Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball

Last updated
Colorado Buffaloess
women's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team
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UniversityUniversity of Colorado Boulder
First season1975;50 years ago (1975)
Head coach JR Payne (9th season)
Conference Big 12
Location Boulder, Colorado
Arena CU Events Center
(capacity: 11,064)
Nickname Buffaloes
Uniforms
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Home
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Away


NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1993, 1995, 2002
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1993, 1994, 1995 , 1997, 2002, 2003, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament second round
1996, 1988, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2022, 2023, 2024
AIAW tournament appearances
1981, 1982
Conference tournament champions
1989, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997
Conference regular season champions
1989, 1995

The Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team represents the University of Colorado Boulder and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.

Contents

Conferences

Colorado players defend a shot by an Air Force Falcons women's basketball opponent during a 2023 game at Clune Arena USAFA Women's Basketball vs. CU (8165155).jpg
Colorado players defend a shot by an Air Force Falcons women's basketball opponent during a 2023 game at Clune Arena

Colorado plays in the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to the 2011–12 season, they played in the Big 12 Conference. The Buffaloes joined the Big 12 in 1997 when the Big 12 was formed, following the merger of the Big Eight Conference with several former members of the Southwest Conference. Colorado is scheduled to rejoin the Big 12 Conference beginning in 2024. [1]

Coaches

Colorado's head women's basketball coach is JR Payne. Payne was hired prior to the 2016–17 season. She replaced Linda Lappe, who was fired at the end of the 2015–16 season with a 7–23 record. [2]

On March 28, 2016, JR Payne became head coach at Colorado. The eighth head coach in program history, Payne replaced Linda Lappe, who was fired after only managing only a career 33–57 (.367) record in Pac-12 play. JR Payne inherited a program that only finished 7–23 (2–16 Pac-12) in Lappe's final season. JR Payne's 2018–19 Colorado team began Pac-12 conference play with 11 straight losses, the worst start to conference play in program history. [3] JR Payne's 2018–19 Buffs lost on the road to #4/#4 ranked Oregon 102–43, the 59 point loss was the worst loss in 35 years, and 4th worst in program history. [4] The Buffs home win against USC on February 10, 2019 allowed CU to prevent from having both the first 12 game losing streak in program history, and the first winless conference season in program history. [5]

Roster

2022–23 Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0Jaylyn Sherrod5 ft 7 in(1.7 m)GS Rasmay HS Birmingham, AL
G 1Jadyn Atchison6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)Fr Cedar Hill HS Cedar Hill, TX
G 2Tameiya Sadler5 ft 8 in(1.73 m)Sr St. Patrick-St. Vincent HS
Washington 		Vallejo, CA
G 3Frida Formann5 ft 11 in(1.8 m)SrFalkonergårdens Gymnasium Bagsværd, Denmark
G 4Sara-Rose Smith6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)Sr Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence
Missouri 		Victoria, Australia
G 5Kennedy Sanders5 ft 8 in(1.73 m)Fr Chaska HS Chaska, MN
F 11Quay Miller6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)GS Kentridge HS
Washington 		Renton, WA
G 13Lele Tanuvasa6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)Fr St. Mary's HS Eureka, CA
G 15Kindyll Wetta5 ft 9 in(1.75 m)Jr Valor Christian HS Castle Rock, CO
C 21Aaronette Vonleh6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)Jr West Linn HS
Arizona 		West Linn, OR
G 22Shelomi Sanders5 ft 6 in(1.68 m)RS Fr Rockwall-Heath HS
Jackson State 		Rockwall, TX
G 23Mikayla Johnson6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)RS Fr Bartlett HS Anchorage, AK
G 24Maddie Nolan5 ft 11 in(1.8 m)GS Zionsville Community HS
Michigan 		Zionsville, IN
F 25Brianna McLeod6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)So Kings Christian Brampton, ON
G 31Sophie Gerber6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)Jr Desert Mountain Scottsdale, AZ
F 32Ruthie Gerber6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)FrBridgeport HS Bridgeport, NE
F 45Charlotte Whittaker6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)GS St Andrew's College Cust, New Zealand
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster


Year by year results

Conference tournament winners noted with (W)
Source [6]

SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseasonCoaches' pollAP poll
Carol Hochsprung (Intermountain)(1975–1976)
1975Carol Hochsprung 2–112–10
Carol Hochsprung:2–11 (.154)2–10 (.167)
Jerry Zancanelli (Intermountain)(1975–1978)
1975–76Jerry Zancanelli 8–125–8
1976–77Jerry Zancanelli 14–125–8
1977–78Jerry Zancanelli 18–145–8
Jerry Zancanelli:40–38 (.513)15–24 (.385)
Rene Portland (Intermountain)(1978–1980)
1978–79Rene Portland 22–910–3AIAW Regional
1979–80Rene Portland 18–119–1AIAW Regional
Rene Portland:40–20 (.667)19–4 (.826)
Sox Walseth (Intermountain)(1980–1982)
1980–81Sox Walseth 28–510–0 AIAW First Round
1981–82Sox Walseth 28–88–2 AIAW First Round
Sox Walseth (Big Eight Conference)(1982–1983)
1982–83Sox Walseth 21–87–5
Sox Walseth:77–21 (.786)25–7 (.781)
Ceal Barry (Big Eight Conference)(1983–1996)
1983–84Ceal Barry 10–183–11
1984–85Ceal Barry 6–222–12
1985–86Ceal Barry 21–99–52nd
1986–87Ceal Barry 14–146–8
1987–88Ceal Barry 21–118–6NCAA Second Round (Play-In)
1988–89Ceal Barry 27–414–01st (W)NCAA Second Round (Bye)199
1989–90Ceal Barry 17–1110–4
1990–91Ceal Barry 18–118–6
1991–92Ceal Barry 22–911–32nd (W)NCAA First Round
1992–93Ceal Barry 27–412–21stNCAA Elite Eight910
1993–94Ceal Barry 27–512–21stNCAA Sweet Sixteen105
1994–95Ceal Barry 30–314–01st (W)NCAA Elite Eight52
1995–96Ceal Barry 26–99–5(W)NCAA Second Round1817
Ceal Barry (Big 12 Conference)(1996–2005)
1996–97Ceal Barry 23–912–4T–2nd (W) (Big 12)NCAA Sweet Sixteen1518
1997–98Ceal Barry 12–165–118th
1998–99Ceal Barry 15–147–9T–8thWNIT Sixteen
1999–2000Ceal Barry 10–194–1210th
2000–01Ceal Barry 22–911–54thNCAA Second Round2320
2001–02Ceal Barry 24–1011–5T–3rdNCAA Elite Eight912
2002–03Ceal Barry 24–811–54thNCAA Sweet Sixteen19
2003–04Ceal Barry 22–811–53rdNCAA First Round2417
2004–05Ceal Barry 9–192–14T–11th
Ceal Barry:427–242 (.638)192–134 (.589)
Kathy McConnell-Miller (Big 12 Conference)(2005–2010)
2005–06Kathy McConnell-Miller 9–213–1311th
2006–07Kathy McConnell-Miller 13–176–10T–7th
2007–08Kathy McConnell-Miller 19–155–119thWNIT Semifinals
2008–09Kathy McConnell-Miller 11–183–1312th
2009–10Kathy McConnell-Miller 13–173–1311th
Kathy McConnell-Miller:65–88 (.425)20–60 (.250)
Linda Lappe (Big 12 Conference)(2010–2011)
2010–11Linda Lappe 18–166–10T–8th (Big 12)WNIT Quarterfinals
Linda Lappe (Pac-12 Conference)(2011–2016)
2011–12Linda Lappe 21–146–1210th (Pac-12)WNIT Quarterfinals
2012–13Linda Lappe 25–713–54thNCAA First Round1919
2013–14 Linda Lappe 19–156–12T–9thWNIT Quarterfinals
2014–15 Linda Lappe 15–176–12T–9th
2015–16 Linda Lappe 7–232–1612th
Linda Lappe:105–92 (.533)39–67 (.368)
JR Payne (Pac-12 Conference)(2016–present)
2016–17 JR Payne 17–165–13T–9th WNIT Third round
2017–18 JR Payne 15–165–139th
2018–19 JR Payne 12–182–1612th
2019–20 JR Payne 16–145–13T–9th
2020–21 JR Payne 12–118–86th WNIT Quarterfinals
2021–22 JR Payne 22–99–75th
2022–23 JR Payne 25–913–53rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen 1521
2023–24 JR Payne 24–1011–7T–5th NCAA Sweet Sixteen 1615
JR Payne:143–103 (.581)58–82 (.414)
Total:927–615 (.601)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA tournament results

The Buffaloes have appeared in 15 NCAA Tournaments, with a record of 21–15.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1988 #7First Round
Second Round		#10 Eastern Illinois
#2 Long Beach State		W 78−72
L 64–103
1989 #3Second Round#6 UNLVL 74–84
1992 #7First Round#10 Southern IllinoisL 80–84 (OT)
1993 #4Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight		#5 UC Santa Barbara
#1 Stanford
#2 Texas Tech		W 81−54
W 80–67
L 54–79
1994 #3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#14 Marquette
#6 Oregon
#2 Stanford		W 77−74
W 92–71
L 62–78
1995 #1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight		#16 Holy Cross
#9 SW Missouri State
#4 George Washington
#3 Georgia		W 83−49
W 78–34
W 77–61
L 79–82
1996 #3First Round
Second Round		#14 Tulane
#6 Auburn		W 83−75
L 61–66
1997 #2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#15 Marshall
#7 Stephen F. Austin
#3 Tennessee		W 69−49
W 75–74
L 67–75
2001 #6First Round
Second Round		#11 Siena
#3 Vanderbilt		W 98−78
L 59–65
2002 #3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight		#14 Southern
#6 LSU
#2 Stanford
#1 Oklahoma		W 88−61
W 69–58
W 62–59
L 60–94
2003 #6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#11 BYU
#3 North Carolina
#2 Villanova		W 84−45
W 86–67
L 51–53
2004 #6First Round#11 UC Santa BarbaraL 49–76
2013 #5First Round#12 KansasL 52–67
2023 #6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#11 Middle Tennessee
#3 Duke
#2 Iowa		W 82–60
W 61–53 (OT)
L 77–87
2024 #5First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#12 Drake
#4 Kansas State
#1 Iowa		W 86–72
W 63–50
L 68–89

References

  1. ↑ Snyder, Curtis (July 27, 2023). "Colorado To Join Big 12 Conference In 2024-25". University of Colorado Athletics.
  2. ↑ "Linda Lappe steps down as Colorado women's basketball coach". RalphieReport.com. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  3. ↑ "CU Buffs women dominated by Oregon Ducks".
  4. ↑ "CU Buffs women dominated by Oregon Ducks".
  5. ↑ "Hollingshed, Robinson Lead Buffs To First Pac-12 Win".
  6. ↑ "Media Guide" (PDF). University of Colorado. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 11 Aug 2013.
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