Fourth Head Coach JR Payne Season JR Payne enters her fourth seasons at 19-3 (.864). Highlighting the non-conference portion season as head coach at the of the schedule was a win over No. 24 Miami (Fla.) and a Rocky University of Colorado in 2019- Mountain Hoops Classic championship as the Buffs defeated 20. She was named the eighth George Mason in the final. head women’s basketball coach in program history on CU finished the 2017-18 season strong, winning its first-round March 28, 2016. Pac-12 Tournament game over Utah, and going 3-3 over the final six games, despite playing two top-25 teams. In her first year in 2016-17, Payne guided the Buffs to Colorado posted a 7-0 start to the 2018-19 season, including a one of the best single-season 86-74 win over North Carolina. The Buffs entered Pac-12 play turnarounds in school history with an 11-1 record. CU faced adversity the rest of the season, as they more than doubled resulting in a first-round exit at the Pac-12 Tournament. their win total from the previous year. CU finished the year 17- Alexis Robinson earned her second All-Pac-12 honorable 16 overall and tied for ninth in mention, closing out her CU career. Quinessa Caylao-Do picked the Pac-12, a year after a last- up honorable mention All-Defensive honors, while Peanut Tuitele place finish in the conference. scored honorable mention All-Freshman honors. The Buffs also reached the third Santa Clara round of the WNIT, their first postseason appearance since 2014. Payne joined Colorado after leading Santa Clara to its first Throughout the 2016-17, Colorado was impressive. CU started winning record in eight years. Santa Clara was 23-9 this in 2015- the season 10-0 for just the fifth time in school history, including 16, tying for third in the West Coast Conference with a 13-5 a win over No. 15/19 Kentucky. She became just the second CU league mark. The Broncos’ season ended with a 59-53 loss at coach to begin her career with 10 straight wins and the first since Fresno State in the first round of the Women’s NIT, the school’s 1980. The 10-game winning streak was the longest since 2012. In first postseason appearance in 10 seasons. SCU was down by Pac-12 play, the Buffs’ signature win came on Feb. 12 when they 11 at one point but rallied to tie the game at 52-52 with just under upset No. 24 California on the road, their first win over a ranked four minutes to go before falling to the Bulldogs. team on the road since 2007. One of the wins included a 61-58 victory at No. 13 Stanford, Three players earned postseason awards from the Pac-12, Santa Clara’s first win at its Bay Area rival in 32 years; it was 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 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 Colorado Basketball 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 32 2019-20 Colorado Women’s Basketball Payne’s List Position Noteworthy Head Coach, Colorado (2016-current) 1 WNIT, 44-50 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 Colorado Basketball championship Playing Career: St. Mary’s, 1995-99 Honors: All-WCC: 1999 WCC All-Tournament: 1998, 1999 Still ranks 7th at SMC in career assists (291) and 9th in steals (137) the second win on what would become a 12-game winning streak. It was just one of seven regular-season setbacks for the Cardinal, which advanced to the Elite Eight. The Broncos defeated Gonzaga 59-58 in the quarterfinal round of the WCC tourney before falling in the semifinals to BYU, an eventual No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Broncos were one of the nation’s top defensive teams, allowing opponents just 37 percent shooting (40th in the NCAA) and 58.4 points per game (54th), while forcing 21.7 turnovers (sixth) and averaging 12.6 steals (third); Santa Clara was also 29th in rebound margin (+7.2). 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 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 Coors 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. 13 NCAA Tournaments, 6 Sweet Sixteens, 3 Elite Eights 33 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 2018-19 Colorado ............................