BOULDER, Colo.—Jackie McFarland is considered one of the best players in the Big 12.
Now she’s trying to make her team one of the best.
The Colorado Buffaloes were picked No. 11 in the 12-team conference. The players weren’t happy about it, either.
“I feel that when you look around the conference to what we lost last year, compared to what other teams lost and what we’ve brought in,” McFarland said, “I felt like we’d be a lot more competitive. Definitely a little extra motivation.”
In fact, the Buffs finished tied for seventh in the Big 12, and return McFarland—a preseason all-conference forward—and three other starters.
Sophomore Whitney Houston and senior Susie Powers return at the guard positions. Junior Kara Richards joins McFarland on the inside. The other expected starter is sophomore Aija Putnina.
Kathy McConnell-Miller will begin her third year as coach of the Buffs. During her first season the team won three conference games. Last year they won six. Another three-game improvement and they should be near the top of the Big 12 standings.
“I can tell you that this being the start of the third season, this is the best I’ve felt,” McConnell-Miller said.
McConnell-Miller has installed a new offense to shift the focus from McFarland on the inside. Now the Buffs will employ an offense with parts interchangeable from center to point guard.
“We just saw so much double-teaming on Jackie that we felt like we needed to pull things out a little bit more,” McConnell-Miller said. “We felt like if we could get one of our post players on the block with single coverage, they could score.”
The focus will still be on McFarland, as she’s the conference’s No. 2 returning scorer and rebounder, but she’s prepared to prove the doubters wrong about her team.
“The Rockies were picked second to last and they’re in the World Series,” McFarland said. “So ranking don’t mean that much obviously.”
