BENCH PRODUCTION: Colorado scored 42 bench points in the win over UMKC. The bulk of those came from freshman forward Arielle Roberson who scored 23 points in 19 minutes off the bench on 9-of-12 from the field. Her 23 bench points are tied for the second most in the past 10 years and her nine field goals are the most. Only Bianca Smith, with 25 points off the bench against San Jose State on Dec. 22, 1999, had a bigger bench game in the last 10 years.

ROBERSON EARNS FIRST HONOR: Forward Arielle Roberson was named the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week for the week of Nov. 5-12.   The Pac-12 has added Freshman of the Week to its weekly honors for the first time this season, joining the standard Player of the Week honor which this week went to Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike.   Roberson, a 6-1 forward from San Antonio, had a sparkling collegiate debut, scoring 16 points on 7-of-13 from the field as Colorado defeated Idaho 70-65 in its season opener on Nov. 11. She grabbed six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end, while collecting five steals, two assists and two blocked shots.   Her five steals were the most by a freshman in her CU debut since all-time leading scorer Brittany Spears had five in her initial game at San Francisco in 2007. Her final steal was critical as it came with under one minute left with the Buffaloes hanging on to a five-point lead.   Roberson’s honor is CU’s second weekly award in the Pac-12 since the Buffaloes joined the conference in 2011.

Chucky Jeffery earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors last December, ironically following a stellar performance (30 points, 10 rebounds) against this same Idaho squad. Jeffery and fellow senior Meagan Malcolm-Peck both earned Freshman of the Week honors in the Big 12 Conference, during the 2009-10  season.

ARIELLE & ANDRE: The Roberson’s are the only brother/sister tandem on the 2012-13 basketball rosters from the same school in the Pac-12 Conference. They’re one of five brother/sister tandems on 2012-13 basketball rosters in Division I. The Big Ten has two tandems, followed by

one each in the ACC, Mountain West and the Pac-12 Conferences.  CU has another brother/sister pair on the ski team with freshmen Maria and Gustav Nordstrom from Sweden.   Colorado (Pac-12): Arielle (Fr.) and Andre Roberson (Jr.) Air Force (Mountain West): Alicia (Sr.) and Marshall Leipprandt (Fr.) Indiana (Big Ten): Kaila (Fr.) and Jordan Hulls (Sr.) Ohio State (Big Ten): Caite (Fr.) and Aaron Craft (Jr.) Virginia (ACC): Sarah Beth (So.) and Tayor Barnette (Fr.)

SEEING DOUBLE: Colorado is used to getting double takes from fans and opponents, as the Buffaloes once again sport two pairs of identical twins on its roster.   Brenna and Meagan Malcolm-Peck are senior wing players while Ashley and Brittany Wilson are junior guards. Brenna is the older of the two Malcolm-Pecks by 27 minutes. Ashley is the older of the Wilson twins, by only five minutes.

BUFFS SIGN FOUR TO NLI’s: Zoe Beard-Fails, Desiree Harris, Haley Smith and Briana Watts have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball and continue their education at the University of Colorado in 2013-14 head coach Linda Lappe announced on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.   Beard-Fails is a 6-2 forward from Herndon, Va., and attends Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C. She missed all but five games of her junior year with an ACL and meniscus tear, but is nearing full strength as her senior season commences. The 51st rated forward in the nation according to ESPN.com’s HoopGurlz, Beard-Fails averaged 27 points and nearly 18 rebounds as a sophomore for Georgetown Day in 2010-11, earning fourth team All-Met honors from the Washington Post.

Harris is a 5-8 guard from Oakland, Calif., who attends St. Joseph Notre Dame High school in Alameda. She averaged 23.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.7 assists as a junior, helping the Pilots to the North Coast Section championship. Harris was a CIF All-State Division V second team selection as well as a Bay Shore Athletic League second team pick.   Smith, a 6-0 wing from Sammamish, Wash., is getting ready for her senior season at Skyline High School. A do-it-all player for the Spartans, she averaged around seven points, five rebounds and just under two assists and steals per game as a junior. Smith is in her fourth varsity season with the Spartans and also has had a successful club career playing with the Tree of Hope program. ESPN.com’s HoopGurlz has her as the top prospect in the state of Washington and the 20th ranked wing in the nation.   Watts, a 6-4 center from Fresno, Calif., will make her debut with Clovis West High School this winter after playing her first three years at rival Buchanan. She was the first commit of the 2013 class. Watts averaged nearly six points and just over six rebounds per game for Buchanan as a junior, contributing to the Bears’ 18-9 record and a spot in the CIF Central Section Division I semifinals.   BUFFS IN

OPENERS: With its win over Idaho, Colorado improved to 34-5 (.872) all-time in season openers and 37-2 (.949) in all-time home openers. The Buffs opened the season with a home game for the 27th time in 39 seasons, and moved to a perfect 27-0 in those instances.

