Jenn Reese, an Oregon native, played the best game of her life against U. of O.
“We were more aggressive in rebounding and that really helped,” said Reese who corralled her third career double-double. “We gave the first punch; we knew we had to box out. They are a great offensive rebounding team and we knew coming in that was going to be a huge factor.
And it wasn’t just Reese on the boards. Arielle Roberson had nine with her 17 points, just missing a double-double. Jamee Swan had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Rachel Hargis also came up with some key minutes down the stretch. She scored seven of her eight points in the second half, getting two key baskets in the final minutes. Hargis was credited with only two rebounds, but her presence in the paint, which included a season-high three blocked shots, caused issues for the Ducks.
“Today, we really focused on our defense and it hasn’t been what it has been in the past,” Hargis said. “If we keep doing that, we’ll get back to where we need to be and we’ll go into the conference tournament with some confidence.”
Oregon forward Jillian Alleyne who entered the game averaging 21.4 points and a nation-best 15.6 rebounds per game, was held to single figures in rebounding for just the third time this season, finishing with nine to go along with 15 points.
Freshman guard Chrishae Rowe scored a game-high 23 points for Oregon on 7-of-19 shooting. Colorado held the Ducks to 33 percent from the field while the Buffaloes shot 44 percent.
Colorado led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but the Ducks stormed back using a 14-4 run to take its first lead at 46-45 with 15:34 left.
The Buffaloes regrouped with a stretch that epitomized the Buffaloes effort on the boards. CU capitalized on three consecutive offensive rebounds to help push its lead back up to eight.
Up by one after a couple of Swan free throws, Swan missed a layup but Reese was in perfect position for the tip in. Fouled on the play, Reese missed the free throw, but Swan got the offensive board and was fouled herself.
Swan made the first but missed the second. This time Lexy Kresl grabbed the offensive board. She was able to split the Oregon defense for a layup as Colorado increased its lead to 52-46. Following a Megan Carpenter missed jumper, Swan grabbed the long rebound and went coast-to-coast, capping of a 9-0 run and a 54-46 Buffaloes advantage.
“I think there’s always flows of the game,” head coach Linda Lappe said. “We knew coming out of halftime, a nine point lead against Oregon is nothing. We wanted to come out aggressive, but we didn’t do that as well. But I like how we composed ourselves. When we have the mentality defensively, we’re going to make plays on offense. Even offensively, we had to grind it out at times tonight, and we did that.”
Oregon stayed close with the long ball. The Ducks hit six of their 10 3-pointers in the second half. When it looked like Colorado could pull away after Reese gave the Buffs a 61-51 lead, Lexi Petersen drilled a 3-pointer that began an 18-5 run for the Ducks. Petersen hit a second long ball during that stretch and Ariel Thomas capped off the run with a 3-pointer to give Oregon a 69-66 lead with 4:41 remaining.
But Colorado never let the Ducks extend the lead beyond that. Hargis, who scored seven of her eight points during the final stretch, answered Thomas with a bucket.
Colorado then clamped down defensively, allowing Oregon (13-10, 4-8) only four points in the final four minutes.
Reese scored the go-ahead bucket on a short baseline jumper with 45 seconds left to break a 75-75 tie. After getting a stop on the defensive end, Brittany Wilson gave Colorado that all-important four-point lead on a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.
After stopping the Ducks for the second straight possession, Ashley Wilson accounted for the final points with a pair of free throws to close the game. In all the Ducks came up empty on eight of their final 10 possessions.
“Our overall mentality was different from the start of the game,” Lappe said. “When you’re willing to do whatever it takes and rebound the basketball, you can turn it around.”
Brittany Wilson finished with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Haley Smith scored a career-best nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and dished out three assists.
Colorado returns to action on Friday, Feb. 14, by hosting Washington at the Coors Events Center at 6:30 p.m.
WBB: Two top recruits sign letters of intent to CU
Dec 1st
By: Troy Andre, Assistant SID
BOULDER – Zoe Correal and Brecca Thomas have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball and continue their education at the University of Colorado in 2014-15 head coach Linda Lappe announced on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
“We are very excited about having Brecca and Zoe in the Buff family,” head coach Linda Lappe said. “They are great people first and foremost and will bring a lot of valuable skills to the University of Colorado both on and off the court. They have competed and won at a high level in their high school and club programs and have proven to be successful all around.”
Zoe Correal
Correal, a 6-foot, 4-inch center from El Cerrito, Calif., is gearing up for her senior season at Salesian High School a program where she has contributed to the last two NorCal Division IV titles.
“Zoe is a bona fide center who will get up and down the floor quickly and give us another big presence in the post,” Lappe said. “She has worked hard over her high school career and continues to get better each year.”
She averaged 9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks as a junior, guiding the Pride to a 29-8 record, the NorCal title and runner-up finish at the 2013 CIF Division IV State Tournament.
“I’ll be ready to work,” Correal said. “I’ll give it all I have. I will bring my defense and will be working on my offensive game, getting ready for the bigs in the Pac-12 that can shoot. I’m excited to show everyone what I’ve got.”
