Third Head Coach JR Payne Season JR Payne enters her third the final. season as head coach at the University of Colorado CU finished the 2017-18 season strong, winning its first- in 2018-19. She was named round Pac-12 Tournament game over Utah, and going 3-3 the eighth head women’s over the final six games, despite playing two top-25 teams. basketball coach in program history on March 28, 2016. Santa Clara In her first year in 2016-17, Payne joined Colorado after leading Santa Clara to its first Payne guided the Buffs to winning record in eight years. Santa Clara was 23-9 this in one of the best single-season 2015-16, tying for third in the West Coast Conference with a turnarounds in school history 13-5 league mark. The Broncos’ season ended with a 59-53 as they more than doubled loss at Fresno State in the first round of the Women’s NIT, the their win total from the school’s first postseason appearance in 10 seasons. SCU previous year. CU finished the was down by 11 at one point but rallied to tie the game at year 17-16 overall and tied 52-52 with just under four minutes to go before falling to the for ninth in the Pac-12, a year Bulldogs. after a last-place finish in the conference. The Buffs also One of the wins included a 61-58 victory at No. 13 Stanford, reached the third round of the Santa Clara’s first win at its Bay Area rival in 32 years; it was WNIT, their first postseason appearance since 2014. the second win on what would become a 12-game winning streak. It was just one of seven regular-season setbacks for Throughout the 2016-17, Colorado was impressive. CU the Cardinal, which advanced to the Elite Eight. The Broncos Colorado started the season 10-0 for just the fifth time in school history, defeated Gonzaga 59-58 in the quarterfinal round of the WCC including a win over No. 15/19 Kentucky. She became just tourney before falling in the semifinals to BYU, an eventual the second CU coach to begin her career with 10 straight No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament. wins and the first since 1980. The 10-game winning streak was the longest since 2012. In Pac-12 play, the Buffs’ The Broncos were one of the nation’s top defensive teams, signature win came on Feb. 12 when they upset No. 24 allowing opponents just 37 percent shooting (40th in the California on the road, their first win over a ranked team on NCAA) and 58.4 points per game (54th), while forcing 21.7 the road since 2007. turnovers (sixth) and averaging 12.6 steals (third); Santa Clara was also 29th in rebound margin (+7.2). Three players earned postseason awards from the Pac-12, including first-team All-conference sophomore Kennedy Leonard, who was among the conference and national leaders in scoring, assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio. Haley Smith and Alexis Robinson were both named honorable Basketball mention All-Pac-12 and Smith was also honorable mention for the All-Defensive Team. In 2015-16, the season prior to Payne’s arrival, CU went just 7-23. By reaching eight wins in the eighth game of the 2016- 17 season, it was the earliest in a season CU had exceeded its previous season’s win total in the modern era (since 1978- 79). The Buffs’ big turnaround was keyed by the team’s ball control, ability to turn others over, and scoring. Colorado finished the 2016-17 season 12th in the nation in steals and 22nd in turnover margin. After averaging just 61.9 points in 2015-16, good for 218th nationally, the Buffs cracked the top 100 in the nation in scoring in 2016-17, finishing 90th at 68.9 points per game. Payne’s second season in Boulder in 2017-18 was filled with youth as the team welcomed eight newcomers and had just two seniors. The Buffs still managed a 15-16 overall record and matched her first season with a 5-13 finish in Pac-12 play. CU improved its offense to average 69.5 points, the highest scoring average since 2002-03. But the team’s youth showed on defense as CU was unable to repeat is outstanding pressure from the previous season. Leonard was once again a first-team All-Pac-12 player and broke CU’s single-season assists record. She was also named honorable mention for the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Annika Jank earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors three times, the most for a Buff since Arielle Roberson won it five