I can hardly contain my excitement for our BUFFS!!!

[buff190]

They are playing with a lot of heart, they are young and scrappy and
their team chemistry is getting better every game. The new offense is starting to roll and the defense has been very good.

Bianca is really starting to impress me with her new found
consistency and tenacity!

Aija has always been a fighter and hustler but she is now starting
to score.

Spears is everything we thought she would be and more.

I am really impressed with the improvement of Skildum.

Powers is a good leader and Jackie is just being Jackie.

I LOVE our depth with Dow, Houston, Blythe, Dunn and Richards.

We have the makings of an NCAA tourney team here. I was a little
hesitant to let my mind go there before the season started because
we were still so young but I am starting to believe. The ladies have
a BIG test ahead of them, playing in the best conference in the
country but I think they will do well.

GO BUFFS, BEAT THE TIGERS!!!!!
:CU::CU::CU::CU::CU::CU::CU:

[BeBe]

Welcome to Hoopscoop. Always good to see another Buffs fan here.

[unkiemark]

As I have posted in another thread, I too am very excited about this team too. They absolutely are playing like an NCAA tourney team at this time - and I doubt that they will get worse over the course of the season. They play with confidence and they are improving on offense all the time. What I really like is the way they play defense and rebound, these are two reasons why I believe they can play with almost every team in the conference.

I've been thinking about the best CU teams of the past 20 + seasons and I believe there are very few that can match the individual offensive talent of this team.

CU will win at Missouri on Wednesday. Let's hope there is a great crowd on hand next Sunday afternoon when ISU is in Boulder.

[buff190]

I agree with your statement about the individual talent on this team and how it may compare to CU teams of old. I was thinking about that today as well. I didn't get very far with that thought though because it is hard for me to compare. Many of those 20+ years I had to follow the team from afar. I lived out of state and there was no internet to lean on for most of those years. I watched them on tv when they were on and thats all I had for many years.

Maybe, since you kinda brought it up, you could give us your opinion on the top 5 teams assemble at CU and throw in some of the key players on each team. Would this team be in your top 5? That would be fun to look at and maybe get some other opinions on the subject.

[LadyBuff]

We can always use more Buff fans here!

I am really enjoying this team, too.

I've been watching CU women's basketball since the very beginning.

I'd have to ponder the top 5 teams from the past, but I know that the very best team CU has ever had was the 94-95 team that went 30-3.

The 88-89 team was another great one, as was the 92-93.

[unkiemark]

We can always use more Buff fans here!

I am really enjoying this team, too.

I've been watching CU women's basketball since the very beginning.

I'd have to ponder the top 5 teams from the past, but I know that the very best team CU has ever had was the 94-95 team that went 30-3.

The 88-89 team was another great one, as was the 92-93.

The 94-95 team featured a 25 game winning streak, was ranked as high as #2 in the country and had CU's one and only first-team AA selection, Shelley Sheetz. Unfortunately, they suffered the most painful loss in my memory in the regional final to Georgia. CU was in control of the game with about four minutes left before they self-destructed in the face of Georgia's press.

In addition to Georgia, CU lost to Tennessee and La Tech. They went undefeated in the Big 8 regular and post seasons. Their average margin of victory was 19.3 points. Isabelle Fijalkowski (Chipper's all-time favorite Buff) led the team in scoring @ 16.1 ppg, Shelley Sheetz was the only other player to average double figures @ 12.9.

From what I remember, there was no one with the all-around skills of Brittany Spears. DC Thomas was the best athlete and a solid defender, but she couldn't wasn't a reliable perimeter shooter, and couldn't handle the ball as well as Spears' either. Erin "I'm a prisoner of gravity" Scholz averaged 8.1 rpg, but wasn't the offensive threat (that season) that Jackie McFarland or Aija Putnina are this season.

I am not at all saying that this team is going to go 30-3, etc., etc. But I do think that they have some offensive weapons that are unlike any on one team in Buff history.

The 88-89 team had the first really great point guard in CU history, Bridget Turner. She went on to play with the Harlem Globe Trotters. This team went 27-4 and was the first team in Big 12 history to go through the conference regular season undefeated (14-0).

The 92-93 team was the first to make the Elite Eight, went 27-4 and beat defending national champ Standford in the Sweet 16. Shelley Sheetz was the leading scorer.

