Seabrook Steps Up To Lead Colorado Past Idaho State

BOULDER -- Freshman Julie Seabrook had a big night off the bench, recording career highs with 12 points and 13 rebounds to lift Colorado to a 73-57 victory over Idaho State Tuesday night at the Coors Events/Conference Center. Seabrook, replacing senior Kara Richards who fell into early foul trouble, recorded her first double-double in a season-best 27 minutes. With the win, Colorado (6-4) records its first three-game winning streak of the season while moving to two games above .500 for the first time since opening the season with two wins. Seabrook's double-double off the bench was key, but it was a team effort that led the Buffs to victory. Four other Buffaloes also scored in double digits—the first time Colorado has had five players score in double digits this season. Sophomore Brittany Spears and Richards each tallied a team-high 14 points, Richards doing so in only 15 minutes of floor time. Spears also recorded her third double-double this season grabbing 13 rebounds. Junior Bianca Smith contributed 12 points, nine of which came from behind the 3-point line. Freshman Alyssa Fressle added 11 points of her own. "I am happy with the balanced scoring," CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "Most important was the rebounding, assist-to-turnover ratio, and balanced scoring – all were positives for us." The Buffaloes started and ended the game strong, never allowing the Bengals to take the lead in the game, but the Bengals gave the Buffs a scare early in the second half when they cut the Buffs' lead to only five. Colorado showed Idaho State (3-10) that it meant business early with a layup from Richards only 15 seconds into the game. A 7-0 run gave Colorado a 19-8 lead at the 13:21 mark. Smith dished out back-to-back treys and Richards added two consecutive buckets from the paint as the Buffs began to pull away. Richards, who scored more than half of the Buffs' first 19 points, recorded her second foul at the 9:56 mark, and that's when it was Seabrook's turn to step up and take over for Richards under the basket. "I was happy to come in and fill Kara's shoes and step-up," said Seabrook, a North Vancouver, B.C., native. It didn't take much time for Seabrook to make her presence known. Not long after fellow freshman Fressle put up three layups in a row, Seabrook kept the freshmen frenzy going by sinking two free throws and putting up a layup of her own. After yet another 3-pointer by Smith, Seabrook grabbed a rebound off a Fressle miss and scored on the put back to put the Buffs up 34-21 with 4:09 left in the first. Colorado entered the second half with a 13-point cushion (39-26), but the Buffaloes soon saw their lead dwindle as the Bengals started out the second half just as quick as the Buffs had started out the first with a layup by Idaho State junior Oana Iacovita 17 seconds in. Over the next 3:47, the Bengals went on 6-0 run as the Buffs shot 0-for-7 from the field during that span. The Bengals seemed to have the momentum as they came within just five points of the Buffs lead, but fouls would hurt Idaho State as Colorado recorded 17 of its 34 second-half points off of free throws. Colorado shot 17-for-28 from the line in the second. Those 17 free throws proved key in helping Colorado regain a steady lead, as the Buffs finished the game with a 16-point advantage. Three players led Idaho State by scoring in double digits. Freshman Sheila Adams and Colorado native, senior Cara Lambert, both came off the bench to contribute 25 combined points. Adams scored a career-high 15 points, including three baskets from behind the arc. Senior Michelle Grohs added another 13 points for the Bengals. Colorado's victory over Idaho State marks the team's final nonconference home game of 2008. The Buffs will ring in 2009 and close out the nonconference potion of its schedule with a trip to the Rainbow Classic in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii. Colorado will take on Pepperdine on Saturday Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. MST and then face host Hawaii on Sunday Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. MST. Idaho State-Colorado Quotes Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller General "A lot of good things happened tonight, but there are also a lot of challenges a night like tonight presents. For Kara (Richards) to score 10 points in 10 minutes and be the most dominant force on the court, and then pick up fouls; once she understands the significance of her being on the floor, those won't happen. I am happy with the balanced scoring. I am very pleased with Julie Seabrook and Kelly Jo Mullaney off the bench. Kelly Jo came back from Christmas with a swagger I didn't see before Christmas. She