Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball

The Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team represents the University of Colorado Boulder and competes in the Pac-12 Conference of NCAA Division I.

Colorado Buffaloes
2023–24 Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Colorado Boulder
First season1975
Head coachJR Payne (8th season)
ConferencePac-12
LocationBoulder, Colorado
ArenaCU Events Center
(Capacity: 11,064)
NicknameBuffaloes
ColorsSilver, black, and gold[1]
     
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1993, 1995, 2002
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1993, 1994, 1995 , 1997, 2002, 2003, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament second round
1996, 1988, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2022, 2023, 2024
AIAW tournament appearances
1981, 1982
Conference tournament champions
1989, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997
Conference regular season champions
1989, 1995

Conferences edit

Colorado players defend a shot by an Air Force Falcons women's basketball opponent during a 2023 game at Clune Arena

Colorado plays in the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to the 2011–12 season, they played in the Big 12 Conference. The Buffaloes joined the Big 12 in 1997 when the Big 12 was formed, following the merger of the Big Eight Conference with several former members of the Southwest Conference. Colorado is scheduled to rejoin the Big 12 Conference beginning in 2024.[2]

Coaches edit

Colorado's head women's basketball coach is JR Payne. Payne was hired prior to the 2016–17 season. She replaced Linda Lappe, who was fired at the end of the 2015–16 season with a 7–23 record.[3]

On March 28, 2016, JR Payne became head coach at Colorado. The eighth head coach in program history, Payne replaced Linda Lappe, who was fired after only managing only a career 33–57 (.367) record in Pac-12 play. JR Payne inherited a program that only finished 7–23 (2–16 Pac-12) in Lappe's final season. JR Payne's 2018–19 Colorado team began Pac-12 conference play with 11 straight losses, the worst start to conference play in program history.[4] JR Payne's 2018–19 Buffs lost on the road to #4/#4 ranked Oregon 102–43, the 59 point loss was the worst loss in 35 years, and 4th worst in program history.[5] The Buffs home win against USC on February 10, 2019 allowed CU to prevent from having both the first 12 game losing streak in program history, and the first winless conference season in program history.[6]

Roster edit

2022–23 Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G0Jaylyn Sherrod5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)GSRasmay HSBirmingham, AL
G1Jadyn Atchison6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)FrCedar Hill HSCedar Hill, TX
G2Tameiya Sadler5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)SrSt. Patrick-St. Vincent HS
Washington
Vallejo, CA
G3Frida Formann5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)SrFalkonergårdens GymnasiumBagsværd, Denmark
G4Sara-Rose Smith6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)SrBasketball Australia Centre of Excellence
Missouri
Victoria, Australia
G5Kennedy Sanders5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)FrChaska HSChaska, MN
F11Quay Miller6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)GSKentridge HS
Washington
Renton, WA
G13Lele Tanuvasa6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)FrSt. Mary's HSEureka, CA
G15Kindyll Wetta5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)JrValor Christian HSCastle Rock, CO
C21Aaronette Vonleh6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)JrWest Linn HS
Arizona
West Linn, OR
G22Shelomi Sanders5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)RS FrRockwall-Heath HS
Jackson State
Rockwall, TX
G23Mikayla Johnson6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)RS FrBartlett HSAnchorage, AK
G24Maddie Nolan5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)GSZionsville Community HS
Michigan
Zionsville, IN
F25Brianna McLeod6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)SoKings ChristianBrampton, ON
G31Sophie Gerber6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)JrDesert MountainScottsdale, AZ
F32Ruthie Gerber6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)FrBridgeport HSBridgeport, NE
F45Charlotte Whittaker6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)GSSt Andrew's CollegeCust, New Zealand
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster


Year by year results edit

Conference tournament winners noted with (W)
Source[7]

SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseasonCoaches' pollAP poll
Carol Hochsprung (Intermountain) (1975–1976)
1975Carol Hochsprung2–112–10
Carol Hochsprung:2–11 (.154)2–10 (.167)
Jerry Zancanelli (Intermountain) (1975–1978)
1975–76Jerry Zancanelli8–125–8
1976–77Jerry Zancanelli14–125–8
1977–78Jerry Zancanelli18–145–8
Jerry Zancanelli:40–38 (.513)15–24 (.385)
Rene Portland (Intermountain) (1978–1980)
1978–79Rene Portland22–910–3AIAW Regional
1979–80Rene Portland18–119–1AIAW Regional
Rene Portland:40–20 (.667)19–4 (.826)
Sox Walseth (Intermountain) (1980–1982)
1980–81Sox Walseth28–510–0AIAW First Round
1981–82Sox Walseth28–88–2AIAW First Round
Sox Walseth (Big Eight Conference) (1982–1983)
1982–83Sox Walseth21–87–5
Sox Walseth:77–21 (.786)25–7 (.781)
Ceal Barry (Big Eight Conference) (1983–1996)
1983–84Ceal Barry10–183–11
1984–85Ceal Barry6–222–12
1985–86Ceal Barry21–99–52nd
1986–87Ceal Barry14–146–8
1987–88Ceal Barry21–118–6NCAA Second Round (Play-In)
1988–89Ceal Barry27–414–01st (W)NCAA Second Round (Bye)199
1989–90Ceal Barry17–1110–4
1990–91Ceal Barry18–118–6
1991–92Ceal Barry22–911–32nd (W)NCAA First Round
1992–93Ceal Barry27–412–21stNCAA Elite Eight910
1993–94Ceal Barry27–512–21stNCAA Sweet Sixteen105
1994–95Ceal Barry30–314–01st (W)NCAA Elite Eight52
1995–96Ceal Barry26–99–5(W)NCAA Second Round1817
Ceal Barry (Big 12 Conference) (1996–2005)
1996–97Ceal Barry23–912–4T–2nd (W) (Big 12)NCAA Sweet Sixteen1518
1997–98Ceal Barry12–165–118th
1998–99Ceal Barry15–147–9T–8thWNIT Sixteen
1999–2000Ceal Barry10–194–1210th
2000–01Ceal Barry22–911–54thNCAA Second Round2320
2001–02Ceal Barry24–1011–5T–3rdNCAA Elite Eight912
2002–03Ceal Barry24–811–54thNCAA Sweet Sixteen19
2003–04Ceal Barry22–811–53rdNCAA First Round2417
2004–05Ceal Barry9–192–14T–11th
Ceal Barry:427–242 (.638)192–134 (.589)
Kathy McConnell-Miller (Big 12 Conference) (2005–2010)
2005–06Kathy McConnell-Miller9–213–1311th
2006–07Kathy McConnell-Miller13–176–10T–7th
2007–08Kathy McConnell-Miller19–155–119thWNIT Semifinals
2008–09Kathy McConnell-Miller11–183–1312th
2009–10Kathy McConnell-Miller13–173–1311th
Kathy McConnell-Miller:65–88 (.425)20–60 (.250)
Linda Lappe (Big 12 Conference) (2010–2011)
2010–11Linda Lappe18–166–10T–8th (Big 12)WNIT Quarterfinals
Linda Lappe (Pac-12 Conference) (2011–2016)
2011–12Linda Lappe21–146–1210th (Pac-12)WNIT Quarterfinals
2012–13Linda Lappe25–713–54thNCAA First Round1919
2013–14Linda Lappe19–156–12T–9thWNIT Quarterfinals
2014–15Linda Lappe15–176–12T–9th
2015–16Linda Lappe7–232–1612th
Linda Lappe:105–92 (.533)39–67 (.368)
JR Payne (Pac-12 Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17JR Payne17–165–13T–9thWNIT Third round
2017–18JR Payne15–165–139th
2018–19JR Payne12–182–1612th
2019–20JR Payne16–145–13T–9th
2020–21JR Payne12–118–86thWNIT Quarterfinals
2021–22JR Payne22–99–75th
2022–23JR Payne25–913–53rdNCAA Sweet Sixteen1521
2023–24JR Payne24–1011–7T–5thNCAA Sweet Sixteen1615
JR Payne:143–103 (.581)58–82 (.414)
Total:927–615 (.601)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA tournament results edit

The Buffaloes have appeared in 14 NCAA Tournaments, with a record of 21–15.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1988#7First Round
Second Round
#10 Eastern Illinois
#2 Long Beach State
W 78−72
L 64–103
1989#3Second Round#6 UNLVL 74–84
1992#7First Round#10 Southern IllinoisL 80–84 (OT)
1993#4Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#5 UC Santa Barbara
#1 Stanford
#2 Texas Tech
W 81−54
W 80–67
L 54–79
1994#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#14 Marquette
#6 Oregon
#2 Stanford
W 77−74
W 92–71
L 62–78
1995#1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#16 Holy Cross
#9 SW Missouri State
#4 George Washington
#3 Georgia
W 83−49
W 78–34
W 77–61
L 79–82
1996#3First Round
Second Round
#14 Tulane
#6 Auburn
W 83−75
L 61–66
1997#2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#15 Marshall
#7 Stephen F. Austin
#3 Tennessee
W 69−49
W 75–74
L 67–75
2001#6First Round
Second Round
#11 Siena
#3 Vanderbilt
W 98−78
L 59–65
2002#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#14 Southern
#6 LSU
#2 Stanford
#1 Oklahoma
W 88−61
W 69–58
W 62–59
L 60–94
2003#6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#11 BYU
#3 North Carolina
#2 Villanova
W 84−45
W 86–67
L 51–53
2004#6First Round#11 UC Santa BarbaraL 49–76
2013#5First Round#12 KansasL 52–67
2023#6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#11 Middle Tennessee
#3 Duke
#2 Iowa
W 82–60
W 61–53 (OT)
L 77–87
2024#5First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#12 Drake
#4 Kansas State
#1 Iowa
W 86–72
W 63–50
L 68–89

References edit

  1. ^ University of Colorado at Boulder NIL Brand Guidelines (PDF). January 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  2. ^ Snyder, Curtis (July 27, 2023). "Colorado To Join Big 12 Conference In 2024-25". University of Colorado Athletics.
  3. ^ "Linda Lappe steps down as Colorado women's basketball coach". RalphieReport.com. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  4. ^ "CU Buffs women dominated by Oregon Ducks".
  5. ^ "CU Buffs women dominated by Oregon Ducks".
  6. ^ "Hollingshed, Robinson Lead Buffs To First Pac-12 Win".
  7. ^ "Media Guide" (PDF). University of Colorado. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 11 Aug 2013.

External links edit