Kiara Buford

Class:
Senior
Height:
5-11
High School:
St. Paul Central HS
Hometown:
St. Paul, Minn.

2011-12 ? Senior Season: Played in and started all 36 games for the Gophers ? named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by coaches and media ? earned a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team ? named the WBI Tournament Most Valuable Player ? named the Most Valuable Player of the Subway Classic and the Best Buy Classic ? became only the seventh player in program-history to record 1,500 career points ? concluded her career ranked seventh all-time at Minnesota in points (1,532), fifth in three-point field goals (129), three-point field goal attempts (378) and free throw percentage (.756), eighth in field goal attempts (1,300), defensive rebounds (322) and steals (167), tied for eighth in free throws (323), ninth in assists (288) and 10th in free throw attempts (427) and blocks (59) ? finished the season with team-highs in assists (115), steals (70) and free throws (116) ? her 154 free throw attempts rank ninth on Minnesota's single-season record chart, while her 116 free throws rank 10th on the register ? was second on the team in points (489), points per game (13.6), field goals (173), three-point field goals (27), three-point field goal percentage (.403), blocked shots (20) and minutes played (1,176) ? led the Gophers in scoring in nine games this season, in assists in 19 games and in steals in 16 games ? scored in double figures 29 times, including 14-straight games from Nov. 11-Dec. 23 ? scored 20 or more points three times and 15 or more points 13 times ? had 14 points and a game-high six assists vs. Northern Iowa in the WBI Championship Game (3/25) ? totaled 10 points and six assists vs. Manhattan in the WBI semifinals (3/23) ? posted a team-high 16 points and dished out four assists vs. Bradley in the WBI quarterfinals (3/18) ? totaled 12 points vs. Charleston Southern in the WBI (3/16) ? had 19 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists vs. No. 9/12 Penn State at the Big Ten Tournament (3/2) ? paced the squad with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and vs. Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament (3/1) ? led the Gophers with 11 points at No. 11/15 Penn State (2/26) ? had 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals vs. Illinois (2/16) ? scored 16 points and dished out two assists vs. Nebraska (2/13) ? had eight points, five rebounds and two steals at Iowa (2/9) ? tallied her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with five assists and five steals, vs. Penn State (2/5) ? posted a game-high 26 points at Illinois (2/2) ? had 15 points, a career-high seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks in the win vs. No. 9/9 Ohio State (1/29) ? led the Gophers with 22 points vs. Michigan State (1/19) ? totaled five steals vs. Purdue (1/12) ? tallied 19 points in back-to-back games vs. Indiana (1/2) and Northwestern (1/5) ? had 13 points, five rebounds and matched the team-high with two assists at Denver (12/14) ? tallied 11 points, five assists and three steals vs. Alcorn State (12/11) ? scored a team-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and added career-highs with six assists and three blocks vs. Harvard (12/10) ? had 13 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds vs. Air Force (12/7) ? totaled 13 points and a team-best five assists vs. No. 1/1 Baylor (12/4) ? lead the team in points (15), assists (2) and steals (2) at Wake Forest (12/1) ? had 15 points vs. Virginia Tech (11/26) ? swiped a career-high six steals vs. North Dakota State (11/20) ? tallied 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals vs. Binghamton (11/19) ? scored a team-high 16 points and added five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals vs. USF (11/13) ? led the Gophers with 13 points and five assists vs. No. 14 Florida State (11/12) ? had 14 points and six rebounds in the season-opener vs. Arkansas (11/11)

2010-11 ? Junior Season: Started all 29 games in which she played ? named All-Big Honorable Mention by both the conference's coaches and media members ? led the Gophers with 431 points for an average of 14.9 ppg ? also averaged 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game ? made 153-of-372 (.411) field goals, including 28-of-82 (.341) three-pointers, and 97-of-132 (.735) free throws ? was Minnesota's leading scorer in 12 games ? tied with Leah Cotton for the team lead with six games with 20 or more points ? had 10 points and four assists in the regular season finale versus Michigan State (2/27) ? led the Gophers with 21 points in the win at Michigan (2/24) ? added four rebounds and four assists ? became the 20th Gopher to tally at least 1,000 career points. Scored 15 points and added six rebounds in the game at Northwestern (2/20) ? scored a team-high 23 points, dished out six assists, and pulled down five rebounds against Ohio State (2/13) ? was 3-of-5 from three-point range to finish with 15 points in the loss at Iowa (2/10) ? had 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists at Indiana (2/3) ? scored 11 points in the win over Michigan (1/30) ? had 18 points and four steals in the win versus Northwestern (1/27) ? finished with a game-high 24 points along with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals at Michigan St. (1/23) ? led the team with 19 points at Penn State (1/13) ? scored 17 points and pulled down four rebounds at Wisconsin (1/9) ? had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and tied her career-high with two blocks in the loss to Iowa (1/5) ? dished out a career-high six assists versus Indiana (1/2) ? had 12 points and six rebounds in the loss at Illinois (12/30) ? had 17 points and four assists in the win versus Northern Arizona (12/22) ? came off an ankle injury to score 12 points, grab seven rebounds, and dish out four assists at Alabama A&M (12/14) ? missed her first career game with an injured right ankle versus Cal Poly (12/12) ? tallied 12 points, five assists, and two steals at #2/3 Baylor (12/5) ? had a career-best outing versus Virginia Tech, making 10-of-18 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws for 27 points ? recorded team-high 19 points in loss to San Diego State (11/26) ? Subway Classic all-tournament selection ? led the team with 18 points and five assists versus Dayton (11/21) ? finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists versus Milwaukee (11/20) ? scored 15 points in the win over Pittsburgh (11/17) ? was named to the Best Buy Classic all-tournament team ? tallied 22 points again in the Best Buy Classic title game versus Green Bay (11/14) ? scored 22 points, making 8-of-10 field goals, and had four steals versus Northern Illinois (11/13).

