RebKell's Junkie Boards

[unkiemark]

Okay, I have no idea what the Buffs are going to do to right the ship. There are not a lot of personnel changes on the perimeter that can be done without using a lot of inexperienced players. This means that the players who were making a difference until the last week or two need to get their games back. Whether that happens is anyone's guess.

Defensively, I wonder if the Buffs will use a variety of players on Andrea Riley? CU has really struggled to defend dribble penetration in recent games which indicates that they could be in for a very long night.

The game will be televised on FSN @ 6 pm MST.

_________________
MarkW
HoopScoop.net

[unkiemark]

"When you have a freshman like Brittany that's been so consistent up to this point ... you have to look for someone else," CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "That's where our struggles have been."

http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/02/spears-trying-to-work-out-of-slump/

_________________
MarkW
HoopScoop.net

[KatValeska]

[tag3]

This one's much closer than I thought it would be. OSU leads by 2 at the half: 33-31.

[tag3]

40-39, Colorado with 14:59 to go. CU playing very scrappy ball, and keeping up well with the Cowgirls.

[tag3]

54-53, OSU w/ 9 to go. What a game! Wish I was there.

[tag3]

OSU - 73-61 with 2:05 to go.

Jackie McFarland is a stud. She's drawn 3 charges on Reilly (who has 25 pts), and has scored in double figures with 3 guards around her most of the night.

[tag3]

Colorado falls, 82-71.

McFarland ended up with 21, on a very tough, physical night.

Riley had around 30. Will post a box score when I can.

[unkiemark]

Returned from the game in the last half an hour. I must say that OSU's Ardrea Riley is one of the best to ever play in the Coors Events Center. She has a unique ability to both drive as well as hit from very long range. And when she drives, it's all over as she either scores or dishes for a layup. Tonight she had 30 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.

CU came out is a 2-3 zone and stuck with it will the last seven minutes or so when they were down and forced to man up. It worked fairly well, but OSU changed the way they were using Riley against it by putting her on the wing rather than the point and she was able to break the Buffs down. Once OSU was able to open a gap it was over for the Buffs as they came out of their zone and of course had no answer for Riley.

CU played much better offensively than in the previous two or three games, but they just don't know how to keep it going. They were getting treys in the first half from Smith, Powers, Skildum and Spears. In the second half Smith didn't score, Powers and Spears weren't consistent from the perimeter in the second half. And Putnina, who was very assertive in the first 10 minutes or so of the second half failed to score down the stretch. It seemed that the Buffs are doing their best when they are getting scoring from a variety of sources, but struggle when it is only one or two.

Jackie McFarland was darn close to a triple-double with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists.

CU hosts Nebraska Wedesday night.

Box score:

http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3909&SPID=258&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1381488

_________________
MarkW
HoopScoop.net

[CalwbbFan]

Good game....just watched on TIVO....Riley is incredible--how do you stop her??

Anyway, fun game to watch......some good basketball going on and a lot of 3s!!!

[BobScoutingReport]

Like many of you, I watch a lot of women's hoops. As I live in the SE, I see a lot of SEC teams. However, my favorite conference to watch is the Big 12. Is it the best conference in term of quality at the top? Probably not! However, the games are the most entertaining. My favorite players to watch are Andrea Riley, Shalee Lehning and Courtney Paris. Even the blowouts in this league seem to have more redeeming features. SEC games tend to be very grinding. Of course Tennessee and LSU are better than any Big 12 team but SEC (still good but overall quality down from most years) drops off after that. Vandy, who is one of their best, lost to Colorado (struggling in Big 12 play) in Nashville this year.

As to Riley, it is best to keep her out of the lane and let her shoot over you. That is however easier said than done. Through 7 conference games she is averaging 28.2 PPG!! Against Colorado, she started slowly forcing it (a few too many turnovers tonight) against the 2-3 zone. As was stated above, she got comfortable later on. She was effective going left to penetrate with several nice dishes to Shaunte Smith (who also had a high quality game). Some of Riley's second half 3's appeared out in NBA range. Her release is so quick, one time going from dribble into shot so fast that her defender was backing up anticipating penetration!

With one month left in regular season Big 12 play, Riley supporters can build a strong case for Big 12 Player of the Year although I suspect Courtney Paris is still the favorite there. Riley is likely in the top ten to get State Farm (formerly Kodak) All-American honors (along with Courtney Paris) if she can stay close to maintaining her current level of play.

[unkiemark]

From today's BDC:

http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/03/oklahoma-states-role-players-come-up-bigger/

From the Longmont Times-Call:

http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/03/oklahoma-states-role-players-come-up-bigger/

_________________
MarkW
HoopScoop.net