BOULDER — OK, so the non-conference schedule for the unbeaten Colorado women’s basketball team isn’t exactly teeming with toughies. But ask second-year coach Linda Lappe if last season’s Buffaloes would stand 8-0 at this point, and she will politely reply that her current squad is much improved.
In other words, no chance.
“We have a lot of different options,” Lappe said. “Last year, we got too much into having one threat, maybe two threats. This year, on any given night, anybody can step up and score double figures.”
It’s not often that a team improves after the program’s all-time scoring leader departs but CU has. That is not an indictment on Brittany Spears but an indication that returning players have stepped up and newcomers are making an impact.
Spears averaged 19.2 points last season and earned a spot on the all-Big 12 Conference team. But the 2010-11 Buffs, who finished 18-16, often struggled to score even when Spears was on her game.
This season? The Buffs are averaging 71 points. Athletic junior guard Chucky Jeffery (18.5) is playing more under control and has almost made up for Spears’ absence by herself. Also, Jeffery has more help. Eight players are averaging 16 or more minutes and seven contribute at least 5.4 points per game.
Spears, a four-year starter
, was a team player and never looked to hog the ball. But too often, teammates would stop and watch her do her thing. The Buffs have dramatically improved their ball movement. Their depth is much better, too.
“We have great balance on this team,” Jeffery said. “I think (Lappe) could put anybody on the floor and we will work just as well as the first five. We have a lot of scorers, we’re very dynamic.”
Two major differences at the offensive end: improved play in the frontcourt and the 3-point threat of freshman guard Lexy Kresl.
Last season, Colorado tried to hide its deficiencies in the post by spreading the court. Now, the forwards act more like frontcourt players. Senior forward Julie Seabrook (6-foot-3) is more comfortable in traffic and understands that foot-work positioning is the key to her success. Rachel Hargis (6-4) doesn’t back away from contact and is gaining confidence as a sophomore after being overmatched last season.
Freshman Jen Reese (6-2), a two-time Oregon Gatorade player of the year, always seems to be in the right place. “Jen reminds me of (NBA center) Kevin Love,” Lappe said. “She’s not overly athletic, but she knows how to play the game.
“Last year, nobody had the confidence to really pound the ball inside, not even against smaller teams. Now, we have three posts that show something different, that do entirely different things. I think that makes it tougher on opponents.”
Even more so, Lappe added, when Kresl’s shooting range pulls the bigs out. The Arizonantops the team in 3-pointers made (18), ranks second to Jeffery in scoring (12.3) and has played her way into the starting lineup. A 5-11 guard, Kresl is an honor student who plays without fear.
“We ran a play for her at the beginning of the second half (against DU),” Lappe recalled. “I told her, ‘You’ve got to knock it down.’ She said, ‘OK.’ And she did, she knocked it down. That’s the type of player she is.”
Colorado has figured out spacing this year. Players aren’t bumping into each other as in years past.
“Coach Lappe definitely helped us define our roles,” Seabrook said.
Defense is a point of greater emphasis this season. It shows. Opponents are shooting 33.1percent from the field.
“Colorado defended flawlessly,” said DU coach Erik Johnson. “The only thing we could do was put our head down and drive to try to get ourselves to the (free-throw) line.
That’s not to say Colorado is a finished product. It was hoped that 6-1 freshman Arielle Roberson, the sister of CU men’s hoops standout Andre Roberson, could provide athleticism along the baseline. But she arrived in Boulder with soreness in her lower back and will be redshirted after undergoing hip surgery last week.
The Buffs won’t face top competition until Pac-12 play begins. That explains why, while Colorado entered the weekend as one of only 12 unbeaten teams in Division I, the Buffs had not yet received a vote in the top-25 poll.
“I hope at one point we can be ranked,” Lappe said. “We came to get to NCAA tournaments. We came here to get back into the top 25.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
