A stellar first week by the Colorado women’s basketball team that included a stunning upset of the defending champs made quite the impression on voters.
On Monday, Colorado vaulted 15 spots to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. Per the AP, it is the .
This is the best AP ranking for the Buffaloes (3-0) since finishing the 1994-95 regular season at No. 2. CU had not been inside of the top 10 since December of 1995.
“We are very honored to be ranked in the top five and appreciate the voters’ confidence in us,” CU head coach JR Payne said to BuffZone. “I’m most proud that while itap very exciting, our team will just continue to work in the exact same fashion we always do … trying to be excellent today. Our belief in striving for daily excellence is how we end up in the position that we are. Excited to keep growing and keep getting better!”
Coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last year, the Buffs opened their season with a convincing 92-78 win over preseason No. 1 and defending champion LSU on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas. The Tigers fell to No. 7 this week.
The Buffs routed Le Moyne, 97-38, on Wednesday and had a fourth-quarter rally to knock off Oklahoma State, 86-75, on Sunday to complete a perfect opening week.
Only three other teams in CU women’s history reached the top five of the AP poll, as the Buffs did it three years in a row, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95. Those teams were led by current Buffs assistant Shelley Sheetz, who was an All-American point guard for CU.
Smith stars in role
Last year at Missouri, Sara-Rose Smith was a scrappy, gritty player off the bench who did a little bit of everything for the Tigers. Thatap what Payne wanted for the Buffs and so far she’s getting it.
Payne brought Smith to Boulder for games like Sunday. In the come-from-behind win against Oklahoma State, Smith played 25 minutes off the bench and posted five points (on 2-of-3 shooting), nine rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
“Sara’s really new in our system, and she actually missed a fair amount of the preseason practices just with little injuries and such, so I think she recognizes right now this is the one thing I can do to really help our team as I’m learning system, as I’m getting comfortable in different positions,” Payne said. “Yeah, I mean, she’s an incredible rebounder. Even that offensive rebound on the free throw at the end of the game (with 54 seconds left), monster play.”
In three games as a Buff, Smith is averaging 6.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while connecting on 66.7% of her shots (8-of-12).
“We can trust her to give that type of effort and I think she’ll continue to grow and grow as she learns system and things like that,” Payne said. “But for now, that is a game changer for us.”
Finding her groove
Senior center Quay Miller didn’t start the season the way she had hoped. A first-team All-Pac-12 selection last year, she was 4-for-19 from floor (21.1%) the first two games, while averaging just 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Then, she went 2-for-9 to open Sunday’s game against Oklahoma State. After OSU took its biggest lead of the day, however, at 51-44, Miller got hot. She went 4-for-5 the rest of the day, sparking the Buffs’ rally. She finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds – the type of performance she was accustomed to last year.
“I was just thinking about my conversation with Miss Mary (Murphy from the Pac-12 Network) before the game and how she basically told me that I’m better than what I’ve been putting out,” said Miller, who had also been sick this past week. “And I just read the room with my team and what they needed from me, and everyone was doing their part. I just felt like I had room to improve during the game. So I just did whatever came to me.”
Miller got it started with an offensive rebound and put-back. That sparked CU to a 42-25 advantage over the last 13:25 of the game.
Notable
The Buffs have had 20-plus assists in all three games. Itap the first time they’ve had at least 20 in three straight games since Nov. 28-Dec. 5, 2007. … The Buffs have reached the 85-point mark in three straight for the first time since Nov. 28-Dec. 5, 2014.