times in 2012-13. She was also an honorable mention selection to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Payne once again made a mark in non-conference play and she now has the best regular-season non-conference record of a CU head coach through two seasons at 19-3 (.864). Highlighting the non-conference portion of the schedule was a win over No. 24 Miami (Fla.) and a Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic championship as the Buffs defeated George Mason in 13 NCAA Tournaments, 6 Sweet Sixteens, 3 Elite Eights 5 Payne’s List Position Noteworthy Head Coach, Colorado (2016-current) 1 WNIT, 32-32 record Head Coach, Santa Clara (2014-2016) 1 WNIT, 34-27 record Head Coach, Southern Utah (2009-14) 1 WNIT, 1 Big Sky championship, 23-10 record in final season Assistant Coach, Santa Clara (2008-09) Assisted Jennifer Mountain Assistant Coach, Boise State (2005-08) Assisted Gordy Presnell, 1 NCAA, 1 WNIT, 2 WAC championships Assistant Coach, Gonzaga (2000-05) Assisted current Oregon head coach Kelly Graves, 2 WNIT, 1 WCC championship Playing Career: St. Mary’s, 1995-99 Honors: All-WCC: 1999 WCC All-Tournament: 1998, 1999 Basketball Still ranks 7th at SMC in career assists (291) and 9th in steals (137) In two seasons at Santa Clara, Payne compiled a 34-27 overall record. Her first team upset LSU 69-67, the school’s first win over an SEC school in 18 years, and advanced to the second round of the WCC tournament. Southern Utah Her first head coaching position was at Southern Utah University (Cedar City), where in five seasons, the Thunderbirds posted a 67-86 record, including a 23-10 mark in 2013-14 that set a school record for wins. That team was also 15-5 in league play, earning a share of the Big Sky Conference’s regular season title, and earned SUU’s Colorado first-ever invitation to postseason play, the women’s NIT. Southern Utah won its first round game at Colorado State, 71-56, before succumbing in the second round – 79-68 at Colorado; the Buffs also defeated Payne’s T-Birds during the regular season in Boulder, 75-59, the second time she coached a game in CU’s CU Events Center; SUU also lost a game in Boulder in her first season as its coach. That SUU team set four major school records, including points scored (2,454), field goals made (830) and free throws made (629) and attempted (839); the 74.1 scoring average was the second- best by a Southern Utah team. Her top performer, Hailey Mandelko earned first-team All-Big Sky honors as a junior and senior and was also on the postseason All-Tournament team her final year there. She helped Southern Utah transition from the Summit League into the Big Sky Conference for the 2012-13 season, piloting the Thunderbirds to a 15-16 overall record and a 9-11 mark in league play. Her second SUU team in 2010-11 finished with a 16-14 record, the school’s first winning season in seven years, and more than doubling the win count in her first season when the Thunderbirds were 7-23 (SUU had just 24 wins in the three seasons before her arrival). The senior-led Thunderbirds were 10-8 in Summit League play, with forward Challis Pascucci earning first-team All-League honors. Her third SUU team was 6-23, but reflected her most youthful squad in 6 2018-19 Colorado Women’s Basketball JR Payne Year-By-Year Coaching Record Overall Conference Season School W L Pct. PPG Opp W L Pct. PPG Opp Finish/Conf. 2009-10 Southern Utah 7 23 .233 55.5 70.2 5 13 .278 57.3 69.6 8th / Summit League 2010-11 Southern Utah ..................... 16 14 .533 68.0 71.8 10 8 .556 69.5 72.7 5th / Summit League 2011-12 Southern Utah ..................... 6 23 .207 58.4 70.6 2 16 .111 57.3 70.3 10th / Summit League 2012-13 Southern Utah ..................... 15 16 .484 69.7 68.1 9 11 .450 69.2 69.2 7th / Big Sky 2013-14 Southern Utah ..................... 23 10 .697 74.4 67.4 15 5 .750 75.0 66.1 t-1st / Big Sky 2014-15 Santa Clara .......................... 11 18 .379 64.9 69.3 5 13 .278 64.3 69.8 7th / West Coast 2015-16 Santa Clara .......................... 23 9 .731 65.5 58.4 13 5 .722 65.3 57.9 t-3rd / West Coast 2016-17 Colorado ............................. 17 16 .515 68.9 66.3 5 13 .278 60.3 68.2 t-9th / Pac-12 2017-18 Colorado ............................. 15 16 .484 69.5 68.9 5 13 .278 64.5 72.9 9th / Pac-12 Career Totals .........................................