2009-10 ? Sophomore Season: Played and started all 30 games ? the recipient of the Gophers' Most Improved Player award ? named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by the Conference media ? led Gophers with a scoring average of 13.1 points per game ? scored in double figures in 21 games ? had six 20-plus points and her first two career points/rebound double-doubles ? hit a career-best seven three-pointers and tallied 23 points in loss at Iowa ? led Gophers with 17 points versus Wisconsin ? hit three three-pointers, 14 points, versus No. 4/6 Ohio State ? led Gophers to home win over Purdue with 18 points, four assists and four steals (1/14) ? tallied her second straight game over 20 points with 22 points in win over Northwestern (1/7) ? led Gophers with 21 points, 10 rebounds (second career double-double) and a career-high four steals in overtime victory over Iowa (1/3) ? scored 19 in win over Santa Clara ? matched her career-high with 24, and four three-pointers, versus Iowa State ? scored 15 points in win over Penn State ? made her first 23 free throws of the season before missing her first one in the North Dakota State game ? named to the Subway Classic All-Tournament Team ? scored a career-high 24 points (11-11 FT) with seven assists in Subway title game versus Colorado ? scored 15 points vs. Illinois-Chicago ? tallied 23 points and first career double-double with 11 rebounds in her first career start, the season-opener versus Lamar ? Academic All-Big Ten honoree ? earned second varsity letter.

2008-09 ? Freshman Season: Played in all 32 games in her rookie season ? named the 2009 Big Ten All-Freshman Team ? played in every game with seven games in double figures ? the Gophers' leading scorer off the bench averaging 6.9 points a game ? scored four points in 21 minutes in NCAA loss versus Texas A&M ? tallied two points and two assists in the NCAA win over Notre Dame ? scored 13 points (5-8 FG) in win at Michigan State (2/26) ? scored 10 points with a big steal in the closing minutes in win over Iowa (2/8) ? scored 16 points with four three-pointers in the win over Michigan State (2/2) ? played 32 minutes in win at Ohio State scoring nine points adding season-bests with eight rebounds and three assists ? topped the Gophers with 12 points in loss at Iowa (1/11) ? led the Gophers in scoring with 14 points (6-7 FG), with eight points in last six minutes, in win at Illinois (1/3) ? scored 11 points with two three-pointers in win over Penn State ? named to the Subway Classic all-tournament team, averaging 14.0 in the wins over American and Yale ? scored a career-high 22 points in the win over American, the first freshman to score 20 or more points in a game since Janel McCarville (1/3/02) ? went 2-2 from three-point range to score eight points in win over North Dakota State ? scored six points in 19 minutes versus 2/2 Stanford in her first collegiate game as a Gopher ? varsity letterwinner.

High School: A 2008 graduate of St. Paul Central High School ? high school coach was Willie Taylor ? three-time all-state selection ? McDonald's High School All-American nominee ? 2008 Minnesota Ms. Basketball finalist ? led St. Paul Central to back-to-back Minnesota Class 4A titles in 2007 and 2008 ? named to the all-state tournament team four times ? scored 1,810 career points ? the 2008 St. Paul League Player of the Year ? four-time all-conference honoree ? averaged 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game as a senior ? led the Minutemen to a 28-4 overall record and an undefeated (12-0) St. Paul City League champion championship in 2007-08 ? scored 11 points in the title game, a 49-44 victory over Minneapolis South ? helped Central to a perfect 32-0 record as a junior in 2006-07 ? tallied19 points and eight rebounds in the 2007 Minnesota Class 4A title, championship game (81-63) versus Minneapolis South ? finished career undefeated (48-0) in St. Paul City League play ? ranked No. 66 in the Blue Star Report ? averaged 20.8 points per game her sophomore season ? four-year letterwinner ? played her AAU ball for Minnesota North Tartan, coached by Bill Larson, and Minnesota Triple Threat, coached by Drew Woods.

Personal: Born Oct. 23, 1989 ? majoring in communication studies ? daughter of Robert and Tracy Buford ? mother played collegiate basketball at Grandview College (Iowa) ? the oldest of three children with siblings, Devante and Jada ? enjoys modeling.