The women’s basketball team is undefeated this season, due largely to their emerging star, junior Chucky Jeffery.
The CU women's basketball team is now 7-0. (CU Independent Illustration/Josh Shettler)
Jeffery put up career numbers Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center against the San Francisco Dons. On Sunday afternoon, she took her game even further versus the University of Idaho, putting up 30 points and 10 rebounds. This gives Jeffery her third consecutive double-double, and her fourth this season.
“Thank goodness she came to play,” head coach Linda Lappe said of Jeffery in the post-game press conference. “She did so many great things offensively and defensively . . . she played with a great pace today, she really came focused.”
Without Jeffery’s tremendous effort Sunday, the Buffs very well may have lost this game. The team had a rough first half, only scoring three out of their first 16 shots from the field. But Jeffery’s 18 first half points kept them in the game and solidified her role as this year’s team leader. Even with her big performances, Jeffery remains humble.
“I just played basketball . . . I didn’t do anything special,” Jeffery said in the post-game conference with the Sports Information Department. “I took what the defense gave me . . . my shot was on, and that was great. For a while I tried to get my teammates incorporated so we could have a little balance on the floor. Jen (Reese) stepped up big; she made some big shots down the stretch, so that was good.”
Despite Colorado’s poor shooting in the early minutes of the first half, they picked up their game and went into the locker room up 42-33 shooting 44.44 percent (16-36) from the field and a strong 42.9 percent (6-14) from 3-point line.
But the Buffs reverted back to their first-half slump, and turned the ball over a total of 14 times during the game. The Idaho Vandals took advantage of this, scoring 20 points off those turnovers. CU’s sinking play kept the game neck and neck, with overall 12 lead changes and 9 tied scores.
In the final minutes of play, the Buffs turned it on, not only through Jeffery, but also with other stand-out performances late in the game. Senior Julie Seabrook ended the game with 7 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman Jen Reese (the only other Buff in double figures) finished with 10 points.
“You get that adrenaline rush and you know you have to win,” Reese said in the post-game conference. “You play better; we all played better in that last three minutes as a team, and it was great.”
The 68-59 win was one of the Buffs’ closer games so far in their season, but they’re thankful for the competitive push it gave them.
“It teaches how to keep our composure when things aren’t going our way, especially down the stretch,” Jeffery said. “Basketball is a game of runs, and they kept coming back those last four minutes. We knew this was it, so we had to bear down.”
The team’s play is gaining them attention in the women’s college basketball world, and for now, coach Lappe likes what she sees.
“We ended the game very, very strong,” Lappe said. “Our last three minutes, defensively we finally buckled down and offensively we hit some key shots. And a lot of different people hit them . . . It was the first time we got to see our team in a close-game situation, and I really liked what I saw.”
The Buffs look to continue their winning streak as they face Denver at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Coors Events Center.
Statistics and quotes courtesy of CUBuffs.com.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Joseph Wirth at joseph.wirth@colorado.edu.
