{"id":462,"date":"2026-05-17T08:03:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T08:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=462"},"modified":"2026-05-17T08:03:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T08:03:06","slug":"claire-oconnor-looking-forward-to-making-impact-with-cu-buffs-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=462","title":{"rendered":"Claire O\u2019Connor looking forward to making impact with CU Buffs next season"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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The desire to make an impact on her new team drove Claire O\u2019Connor last fall.<\/p>\n

Her feet, however, had other ideas.<\/p>\n

Plantar fasciitis in both feet turned the 2025-26 season into a lost year for O\u2019Connor, but the veteran guard is eager to make up for it next season with the Colorado women\u2019s basketball team.<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado hantavirus death not linked to cruise ship outbreak, state says<\/a><\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor, who transferred to CU from Gonzaga last summer, recently announced her decision to remain with the Buffs next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I was hurt, I actually had a really good year in a lot of ways and I kind of wanted to build off of that,\u201d said O\u2019Connor, a 6-foot guard. \u201cAnd, I believe in what we\u2019re doing here, so, yeah, I wanted to come back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor believed in the Buffs enough a year ago to make a change. The former Lakeside (Washington) High School star played two seasons at Gonzaga, averaging 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds during the 2024-25 season while hitting 40.8% of her 3-pointers (49 of 120).<\/p>\n

The Buffs expected her to be a top 3-point threat last season, and she got off to a great start. She had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists in the Buffs\u2019 season-opening rout of New Mexico on Nov. 6.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor, who will be a fourth-year junior next season, played in just seven more games \u2014 although just 10 total minutes in her last three appearances \u2014 before shutting down for the season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt started in my right foot,\u201d she said. \u201cI really wanted to push through it; played on it for like four months. I got it in the other foot, too, and then it just kept getting worse, started tearing. I tried all the intermediate treatments and just tried to come back at one point in January, and I just couldn\u2019t do it. Nothing worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has since had procedures done on both feet and is feeling \u201cso much better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited,\u201d said O\u2019Connor, who averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in her eight games. \u201cIt\u2019s the best. I mean, even outside of basketball, just like not being in pain all the time has been so great, and I\u2019m just excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more That discount at the pharmacy counter may pack hidden costs<\/a><\/p>\n

So is CU head coach JR Payne, who is looking forward to having a healthy O\u2019Connor in the mix next year. O\u2019Connor is one of seven players back from a CU team that went to the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

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\u201cShe went through a lot with both feet this year,\u201d Payne said. \u201cAs long as she\u2019s really smart about how she progresses \u2014 which I know she will be, because she\u2019s a smart kid \u2014 we\u2019re expecting her to make a full recovery and be even better than she was before.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor was pretty good before the injury as a full-time starter at Gonzaga, helping the Bulldogs go 24-10 and reach the quarterfinals of the 2025 WBIT (knocking out CU along the way). She was making an impact with the Buffs before her feet became an issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely the ability to shoot the three is going to be huge for us, to be able to stretch the defense,\u201d Payne said. \u201cI think she can be a good rebounding guard because she\u2019s strong, and she\u2019s gotten significantly stronger since she got here, and she has good size on the perimeter. And before she got hurt, she was really working on being able to attack the paint a little bit, add a little bit more variety to her game, and so I think she\u2019ll continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While O\u2019Connor didn\u2019t play much this past year, she has enjoyed her time in Boulder and said being a part of the women\u2019s basketball program is \u201cpretty special.\u201d She also learned a lot about the Buffs\u2019 scheme by observing and is eager to get back on the court with her team, which includes six newcomers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very motivated,\u201d she said. \u201cI know what I\u2019m capable of and I just want to contribute in whatever way I can.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have a lot to contribute to the team, with shooting and spacing the floor and just being able to be a good teammate, be a leader and just play really hard and contribute all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: May 16, Queen Elizabeth addresses US Congress<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foot issues plagued Claire O’Connor this past season, but the Colorado women’s basketball guard is eager to make up for it next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nClaire O\u2019Connor looking forward to making impact with CU Buffs next season - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=462\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Claire O\u2019Connor looking forward to making impact with CU Buffs next season - 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