Font ResizeTwo of the biggest give the women`s basketball team reason for optimism for years to come.
Freshmen Meagan Malcolm-Peck and Chucky Jeffery both contributed quality minutes in their debuts and showed flashes of why their class was so celebrated upon its arrival on campus.
Malcolm-Peck, a Boulder resident who played at Horizon High School, started in her CU debut. She scored six points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had three steals in 28 minutes, drawing high praise from coach Kathy McConnell-Miller.
"I like the energy that Meagan Malcolm-Peck brought to the floor," McConnell-Miller said. "If she`s not on the floor, I don`t think we win that game tonight."
Jeffery had an up-and-down night, with four points, three assists, two steals and four turnovers off the bench.
But it was her aggressive play that finally sparked CU to life after the Buffs missed their first three shots and had three turnovers in the first three minutes. Jeffery snagged a steal and took it coast-to-coast for a layup to give the Buffs their first points of the season with 16:40 to play in the first half.
"I think her career can rival (CU leading scorer) Brittany Spears` career as far as what she can do for this program," McConnell-Miller said. "But I think there`s a lot of adjustments at this level."
Jeffery admitted to some first-game jitters.
"I was real, real nervous," the Sierra High School product said. "I was excited but nervous. I started out good, but once I made a mistake it got to me and I couldn`t get it back unfortunately. But I`m trying to figure that all out. I`ll be back."
Notable
Colorado`s rally to win from 14 points down tied the third-largest halftime deficit ever overcome by the Buffs. ... Brittany Spears` 14 rebounds was a career high and gave her 500 for her career. She is the 19th Buff to reach that milestone. ... CU assistant Tom McConnell celebrated his 50th birthday on Sunday. ... Juniors Spears and Whitney Houston and senior Bianca Smith were named captains for the season before the game.
