Earlier than coming to Colorado final summer season, Maddie Nolan loved numerous success throughout her 4 seasons with the Michigan ladies’s basketball workforce.
Her time with the Wolverines even included a win in opposition to Caitlin Clark and Iowa, on Feb. 6, 2022. General, Nolan went 1-3 in opposition to Iowa the previous three years and is the one participant on the CU roster who has defeated Clark’s Hawkeyes.
The fifth-seeded Buffs (24-9) will face top-seeded Iowa (31-4) within the Candy 16 in Albany, N.Y., on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MT, ABC). Nolan’s expertise in opposition to the Hawkeyes might be a useful resource for CU.
“I believe she’ll undoubtedly have an opinion and a few perception and a few little nuggets that she will share with coaches in addition to our teammates,” CU head coach JR Payne mentioned. “We’ll take any little bit of recommendation that we will get.”
In fact, Iowa has a special roster make-up than prior to now, however a couple of of the important thing gamers – together with Clark, Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin – stay, and Clark isn’t the one weapon.
“That was a giant point of interest of ours final 12 months, as properly, I believe how a lot they’ve improved, particularly Martin,” Nolan mentioned. “I believe her scoring has gone up a bunch in final couple of years and he or she, in my view, is their glue and an X-factor for them, as properly.”
All of it begins with Clark, the all-time main scorer in faculty basketball historical past.
“Caitlin’s most likely gonna get hers,” Nolan mentioned. “You’ll be able to attempt to include her, however there’s no actually telling what number of factors she’s gonna have. Simply coming in, they play robust. … They’ve that toughness in them and I believe that’s gonna be actually enjoyable matchup for us.”
Nolan had 17 factors and 5 rebounds in Michigan’s win in opposition to Iowa two years in the past, however Clark had 46 factors and 10 assists.
Past her expertise in opposition to Iowa, Nolan is the one Buff who has been to an Elite Eight (in 2022) and this will probably be her third Candy 16 look. General, she’s 8-3 in NCAA Match video games.
Drought past the arc
On the verge of breaking CU’s profession file for made 3-pointers, Frida Formann had an uncommon opening weekend of the NCAA Match.
In CU’s win in opposition to Drake on March 22, Formann had season lows in minutes (14, attributable to foul hassle) and factors (two) and for the primary time in her four-year CU profession didn’t try a 3-pointer. Two days later in opposition to Kansas State, she scored 9 factors, however was 0-for-2 from 3-point vary.
Throughout her time at CU, that is the primary time Formann has performed two straight video games with out hitting a 3-pointer.
Formann, who averages 12.5 factors and a couple of.4 made 3s per sport, has performed sufficient basketball to not fear an excessive amount of.
“That’s why it’s so superb to play with so many good gamers,” she mentioned of her teammates. “Once I performed in Denmark, I might by no means have two video games with this few factors and we’d nonetheless win, however now I’m on a workforce the place I’m beginning and I actually simply need to do my function and that doesn’t even must be scoring. So I believe that’s actually a privilege.
“In fact I need to rating and if we’re gonna make it far I may need to knock down some 3s, however yeah it’s actually a privilege (to play with gifted teammates).”
Formann knocked down 4 3-pointers in opposition to Iowa within the Candy 16 final 12 months.
Formann has 257 profession 3-pointers, tied with Bianca Smith (2006-10) for the CU file. She’s hit a career-high 79 this season, which is simply three shy of Smith’s single-season file (82 in 2009-10).
Notable
Nolan (.435) and Formann (.422) each have 3-point percentages this season that might rank high 10 in CU historical past. … As a workforce, CU has made 221 3-pointers, the third-best single-season complete in program historical past. The file is 236, in 2007-08. … CU traveled to Albany on Thursday. The Buffs could have a observe and press convention at MVP Area on Friday. … Saturday will mark simply the fourth time ever that CU will play a sport in New York, and the Buffs by no means misplaced within the Empire State. CU received at Fordham (Jan. 14, 1980), at Syracuse (Dec. 31, 2002) and at Buffalo (Jan. 2, 2003).