[unkiemark]

I failed to mention that the 88-89 team was the first (male or female) to play before a sell-out crowd at the Coors Events Conference Center.

[tx4OU]

The 88-89 team had the first really great point guard in CU history, Bridget Turner. She went on to play with the Harlem Globe Trotters. This team went 27-4 and was the first team in Big 12 history to go through the conference regular season undefeated (14-0).

I thought the B12 wasn't formed until 1995? Pardon me if I've misunderstood or am reading it wrong. Two years ago when OU when 19-0, undefeated through the conference season and tournament, I thought I heard everyone say they were the first to do so.

[Sooner Suzie]

I thought the B12 wasn't formed until 1995? Pardon me if I've misunderstood or am reading it wrong. Two years ago when OU when 19-0, undefeated through the conference season and tournament, I thought I heard everyone say they were the first to do so.

You are correct. CU was still in the Big 8 in 88-89.

[mgood1]

Yeah, Oklahoma is the only women's team to go through the Big 12 regular season 16-0 (2006)

Several teams have had 15-1 seasons.
Texas Tech (1998)
Oklahoma (2001)
Texas (2003)

I believe the first year for the Big 12 was the 1996-97 season.
Kansas won the first regular season championship in 1997 with a 14-2 record.
(Oklahoma was last that year at 1-15. How times change.)

[TTU79]

Yes, TTU was headed to the championship in the Big 12 tourney that year, but in the first game Tech played, Crystal Boyles torn up her left knee, got it heavily taped and tried to continue to play. Alas, in spite of her tenacity, she could not go and Tech did not recover from this. I can still shed tears remembering the look on Crystal's face at that game. She now does a superb job as a commentator on the local televising of games and Ryan's radio broadcasts.

[LadyBuff]

The 94-95 team featured a 25 game winning streak, was ranked as high as #2 in the country and had CU's one and only first-team AA selection, Shelley Sheetz. Unfortunately, they suffered the most painful loss in my memory in the regional final to Georgia. CU was in control of the game with about four minutes left before they self-destructed in the face of Georgia's press.

In addition to Georgia, CU lost to Tennessee and La Tech. They went undefeated in the Big 8 regular and post seasons. Their average margin of victory was 19.3 points. Isabelle Fijalkowski (Chipper's all-time favorite Buff) led the team in scoring @ 16.1 ppg, Shelley Sheetz was the only other player to average double figures @ 12.9.

From what I remember, there was no one with the all-around skills of Brittany Spears. DC Thomas was the best athlete and a solid defender, but she couldn't wasn't a reliable perimeter shooter, and couldn't handle the ball as well as Spears' either. Erin "I'm a prisoner of gravity" Scholz averaged 8.1 rpg, but wasn't the offensive threat (that season) that Jackie McFarland or Aija Putnina are this season.

I am not at all saying that this team is going to go 30-3, etc., etc. But I do think that they have some offensive weapons that are unlike any on one team in Buff history.

The 88-89 team had the first really great point guard in CU history, Bridget Turner. She went on to play with the Harlem Globe Trotters. This team went 27-4 and was the first team in Big 12 history to go through the conference regular season undefeated (14-0).

The 92-93 team was the first to make the Elite Eight, went 27-4 and beat defending national champ Standford in the Sweet 16. Shelley Sheetz was the leading scorer.

Yes, the 88-89 team was the first CU team to go undefeated in the Big 8. The 94-95 team also went undefeated in the Big 8.

That loss to Georgia in Des Moines was still the most painful loss in all my years of being a Buff fan and I go way back. They had that game, as Mark says, and they lost it. Georgia did not beat them. I have never watched the tape. It's too painful.

Isabelle was a fun player to watch, but she was only here for one year. She was one great player and without her, that team would never have gone 30-3.

I was seriously ill from 1999-2003, so was pretty out of the loop on what was happening. I think some of the teams with Roullier, Lappe, Nightingale, etc. were pretty good, too.

Basketball and the league have changed since 1995. We will see what happens.

Think we'll ever see a sellout crowd again at Coors for the women? I'm hoping for one this season.

[mgood1]

The 92-93 team was the first to make the Elite Eight, went 27-4 and beat defending national champ Standford in the Sweet 16. Shelley Sheetz was the leading scorer.
That was a great year! :)