BUFFS IN EXHIBITION: Colorado improved to a perfect 23-0 in exhibition games with its 87-38 win over Western State University Colorado. The Buffaloes have outscored their exhibition opponents by just over 31 points per game (86.0 to 54.7).   Colorado’s 38 points allowed against WSCU were its fewest in an exhibition since the Buffaloes beat Colorado Mines 58-31 in 2007. The 49-point margin was the most in an exhibition since the Buffaloes defeated Spartak Moscow 115-55 in 2002.   The Buffaloes have played at least one exhibition game in all but one year (2009) since 1997. CU’s exhibition games have featured a mix of NCAA II schools, foreign teams and traveling all-star teams.

BUFFS PICKED NINTH: Coming off its first 20-win season in eight years, Colorado was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12 in 2013, according to the league’s annual Preseason Coaches Poll and Media Poll.   In the Coaches Poll, 2012 NCAA Women’s Final Four participant Stanford was picked to win the Pac-12, compiling the maximum amount of points (121) and first place votes (11) possible. 2012 Pac-12 runner-up and NCAA participant California claimed the other first place vote and was second in the poll (109). UCLA was third with 100 points followed by USC (91), Arizona State and Oregon State (67), Utah (56), Washington (54), Colorado (49), Washington State (40), Oregon (20) and Arizona (18).   Colorado’s ninth place preseason rating is its highest in the last nine years since Buffaloes were picked to finish seventh in the 2004-05 Big 12 Coaches Poll.   The Media Poll was nearly identical in order. Stanford was picked to win with 12 first place votes and 166 total. California was second with 155 points and two first place votes. UCLA was third (136) followed by USC (123), Oregon State (106), Arizona State (100), Washington (80), Utah (72), Colorado (57), Washington State (47), Oregon (25) and Arizona (22).

 

MEDIA TABS JEFFERY: Along with picking the order of Pac-12 finish, the media selected a preseason All-Pac-12 team. Senior guard Chucky Jeffery was one of six individuals selected, along with California’s Layshia Clarendon, Washington’s Jazmine Davis, Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike, UCLA’s Markel Walker and Arizona’s Davellyn Whyte.   BUFFS EXPERIENCED

FROM DEEP: While Colorado looks to achieve balance on its 2012-13 squad, there is no questioning its experience from shooting from the perimeter. The Buffaloes have four players with at least 50 career 3-point field goals, and all four rank among CU’s career Top 20. Senior Meagan Malcolm-Peck tops current Buffs with 81 and ranks 12th on CU’s all-time list. Junior Brittany Wilson is 14th all-time with 73. Lexy Kresl, who set CU’s freshman record in 2011-12 is 15th with 66. Senior Chucky Jeffery rounds out the current Buffs at 18th with 53.

JEFFERY MOVING UP CAREER LADDERS: Junior guard Chucky Jeffery ranks among Colorado’s all-time leaders in several categories. She is sixth in assists (362), ninth in steals (217), 12th in rebounds (669), 16th in blocks (57), 17th in field-goals made (458), 18th in scoring (1,223), 3-point field goals made (53) and free-throws made (254). Colorado is 10-7 in its last 17 true road games, including postseason, dating back to the end of the 2010-11 season.

CU will make its first television appearance on Dec. 11 at Denver on ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain. The Buffaloes make their Pac-12 Network debut on Friday, Jan. 4 against defending league champion Stanford; their first of four straight televised games on the network. Colorado will have fi ve straight road games televised beginning with Utah on Jan. 13, through a Super Bowl Sunday match-up at USC on Feb. 3. CU’s final regular season televised game will  be Feb. 8 at home against Oregon State.   Entering the 2012-13 season, CU has appeared on 99 regional or national telecasts over the previous 11 seasons.