was a different person. Of all our players, the break did her best. She is going to play a combo for us. She is naturally an off-guard, but she will be playing the point and the two. Most important were the rebounding, assist-to-turnover ratio, and balanced scoring as positives for us." On C Kara Richards Foul Trouble "The message is being sent by text, email, and in locker room chatter [that she needs to stay out of foul trouble]. She is inexperienced because Jackie [McFarland] had always been the go-to player. Kara had that luxury for three years, that now she doesn't have. The message is definitely being sent." On F Julie Seabrook "Her personality, her energy, and what she brings to the team; there are so many intangibles that we have always seen in Julie. She has passion, asks questions, and absorbs. Her international experience has helped. The expectations are high for her. She has a comfort level now, and her teammates respect her. I would love to see them (Kara and Julie on the court) together." Colorado Players Kelly Jo Mullaney, So., G ON COMING BACK BETTER FROM CHRISTMAS BREAK- "It was nice to go home and get rejuvenated. Break was good for me. I went to the gym and got off a lot of shots. It just takes time to get used to playing in games again, after sitting last season out. I definitely feel more comfortable." ON THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE- "Points were scattered through the whole team, and a lot of them came off of assists, which is good because it shows we are playing as a team." Julie Seabrook, Fr., F GENERAL- "I was happy to come in and fill Kara [Richards'] shoes and step-up." Idaho State Head Coach Seton Sobolewski General "Well the difference in this game was offensive rebounds. To compete with a Big 12 team, and a team that's a lot bigger than you are—you have to be tougher. I think we did a good job of defending the initial shot, and I think we got them to miss enough, but we didn't collect enough rebounds and its tough. And even if you are smaller, you have to compensate with that by having better position and being tougher and being scrappy and we lost this game because we were not tough enough and we were not rebounding." "What they did to make it difficult was that they were a lot bigger than us. I think what made the difference in this game was offensive rebounding. I think we did a descent job of stopping what Colorado initially wanted to do, but then we didn't finish the playoff by getting the defensive rebound. They made a difference that way and then they put us in a position to foul and once they started accumulating fouls they got free-throws out of it. I think those two stats threw us out of the game." Idaho State-Colorado Notes Colorado has won three straight for the first time this season and is two games above .500 for the first time since winning its first two. Colorado has 12 of its last 15 games at the Coors Events Center and 17 of its last 20 against nonconference foes. Colorado had five players score in double digits for the first time this season. Colorado shot 50 percent in the first half (16-of-32) marking the first time this season the Buffaloes have shot 50 percent or better in the first half in consecutive games. On Dec. 22 against Saint Louis, CU shot a season high 61.9 percent (13-of-21) en route to a 76-63 win. Sophomore Brittany Spears and freshman forward Julie Seabrook each had double-doubles. Spears had 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Seabrook recorded career highs in both categories scoring 12 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. For Spears it was her team-leading third double-double of the season and 10th of her career. Seabrook notches her first career double-double and is the first player other than Spears to record one this year. The 13 rebounds by Spears and Seabrook were team season highs. Seabrook's seven offensive rebounds were also team season-high. Colorado's 19 offensive rebounds were also a team high this season. Seabrook actually surpassed her career high for rebounds in the first half by grabbing six, four on the offensive end. Her previous best was five, which she had achieved on four different occasions, the last against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 2. Colorado had 22 points off the bench, tying its season best performance which came in the season-opening win over UCF. Seabrook led the way with 12 points, the most by a Buffalo off the bench this season. Junior Bianca Smith made 3-of-6 from downtown, continuing her hot streak of late. She has made 11 of her last 20 3-point attempts over the past three games (.550). Smith also pulled down seven rebounds, marking the seventh time this season she has grabbed six or more rebounds in one game.