Of the many small steps she wants her University of Colorado women's basketball team to take, the one available today is vital because, well, it's there to be taken.

CU coach Kathy McConnell- Miller might view a first-round game with Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference tournament a little differently. She's more into seeing the big picture - past, present and future - than most of her players, who might not be aware the Buffaloes haven't won a league tournament game since 2003.

"This particular group, especially the young players, doesn't think a lot about history, a lot about statistics," McConnell- Miller said. "They don't draw upon what's happened in the past. . . . But some of our older players know what it means to make a push in this tournament and know (CU) hasn't been able to do it for a while."

While McConnell-Miller is reluctant to admit her second Buffs team has made great strides from Year 1, she recognizes its overall wins have increased from nine to 12 and its conference victories doubled from three to six.

"Overall, we're tied for seventh, which is a step up," junior forward Jackie McFarland said. "We know a lot of the teams above us we can play with."

And there were wins that got away. McConnell-Miller describes a 61-58 loss at Oklahoma State and a 70-68 overtime loss at Kansas as "games we had. I think (CU's players) know we had opportunities we let slip away."

That's among the reasons she's attaching importance to today. She wants her team to seize opportunities and learn to win away from home - two steps upwardly mobile teams make in March.

Asked if this group appeared to be getting close, McConnell-Miller said, "Sometimes . . . that's as honest as I can be. Sometimes I feel like we're going to turn the corner any minute. And then there are days - and they're typically on the road - it's a steeper hill to climb. But on the road, you've got to have a mental toughness about you."

CU's younger players often have displayed more of that than some veterans, which bodes well for the future. Also, McConnell- Miller often has played four freshmen simultaneously - a personal high in her eight years as a coach.

She has learned to rely on freshmen and allow them "to play through their mistakes and (see) so much improvement in such a short time," she said.

Her four primary freshmen are point guard Whitney Houston, guards Bianca Smith (redshirt freshman) and Candace Rucker and forward Aija Putnina.

Rucker, of Memphis, has contemplated transferring to a school closer to home, but nothing is settled.

Although it doesn't qualify as a contest on an opponent's campus, the Buffs feel relatively good about today's neutral-site matchup.

In one of their better overall games this season, they beat the Red Raiders 70-67 on Feb. 3 in Boulder.

"I like the matchups and the fact we've beaten them; it gives our players confidence they can do it again," McConnell-Miller said. "We played well (then), but we had to play well to win it."

The Buffs also like today's attire; being the higher seed (eighth), they can wear their white home uniforms, which McConnell-Miller called "a big deal for them."

Texas Tech vs. Colorado women

• What: First round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.

• When: 11 a.m. MST today.

• Where: Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City.

• Records: Texas Tech, 15-15, 6-10 in the Big 12; Colorado, 12-16, 6-10.

• Leaders: Texas Tech - Alesha Robertson, 13.1 points, 8.7 rebounds; Jordan Murphree, 2.9 assists. Colorado - Jackie McFarland, 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds; Whitney Houston, 2.3 assists.

• Stat that matters: CU finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference and ended up with the No. 8 seed. Texas Tech is No. 9 and Texas No. 7.

• Etc.: The winner will play top-seeded Texas A&M on Wednesday. . . . CU beat Texas Tech 70-67 on Feb. 3 in Boulder, earning the Buffaloes the tiebreaker against the Red Raiders. . . . CU is seeking to end a four-game losing streak in the tournament. . . . The teams have met twice in the tournament, in the quarterfinals in 1998 and 2000, with Texas Tech winning both. . . . The Red Raiders closed the regular season with seven losses in eight games. . . . McFarland ended the regular season with 300 rebounds, becoming the sixth Buffaloes player to reach the milestone in a single season. With one rebound, McFarland will set CU's single-season mark for a junior.

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5466

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