KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Although it’s closer to the end of the preseason than the beginning, there’s good news for fans of Colorado women’s basketball.
Finally, the Buffaloes are starting to get healthy.
Head coach JR Payne offered an update on the state of her club on Tuesday, as CU’s leader took part in the Big 12 Conference women’s basketball media day at T-Mobile Center alongside Buffs players Jade Masogayo and Kennedy Sanders.
The Buffs have been banged up throughout the preseason. None of the injuries are expected to drag into extended absences in the regular season, but it has made for disjointed sessions at practice. Especially since the Buffs are working in 10 new players.
“One area that we’re really prioritizing this past week or so is overall organization,” Payne said. “When you have 10 new players and five freshmen experiencing college for the first time, that takes time. There’s not a lot we can do to speed that up other than just continue to rep. But that’s been a big priority this past week.
“And then just getting everybody healthy. We haven’t had everybody healthy on the floor together. Not big injuries, but it’s been enough to keep them off the floor. We’ve had a lot of people in and out of practice. That contributes to your organization as well. But we’ve had most of our players back for a week or so.”
Comeback trail
Two guards with deep Colorado roots are making injury comebacks for a couple of CU’s Big 12 rivals.
Jana Van Gytenbeek was a five-star recruit out of Cherry Creek High School who ended her prep career as the Bruins’ all-time leader in points, steals and assists before signing with Stanford. After two seasons at Stanford, Van Gytenbeek transferred to Baylor, averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 assists with the Bears in 2023-24. She played 17 minutes in the season opener last year before suffering a season-ending injury.
“It’s really exciting to be back,” Van Gytenbeek said. “I keep thinking how grateful I am all the time. There’s an attitude of gratitude all the time. The toughest part was the day it happened. After that, God really held my hand through the rest of it and I was OK. I just channeled my energy into helping my teammates and bringing joy and not being the reason for anybody to get down or feel bad for me.”
It’s a similar story for BYU’s Marya Hudgins, a former standout at Grandview High School in Aurora. Hudgins spent her first two seasons at Santa Clara before transferring to BYU but played in just seven games for the Cougars last year before suffering a season-ending injury.
“She’s playing really well right now. I know she’s looking forward to being able to play in front of her home crowd, her family there,” BYU head coach Lee Cummard said. “She brings a lot of experience, brings a lot of energy, and she uplifts her teammates really well.”
Baylor doesn’t play at CU this season, but Hudgins and the Cougars visit on Feb. 14.
Quotable
“I’ve been in the league so long, Colorado left and now they’re back.”
–Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly, who is going into his 31st season with the Cyclones.
Notable
Four Big 12 programs will work in first-year head coaches — BYU’s Cummard, Becky Burke at Arizona, Molly Miller at Arizona State and Matthew Mitchell at Houston. Utah’s Gavin Petersen will be in his first full season with the Utes, although he took over early last season after former coach Lynne Roberts left Utah to join the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. … At No. 16, Baylor begins the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the 21st consecutive year.
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