CU Buffs women’s basketball strives to increase competitiveness – The Denver Post

Losing both games on a road trip to Texas didn’t hurt the Colorado women’s basketball team’s confidence.

He did, however, highlight some of the areas where the Buffaloes need to improve.

“We are fine; We’re 100 percent good,” Buffs junior Jade Masogayo said. “I think everything will be fine. I just have to fix some things, but everything will be fine.

CU (10-4, 1-2 Big 12) returns home Wednesday to face Central Florida. The Buffs look to get back in the win column after losing to TCU and Baylor last week.

There are many statistical areas to evaluate to determine what the Buffs do well or struggle with early in Big 12 play. Yet in head coach JR Payne’s eyes, it comes down to competition .

“I really encourage the team to really compete,” she said. “If we need to rebound, you have to be the best rebounder in practice. If we need to shoot, you need to be in the gym making shots. That’s kind of where we are.

“We are confident. We know we can beat anyone on our schedule, but we really need a more competitive mindset.

It starts in practice, and that’s not at all what Payne wants at this point in the season. There’s plenty of time to resolve this issue, with 15 conference games remaining, but Payne said, “I just think we need to speed things up.” Really.

Because the competitiveness hasn’t been up to par, Payne and his team still don’t know what they’re going to get from certain players night after night. This could result in roster changes or playing time decisions based on who practices on a given day.

“Midway through the season, we’re still trying to figure out the best lineups,” Payne said. “I keep telling the team that we have more good players than ever, but when you’re tied with someone, you have to find a way to beat them. Otherwise, it will be like determining who is present today.

“That’s kind of how it feels, honestly, as a coach. So-and-so had a great photoshoot today; I think they’re ready to go. Let’s go. Or they come in and play aggressively and well, their minutes are going to be extended.

When Masogayo said the Buffs are doing well, it’s because she sees the potential in the team. Payne sees it too, but they haven’t reached that potential yet.

“There’s still a lot to work on and improve,” Payne said. “We believe we have everything we need to be successful and we just need to keep working at it.”

Offensively, the Buffs weren’t at their best last week, but they were happy with their overall defensive effort and took some confidence from it.

“I feel like defensively we did pretty well,” Masogayo said. “We did a pretty good job of containing some players that were getting certain shots and stuff like that. We kept them below their average score. So keep doing that. Just be more intense on defense and lock down that way.

With a new roster and playing in a new conference, there are definitely some kinks to iron out. The Buffs hope these issues improve as they move forward.

“I feel like every loss is kind of a lesson,” Masogayo said. “A lot to learn from this (trip to Texas) and we’re just trying to make sure we correct these mistakes so we can have a better outcome for UCF.”

CU improves women’s basketball against Central Florida

ADVICE : Wednesday, 7 p.m. MT, CU Events Center in Boulder

TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KHOW 6:30 a.m.

FILES: Colorado 10-4, 1-2 Big 12; UCF 7-6, 0-3 Big 12

COACHES: Colorado – JR Payne, 9th season (153-106; 254-219 career). UCF — Sytia Messer, 3rd season (33-38; 87-79) career)

KEY PLAYERS: Colorado – F Nyamer Diew, 6-2, Sr. (6.6 ppg, 3.5 RPG); G Frida Formann, 5-10, Sr. (13.2 ppg, 2.3 apg, .379 3pt%); F Lior Garzon, 6-1, Sr. (11.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg); F Jade Masogayo, 6-3, Jr. (11.8 ppg, 4.5 RPG, 1.9 apg, .576 FG%); G Sara-Rose Smith, 6-1, Sr. (5.8 ppg, 5.6 RPG); G Johanna Teder, 5-11, Sr. (4.9 ppg, 2.1 apg, 0.553 FG%); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Sr. (5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.9 spg). UCF — F Achol Akot, 6-1, therefore. (6.3 ppg, 7.3 RPG, 2.2 apg, .485 FG%); G Nevaeh Brown, 5-9, Sr. (6.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.4 spg); C Hannah Gusters, 6-6, Sr. (14.2 ppg, 7.4 RPG, .556 FG%); G Kaitlin Peterson, 5-9, Sr. (20.9 ppg, 2.2 apg, 2.4 spg); G/F Emely Rodriguez, 6-0, P. (11.4 ppg, 5.5 RPG).

REMARKS : CU returns home looking to end a two-game losing streak. … The Buffs are 7-1 at home, while UCF is 1-2 on the road. … CU won the only previous meeting against UCF, 86-59, at the CU Events Center on Nov. 16, 2008. … Wetta needs two assists to reach 400 for his career. … CU and UCF are both near the bottom of the defense in the Big 12. CU is 13th in defense (allowing 63.2 points per game), while UCF is 15th (66.7). The Buffs are also 12th in field goal percentage defense (39.9%), while UCF is 16th (41.5). … Peterson is third in the Big 12 in scoring and steals and leads the conference in field goal attempts per game (18.0). … The Knights attempt by far the fewest 3-pointers per game (11.3) in the Big 12, nearly 5 per game fewer than the next team (Cincinnati, 16.2).

Originally published: January 7, 2025 at 1:27 p.m. MST