Buford builds on first-year promise

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The sophomore showed she's legit with a double-double in the Gophers' season opener.

By MYRON P. MEDCALF, Star Tribune

Last update: November 15, 2009 - 11:56 PM

In her first year with the Minnesota women's basketball team, Kiara Buford gave the Gophers every indication that she's the future of the program.

The future, however, sounds so far away. Buford is ready now.

The sophomore guard registered a double-double, the first of her career, in Minnesota's 84-45 victory over Lamar on Sunday at Williams Arena.

Buford scored 10 of her game-high 23 points during a 20-0 run at the start of the game against Lamar, one of the Southland Conference's best. She also grabbed 11 rebounds, hit all four of her free throws and went 3-for-5 from the three-point line.

Buford credited her teammates for snatching the momentum early. As an individual, however, she talked about eliminating her ballhandling problems, referencing her six turnovers -- the team had 21 -- instead of boasting about the things she did well.

"When we have the momentum, I think it's easy to score," Buford said. "I just try to come and play with energy. I did have six turnovers, so I'll try to work on that. I feel like there's always things to work on."

The Gophers lost last year's leading scorer, Emily Fox, to graduation.

But Buford's already doing plenty to fill that void. Through two exhibitions and one official game, she's the team's leading scorer and its best three-point shooter.

And head coach Pam Borton said she's certain that the former St. Paul Central standout will continue to grow.

"Anything that she does out there on the court, I don't think anybody's surprised," Borton said. "I think she's a tip in the iceberg right now. I think the best is yet come. She did miss five shots. So she still has a long way to go."

Buford's teammates said they're confident that her early-season success is no fluke.

"I know she's going to make shots, and I'm comfortable out there with her," senior co-captain Ashley Ellis-Milan said. "She's going to do what she has to do to get to the rim. She can do whatever she really wants out there."

The Gophers held Lamar, which had the Southland's second-best field goal percentage last season, to 22.4 percent shooting from the field and a 3-for-28 mark from beyond the arc. Minnesota also forced 20 turnovers on their way to a 39-point margin of victory.

Senior co-captain Katie Ohm fell one rebound short of her own double-double with a 13-point, nine-rebound game. Ellis-Milan became the 19th member of the program's 1,000-point club on a putback in the first half. She scored 11 points. Zoe Harper grabbed 11 boards.

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