Women’s basketball adds depth and versatility, gear up for competition
The women’s basketball season is fast approaching, with a non-conference home opener against Morgan State on Wednesday night. Head coach JR Payne has a core group of returners to pair with an onslaught of transfers.
The team’s top two returners, Logyn Greer and Zyanna Walker, lead a team that reached the first round of the NCAA tournament last year.
A 6-foot-4 forward, Greer earned Big 12 All-Freshman team honors in her first season with the Buffs. The freshman averaged 9.2 points and 5 rebounds per game, pulling up with confidence from beyond the arc and pushing the ball down the floor.
Walker brought her talents to CU after two years at Kansas State and found her place. Along with being named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team, the junior guard averaged 11.3 points per game last season.
"I definitely think we're forming our identity," Walker said. "We're really coming together. It's still early, and we're still working through some things. But I think we're a different team than last year. I think last year's team was a more athletic, defensive-minded team. I think this year's team is going to be a little different because I think we have more offensive ability.”
Despite exiting in the first round of March Madness last season, Payne put together a 22-win season and successfully incorporated 10 new additions to the team. Though the Buffs struggled from long range, they finished fourth in the Big 12 conference and will have the means for major improvement this season.
CU will look to five transfers and two freshmen to improve its three-point shooting, taking advantage of the transfer portal and welcoming new faces to the roster. Graduate student Anete Adler averaged 15.4 points at Boston University and will be a complementary force in the paint.
Mecailin Marshall averaged 10.5 points for Tulane last season and has proven her scoring ability. Named AAC Player of the Year, Marshall led all scorers with 20 points in CU’s exhibition game against Adams State. Both Adler and Marshall recorded 30-point games at their respective schools.
Also joining the Buffs are Aniya’ Foy from Kansas State, Brooke Walker from Utah and Kira Reynolds from UT-Arlington. Freshmen Lauren Harris and Cail Jahnke have plenty of experienced learners to learn from within the program.
"We definitely wanted to add perimeter shooting, which was a huge bugaboo for us last year, and then just versatility; people that can play the style we want to play: tough, physical, aggressive,” Payne said.
CU will have 13 non-conference games to establish a balanced offensive attack. The early season includes four games in Mexico at the Cancun Challenge.
Conference play will start on Dec. 20 when CU travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The first home conference matchup follows as the Arizona State Sun Devils will make the trip to Boulder on Dec. 30.
Only three Big 12 teams are ranked in the preseason top-25, with TCU at No. 15, Oklahoma State and new addition Audi Crooks at No. 22 and West Virginia coming in at No. 25.
However, the conference race will be tight, with several teams just missing the cutoff. Colorado received votes along with Arizona State, Baylor and Kansas.
CU was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12, a positive jump from its ninth place finish the season prior.
The Buffs will have a competitive stretch of winnable games in the new year, with plenty of opportunities to show their improvement. Regular season conference play will wrap up with a home matchup against Kansas State on Feb. 28th.
The Big 12 tournament will start on March 3, with postseason play to follow.
Watch CU take on Morgan State at 6:00 p.m. MT on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
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