Colorado women’s basketball keeps climbing.
On Monday, CU jumped two spots to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
This is the best AP ranking for the Buffaloes (4-0) since finishing the 1994-95 regular season at No. 2. Prior to last week, CU had not been inside of the top 10 since December of 1995.
“Itap exciting. Itap an honor. Itap all of those things to be considered as high as we are,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “We understand that we’re only in that position because of the amount of work that we put in and the consistency that we’re showing. But (we need) to pour more into that to maintain where we are.”
Ranked No. 20 in the preseason, CU vaulted 15 spots last week, the largest one-week leap in poll history, according to the AP.
CU played just once last week, pulling away from SMU for an 84-69 win on the road on Saturday night. But, the Buffs moved up because two teams ahead of them lost.
Iowa, which was No. 2 last week, fell to No. 5 after a home loss to unranked Kansas State (the Wildcats vaulted to No. 16 on Monday). And Utah, which was No. 4 last week, fell to a tie for No. 10 after a loss at then-No. 21 Baylor, which is now at No. 14.
“I’m proud of them,” CU athletic director Rick George said. “They’re talented and they get after it. I said before the season I had high expectations for them, and I still do. … JR has done a great job and she’s gonna be our coach for a while and I have high expectations for that program. They’re an NCAA team and if they stay healthy and they continue to play like they play there’s no limit on the potential that they have.”
While the Buffs are taking their newfound success in stride, guard Frida Formann said they’re also enjoying the ride.
“You always keep your eye on whatap important and the goal,” she said, “but you still have some time to step up and be like, ‘This is pretty incredible. What we’re doing is special,’ and just take it in because it can be taken away from you as quickly as you get it. So I think itap important to also just acknowledge that what you’re doing is pretty special.”
South Carolina remains at No. 1 and the Gamecocks received all 36 first-place votes this week. CU’s Pac-12 rivals, UCLA and Stanford, are at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, with Iowa rounding out the top five.
Also from the Pac-12, USC moved up two spots to No. 8 and Washington State moved up one spot to No. 23.
CU will return to the court Thursday in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The Buffs will play Cincinnati (2-1) on Thursday, Kentucky (2-2) on Friday and North Carolina State (4-0) on Saturday. NC State moved up four spots into a tie with Utah for No. 10 in this week’s AP poll.
Attendance up
The Buffs aren’t on the verge of sellouts for women’s games, but attendance is certainly up with the team doing so well.
For the home opener on Nov. 8 against Le Moyne, the Buffs drew 1,893 fans, which was the largest crowd for a non-conference home game in nearly seven years. Four days later, 3,931 fans showed up for a game against Oklahoma State – the largest crowd for any women’s game since 2017.
In the early 1990s, in the program’s heyday under Ceal Barry, crowds of 5,000-plus were common and George things this year’s team could get there.
“There were 8,000-9,000 people that were at games and some sellouts,” he said. “I think we can get to that number.
“I’m excited for the women’s basketball program because they deserve that. I think our attendance is going to get better and better as the season goes on.”
The Buffs’ next home game is Nov. 28 against Boston at 6 p.m.
George added that he’s also excited about the attendance potential for the 18th-ranked men’s basketball team.
“I think both teams are going to have a lot of attendance and going to exceed expectations there,” he said. “I think our attendance is going to continue to grow throughout both seasons.”
