Walking onto the court for practice on Thursday, Sila Finau and many of her Colorado women’s basketball teammates were smiling.
There’s no doubt final exams being in the rearview mirror played a role.
“Now we get the chance to actually just focus on basketball alone rather than school and basketball,” Finau said.
On Friday, the Buffs (9-0) will host SMU after a 10-day layoff that allowed them to wrap up their academic obligations.
“Our team is really academic, so we have a lot of people that really care about their grades, really want to maintain a 4.0 and things like that,” head coach JR Payne said. “We’re excited now to just be able to focus on basketball.”
Itap been an exceptional season so far for the Buffs, who are seeking just the seventh 10-0 start in program history. To get to this point, CU has had several players step up, including Finau.
A 5-foot-9 guard in her fourth season with the Buffs, Finau is embracing a role that is a bit different than she’s had in the past.
Finau came to CU from Dublin (Calif.) High School as a point guard and was a valuable backup early in her career. She stepped into the starting point guard role last year after Jaylyn Sherrod went down with a hip injury and she played well.
This year, Sherrod is healthy and the Buffs have talented freshman Kindyll Wetta behind her. That has caused Finau to play off the ball more and she’s excelling.
“The role I play is for a more versatile guard and I feel like I can do that so, yeah I do like it,” she said. “Of course, itap not what I expected, but I mean, changes come and I just have to do what I’m told and thatap what I plan on doing and just excelling in that role.”
Finau’s statistics don’t jump off the page. She’s averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds as a regular starter, but her points have often come at important moments. She’s also among the team leaders in offensive rebounds — which she was challenged to do — and has played solid defense.
“She worked very hard this spring and summer to be someone that would be a reliable — offensive, defensive, ‘What do you need me to do?’” Payne said. “Itap a very big sign of maturity for a player to be able to say, ‘OK, that hasn’t necessarily been my thing but if you need me to do that, if the team needs me to do that, I’m happy to do it.’”
Finau’s game has evolved during her four seasons in Boulder, but itap not just her on-court role that has changed. She has become a leader and one of the most confident players on the roster.
“Thanks to (assistant coach Shandrika Lee) and obviously what we’ve been doing with individuals and just off the court stuff, itap just really improved my game,” Finau said. “Itap put confidence in me that I can do more than what I’m being told that I can do.
“I feel like (confidence) comes with experience, just knowing what the coaches want from me. It all plays into it and just the experiences, it obviously helps, because you know what to go out there and expect.”
Payne and the coaching staff now expect Finau to be a key contributor in many ways as they wrap up the nonconference portion of the schedule and look forward to Pac-12 play beginning later this month.
“She’s been a great leader in a sense of really being a team player,” Payne said. “She’s very vocal when things are not to the level in practice that they should be. She had no hesitation about speaking up and we really, really value and appreciate Sila’s voice on this team.
“She’s put the work in to be confident. … I value what she brings to our team, and we need Sila. We need her to be what she’s capable of being and she’ll be a big factor in our ability to be successful throughout the rest of the year.”
CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. Southern Methodist Mustangs
TIPOFF: Friday, 6 p.m., at CU Events Center in Boulder
BROADCAST: TV – Pac-12 Network. Radio – 630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 9-0 (0-0 Pac-12); SMU 4-5 (0-0 AAC)
COACHES: Colorado – JR Payne, 6th season (81-75; 182-188 career). SMU – Toyelle Wilson, 1st season (4-5; 59-48 career).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado – G Sila Finau, 5-9, Sr. (4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg); G Frida Formann, 5-11, So. (8.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg); F Mya Hollingshed, 6-3, Sr. (13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg; 1.3 bpg); C Quay Miller, 6-3, Jr. (10.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg); G Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Jr. (7.4 ppg; 2.7 rpg; 3.8 apg, 2.3 spg); F Peanut Tuitele, 6-1, Sr. (7.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Fr. (4.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.2 spg). SMU – G Reagan Bradley, 5-8, Jr. (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg); F Jasmine Smith, 5-7, Sr. (5.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 apg); G Kayla White, 5-10, Sr. (11.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg); G Sydne Wiggins, 5-11, Sr. (12.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg; 3.0 apg); F Savannah Wilkinson, 6-0, Sr. (15.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg).
NOTES: CU returns to the court after a 10-day layoff. The Buffs and Mustangs are both playing for the first time since Dec. 7. On that night, CU won at Southern Utah, 81-47, while SMU beat Delaware, 61-55, at home. … After a long layoff for both teams, Payne said, “I don’t think the first quarter will be beautiful for anybody after so much time away, but we’re definitely ready to play.” … CU is 2-0 all-time against SMU, including a 67-50 win in Boulder on Nov. 26, 2016. … Six of the 15 players on SMU’s roster are transfers, including Wilkinson, who came to the Mustangs this year from Florida State. … Payne said the Mustangs are a “really athletic” team with good guards. “Their biggest strength and something that they all love to do is they’re all jump shooters, which is very rare,” Payne said. “They can all knock down 10-for-12 from mid-range pull-up Js, which is different, because you just don’t see that a lot, especially on the female side.” Payne added it will be important for CU to contest shots against SMU. … Hollingshed needs 13 points to pass Dian Hiemstra for 15th on CU’s career scoring list. Hollingshed has 1,364 points. Hiemstra scored 1,376 from 1981-84.
