Tabitha Betson returns to CU Buffs women’s basketball team

After three years of playing basketball in the United States Tabitha Betson felt homesick this summer After a limited months away from the battle she s back The Colorado women s basketball group disclosed Saturday that Betson has returned to the organization after stepping away in July I m very excited Betson communicated BuffZone I definitely have missed playing and competing and everything so I m super excited to be back The Buffs host Miami Ohio on Sunday but Betson will be eased back into action over the next inadequate weeks A native of Melbourne Australia Betson left home in to play her final two years of high school basketball at DME Academy in Daytona Beach Florida where she was a McDonald s All-America nominee Ranked by ESPN HoopGurlz as the No recruit in the class she signed with CU and played her freshman year with the Buffaloes last season A -foot- forward Betson averaged points and rebounds per championship last year This past spring she was looking forward to her sophomore season but grew homesick as the summer began I just felt like I really needed to be back home and spend several time with family and just reconnect with them before coming back and finishing she reported I just really felt like I needed to spend a few time with my people and reconnect with myself Betson declared she didn t know if it would be practicable to ever come back to CU But she remained in contact with CU senior forward Jade Masogayo and expressed how much she missed playing with the Buffs She was like Well I can obviously talk to CU head coach JR Payne and see what s happening Betson revealed That s kind of how that conversation with JR started Several conversations with Payne later Betson made plans to return at the conclusion of the fall semester which wrapped up this week and flights were booked It s a really big deal especially with this year s crew having only a couple of veterans Payne reported She s going to provide that sort of veteran mentality of understanding how we do things The current company knows now but she also is just someone that has Big experience which very insufficient association members have CU has newcomers this year and only three returning players from last year Betson makes it four She played in games last year with starts averaging minutes per battle At the end of last season Payne felt Betson was poised for a breakout season this year and she is eager to add Betson s skills back into the rotation Tabitha is a great participant Payne noted She can play multiple positions and she s strong She can guard bigger players and can stretch the defense with her shooting and she just does a lot that will really help us Payne mentioned there is no concern about Betson disrupting chemistry in part because Betson played a key role in recruiting numerous of the newcomers before she left So she already has relationships with her teammates I do feel like I mesh well with the group on the court and off the court Betson stated I feel like it s going to be kind of an easy transition in terms of like obviously I already know the plays I know what is expected of me Betson also fills a need for the Buffs in providing a strong post presence I kind of left them high and dry a little bit in the post Betson noted I m happy to be back and be able to fill that spot While she s been away Betson has kept up with the Buffs and watched their games so she believes she has a good feel for how her teammates play But she hasn t been playing basketball herself other than training with several clubs near home It s going to take me a second to like get back to like this level but I m excited for the challenge she stated Colorado Buffaloes Logyn Greer looks to pass during the encounter against the College of Charleston Cougars at the CU Events Center on Tuesday Dec Matthew Jonas Staff Photographer CU Buffs women s basketball vs Miami Ohio TIPOFF Sunday p m CU Events Center in Boulder TV RADIO ESPN KHOW AM RECORDS Colorado - - Big Miami - - MAC COACHES Colorado JR Payne th season - - career Miami Glenn Box rd season - KEY PLAYERS Colorado F Anaelle Dutat - Sr ppg rpg spg fg F Logyn Greer - Fr ppg rpg fg F Jade Masogayo - Sr ppg rpg apg G Kennedy Sanders - So ppg apg spg G Zyanna Walker - Jr ppg rpg apg spg G Desiree Wooten - Jr ppg rpg apg spg Miami F Ilse De Vries - So ppg rpg fg G Nuria Jurjo - Jr ppg rpg spg spg pt G Amber Scalia - Sr ppg rpg apg G Tamar Singer - So ppg rpg apg spg F Amber Tretter - Jr ppg rpg apg fg pt NOTES CU is aiming for a third consecutive domination This is the fourth championship of a five-game home stand that concludes Tuesday against Northern Colorado p m ESPN This is just the second all-time meeting between CU and the Redhawks The Buffs won the first meeting - on Nov in Boulder Dutat ranks rd in the country with offensive rebounds per battle CU has outrebounded of opponents One other match the teams were even The one time CU was outrebounded was against UT-Arlington by just one board Miami was projected for a seventh-place finish in the -team MAC in a preseason poll of coaches Tretter earned preseason second-team All-MAC recognition Miami is one of the better shooting teams in the country hitting th from the floor from -point range th and on free throws st Singer ranks eighth in the country in assists per tournament