Correal was named to the 2012-13 Cal-Hi Sports Division IV All-State Second Team. As a sophomore in 2011-12, she averaged 3.5 points and 4.0 rebounds on a 31-5 squad which also advanced to the Division IV state finals. Rated as the No. 46 post player in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz, Correal also played for the CA Ballaz club program. She’s interested in pursuing psychology as a major.
“I’m really excited to get to Colorado,” Correal said. “(On my visit) I went to a psychology class with (current senior Rachel Hargis), it was an advanced class so I didn’t quite understand it, but knew I could do this. Everything is beautiful out there, the brick buildings on campus, and the mountains took me off guard, how pretty it was out there.”
Brecca Thomas scores 20 points a game, shooting over much taller players
Thomas, a 5-5 point guard from Houston, is entering her senior season at the Kinkaid School, a winning program in its own right. She has scored nearly 1,700 points and dished out over 400 assists in three years for the Falcons who have won back-to-back Southwest Preparatory Conference Division I titles.
“Brecca is going to be an exciting player as she plays with a lot of heart and energy,” Lappe said. “She will help us in the guard position as she has a tremendous skill set and is truly a triple threat player.”
A three-time All-SPC Division I selection, Thomas averaged 20.6 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals as a junior, leading the Falcons to a 28-5 record. She hit 47 percent from the field (247-of-528) and was even more accurate from 3-point range, shooting 51 percent (72-of-141).
“Brecca is such a student of the game,” Kinkaid head coach Stacey Marshall said. “Both off the court and with her practice habits, she has an incredible skill set…kind of a once in a lifetime player.”
Thomas averaged 17.3 points, 4.2 steals and 3.8 assists as a sophomore as the Falcons finished 31-3, setting a school record for wins and claiming their first of two straight SPC crowns. She hopes to bring leadership as a point guard and a fast pace to her new teammates next year, who she’s already connected with.
“Everyone is so friendly and (Colorado) is a nice atmosphere,” Thomas said on her visit this past October. “It’s a great group of girls and coaching staff. I feel safe with them. And in academics my planned major (marketing), Colorado is a good school, so I really liked that.”
Colorado, ranked No. 17 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll, will host Alcorn State in its home opener on Friday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
[includeme src=”http://c1n.tv/boulder/media/bouldersponsors.html” frameborder=”0″ width=”670″ height=”300″]
CU Women’s Team Opens Italy Schedule With a Win
Aug 16th
New players show up big time
MONTECATINI, Italy – Five Colorado players scored in double-digits as the Buffaloes rolled to an 80-47 win over the Toscana All-Stars Friday evening at the Palivinci.
Colorado freshmen Bri Watts and Haley Smith made great first impressions. Watts recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs for the Buffaloes. Smith scored 12 points on 6-of-8 from the field.
Smith scored the game’s first two baskets as Colorado vaulted to a 14-0 lead. The Buffaloes led 24-7 after the first of four 10-minute quarters.
Smith scored again on consecutive buckets midway through the second quarter, including a steal and breakaway layup, giving CU its largest lead to that point at 39-14.
“I had so much fun (in our first game),” Smith said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect transitioning from high school to college, but I thought it went well, and we played well as a team.”
Toscana’s Fabbri scored seven of her 10 points in the final minutes of the second quarter to cut the CU lead to 43-28 at the half.
But the Buffaloes clamped down defensively in the second half, allowing only 19 total points. Toscana shot just 28 percent for the game and Colorado forced 27 turnovers.
The Buffaloes looked crisp at times, shooting 48 percent and dishing out 19 assists. On the flip side, Colorado had too many turnovers themselves (26), but to their credit, the team played well in spurts despite stepping on a basketball court for the first time since the final practice at the Coors Events Center on Aug. 12.
Colorado held a substantial size advantage and it showed in the rebounding numbers. The Buffaloes held a 59-25 edge on the boards, and actually had more offensive rebounds (29) than Toscana had total.
Watts had six offensive rebounds alone while hitting 6-of-12 from the field. She used her 6-foot-2 frame to box out on defense and post up on the offensive end.
“It was a great experience,” Watts said. “I love using my body, even though I really still need to learn how, but it makes my job a lot easier.”
All 12 of Colorado’s available players scored and saw between 11 and 22 minutes of action. Watts topped the Buffaloes in that category as well. Rachel Hargis scored 10 points off the bench in her first action since a knee injury last March.
“We were very balanced offensively and rebounded the ball well,” CU head coach Linda Lappe said. “We need to get sharper and will as we go along. We’ll be ready for the next game.”
Jasmine Sborov and Ashley Wilson were the other two in double-digits, scoring 10 each. Jen Reese had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Colorado will enjoy a day of sightseeing in Florence on Saturday before heading for Rome Sunday to play its second game. The Buffaloes will play at 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. MT) against the Lazio All-Stars.
Troy Andre
Assistant SID/Internet Managing Editor
University of Colorado
CUBuffs.com
O: 303-492-4672 C: 303-903-3654
troy.andre@colorado.edu
