Sarah Lini

Position:
Forward
Height:
6-0
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Aarhus, Denmark
High School:
Statsgymnasium

Barry on Lini: “Sarah is probably our most experienced player. She has an understanding of we want done on both ends of the floor. She’s a serious athlete. She’s very, very focused and I know she wants to play.”

This Season: This could be Lini’s year to shine after playing three years of backup to a strong contigent of CU forwards including Randie Wirt and Sabrina Scott. Her knowledge of the system and her determination should put her right in the mix in a wide-open race for the power forward position.

2003-04 (Junior): Lini played in 13 of CU’s 30 games, averaging 1.2 points per game. She scored her season high of six points in CU’s win over Idaho State, going 3-for-3 from the floor with three rebounds in nine minutes of play, also handing out two rejections, a career high. She’d play a season high 12 minutes vs. Wyoming, scoring three points with two rebounds. She hit her first career three pointer against the Cowgirls. Lini also got into games against Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. She finished the season shooting 46.2 percent from the floor.

2002-03 (Sophomore): Perhaps the most improved player on Ceal Barry’s roster from the 2001-02 season, Lini continued to be one of Colorado’s hardest workers on the practice floor, which she carried over into games. She saw action in seven games, scoring five points and collecting three boards. Lini scored two points and gave out an assist in the Buffaloes second game of the season against Detroit-Mercy and had two points and one rebound in just three minutes of action against Kansas. Lini came off the bench in Colorado’s first round NCAA tournament game against Brigham Young and unselfishly handed out two assists and hit a free throw in four minutes of action.

2001-02 (Freshman): Lini saw action in 10 games with a season high 11 minutes coming against Bowling Green in the first round of the Coors Classic. She was put in during the final three minutes of Colorado’s 84-60 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln where she produced three points and two rebounds. In all 30 minutes she played during the season Lini did not turn the ball over once and had one steal and one assist on the season. She set or tied four career highs against Bowling Green and finished the year with three offensive rebounds. Lini was considered an emotional leader on the bench and was one of the first to show her support after her teammates made a great play.

Before CU: Lini was discovered by assistant coach Tanya Haave while she was recruiting in Europe during June of 2001. A graduate of Statsgymnasium in her hometown of Aarhus, her school did not have a basketball team. Lini played club basketball for Abyhoj, that won the Danish Championship in 2000 and 2001.

Off The Court: Born May 17, 1982 in Aarhus, Denmark, Sarah Emna Lini is one of four foreign players on the Colorado roster, joining fellow Dane, sophomore Anna Nedovic, Jasmina Ilic (Serbia) and Yari Escalera (Puerto Rico). She is Colorado’s first-ever player from Denmark. She is the daughter of Naceur and Inge Lini and has two younger brothers Sander (18) and Adam (13). Her father is a native of Tunisia and played basketball for its national team. She was also recruited by San Diego and UTEP. Lini selected CU because of the academic standards as well as the basketball team. Lini is majoring in finance with a minor in economics at CU.

Overall	GP-S	Min	Avg	FG	FGA	Pct	3FG	3FGA	Pct	FT	FTA	Pct
2001-02	11-0	32	2.9	1	5	.200	0	0	.000	4	8	.500
2002-03	7-0	23	3.3	2	4	.500	0	1	.000	1	2	.500
2003-04	13-0	55	4.2	6	13	.462	1	2	.500	2	5	.400
2004-05	28-7	371	13.3	24	74	.324	1	9	.111	27	42	.643
Totals	59-7	481	8.2	33	96	.344	2	12	.167	34	57	.596

Overall	OReb	DReb	TOT	Avg	PF	FO	A	TO	BK	S	Pts	Avg
2001-02	3	5	8	0.7	5	0	1	0	0	1	6	0.5
2002-03	0	3	3	0.4	4	0	6	2	0	1	5	0.7
2003-04	4	4	8	0.6	4	0	2	5	2	0	15	1.2
2004-05	27	25	52	1.9	21	0	22	32	3	6	76	2.7
Totals	34	37	71	1.2	34	0	31	39	5	8	102	1.7