Plenty of familiarity - Daily Camera

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Plenty of familiarity

Pair of Big 12 veterans helping CU’s transition to new conference

Colorado’s Nyamer Diew, right, drives on Kansas’ Laia Conesa during a game Saturday in Boulder. PHOTOS BY CLIFF GRASSMICK — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Colorado’s Lior Garzon, right, shoots over Kansas’ Brittany Harsaw on Saturday in Boulder.

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By Brian Howell

bhowell@prairiemountainmedia.com

For the majority of the Colorado women’s basketball team, going through the early stages of Big 12 Conference play has felt somewhat like a nonconference schedule.

A newcomer to the Big 12 this season after 13 years in the Pac-12, CU is facing a lot of teams it hasn’t played in years. For two Buffs, however, there is plenty of familiarity.

“It’s definitely familiar because we do a scouting report, and it’s the same teams I’ve been playing for four years now, so it’s fun,” CU forward Nyamer Diew said.

Diew played the previous three years at Iowa State, while forward Lior Garzon spent the previous two years at Oklahoma State.

“I feel like I already know what to expect,” Garzon said. “It’s easier for me to prepare myself and kind of help the team to know, like, ‘Hey, they love to do this or love to do this.’ It’s much more comfortable than before.”

On Wednesday, CU will visit No. 20 West Virginia for the first time in program history. The only previous meeting between CU and the Mountaineers was on Dec. 21 in the Big 12 opener in Boulder.

Diew, meanwhile, will play in Morgantown, W.V., for the fourth time in her career and it will be her ninth career game against the Mountaineers. Garzon will face West Virginia for the sixth time.

“The scouting report, people might change (on Big 12 rosters), but I think a lot of the systems still stay the same,” Diew said.

Last offseason, CU head coach JR Payne did not intentionally go after Big 12 transfers such as Diew and Garzon in anticipation of the jump to the new conference. But, there’s no question their experience in the Big 12 has been an asset.

“I think every game we’ve gone into, we ask them, ‘Hey, do you guys have anything else to add?’” Payne said. “And both of them always have something to contribute, as far as the mindset or mentality of that opponent or individual player.

“That’s actually been really helpful. I think our coaches have done a great job with the scouts, and (Diew and Garzon) always have a little bit of insight to add to it, which has been great.”

As Garzon goes through the Big 12 for the third time, she has noticed one thing that hasn’t changed from the past is the difficulty of winning in the conference.

“I feel like it’s a 40-minute fight; like every single game, it’s 40 minutes,” she said. “I really enjoy it. It’s a tough conference. Every team can beat every team, which makes it so much fun.”

So far, CU has gone 3-0 at home in the Big 12 but 0-2 on the road (losing at TCU and Baylor earlier this month). Diew and Garzon both said the key to winning on the road in this conference is “staying together.”

“Obviously we don’t have fans (on the road) like we have at home,” Garzon said. “I think they help a lot. So swing the energy, stay together. I feel like (the first road trip) we didn’t really know what it takes, but now we definitely know.”

Diew and Garzon both believe the Buffs are better prepared for a road trip in the conference than they were a couple of weeks ago. But, both of them and Payne also believe that’s due, in part, to the team coming together as the season goes along.

“I feel like we are more cohesive on both sides of the floor,” Payne said. “And, even just terminology is all starting to sink in and new players are using our terminology and understanding coverages and expectations and things like that, as far as the X’s and O’s.”