Starting forward Aija Putnina will not return for her final two seasons with the Colorado women's basketball team, leaving the Buffs with one true power forward for next year.

Putnina left Boulder eight days ago and flew home to Riga, Latvia, to think about whether she wanted to play professionally in Europe or stay at CU.

On Thursday, CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller found out Putnina's decision.

McConnell-Miller said Putnina has been extremely homesick and that she wanted to go home to talk with her family about whether to leave CU.

"We respect her wishes to be close to her family and experience a professional career that we know she is anxious to begin," McConnell-Miller said in a CU press release. "She has been a true Buff. We will miss her and wish her the best."

McConnell-Miller's release didn't address the shortage CU will face at forward next year.

Buff senior-to-be Caley Dow, who averaged 1.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 10.6 minutes per game this past season, is the lone true power forward remaining on CU's roster. Dow has started one game in her CU career.

McConnell-Miller told the Camera last week that she was saving all of her available scholarships for the 2009 re-cruiting class, meaning that she wouldn't be signing anyone this spring to come in next year.

Rather, she wanted to focus on the 2009 graduates, a class that is expected to be loaded, both in state and nationally. Six scholarships are now available to the Buffs.

"All," McConnell-Miller said last week of which positions she was focusing on in recruiting. "Interior. We need a strong interior class."

Putnina has hired an agent, effectively eliminating any remaining eligibility. In the meantime, she will play this month for the Latvian National team in Madrid in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics this summer.

Putnina is also scheduled to play for Latvia at the U-20 European Championships in Italy next month.

At CU, Putnina averaged 5.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

Putnina was CU's starting power forward for all but the first three games of the regular season. She was benched, however, in favor of Kara Richards in the WNIT.

"I would like to thank the whole CU community for giving me this opportunity to be a part of this program," Putnina said in CU's release. "I wish them the best in the future and I will always be a CU Buff in my heart."

DU hires Sheetz

Former Buff star Shelley Sheetz has been hired as an assistant coach on the University of Denver women's basketball staff. Sheetz joins new head coach Erik Johnson's staff.

Sheetz was an assistant coach at Pepperdine the past three years. She had missed part of this past season to be in the Boulder area with her mother Carol, who died in February of brain cancer.