Colorado State University Athletics
Women?s Basketball Preview ? Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational
11/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Coors Rocky Mountain invitational: Colorado State will play in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational on Nov. 28-29 in Fort Collins, Colo. Last season the Rams won the tournament by defeating Davidson by a score of 70-58 and Xavier 68-64. The Rams have won the tournament every year since the 1995-96 season when Texas Tech defeated the Rams 79-91.
First Road Trip: Colorado State traveled to Stephen F. Austin to play in the first road game of the season for the Rams. The Rams won 72-57. Colorado State is now 1-1 in road openers under Chris Denker. Last season the Rams struggled away from Moby Arena going 3-11 in road games. Colorado State was 2-5 on the road against non-conference opponents in 2002-2003.
Going 2-0: The Rams are now 2-0 on the season after the win at Stephen F. Austin. The last time Colorado State opened the season 2-0 was in 2001-2002 when the Rams won the first six games of the season before traveling to Miami and falling to Florida International 72-75.
Opening With A Win: The Rams opened the 2003-04 season at home against Texas Southern on Friday, Nov. 21. The Rams defeated the Tigers 85-51 and have now won their last four season openers. Colorado State has won its last three home openers, including a 76-58 victory over San Francisco in the First Round of the Preseason WNIT last year. The Rams are 20-10 all-time in season openers and they are 21-9 in home openers.
Starting Strong: The Colorado State starters have combined for 129 of the 157 points scored. The bench has scored a total of 28 points in two games.
Balanced: The Rams have five players averaging double figures in scoring. Lindsay Thomas (16.5), Melissa Dennett (14.0), Joy Jenkins (10.0), Vanessa Espinoza (13.0) and Jasai Ferrucho (11.0) are all averaging 10 points or more a game.
Career Scoring Bests: Two of Colorado State?s returning players have already set career highs this season in scoring. Vanessa Espinoza scored 14 against Stephen F. Austin and Melissa Dennett tallied 20 points against Texas Southern.
Career Scoring Bests: Two of Colorado State?s returning players have already set career highs this season in scoring. Vanessa Espinoza scored 14 against Stephen F. Austin and Melissa Dennett tallied 20 points against Texas Southern.
Career Rebounding Bests: All but two members of the Rams have set career rebounding marks this season. Lindsay Thomas and Joy Jenkins have each grabbed 10 rebounds in a game this season.
Doubling Up: Lindsay Thomas and Joy Jenkins have each posted a double-double this season. It is the first time in both of their careers. Thomas poured in 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win against Texas Southern. Jenkins scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds in the win at Stephen F. Austin.
Crashing The Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded both opponents this season. Against Stephen F. Austin the Rams grabbed 52 boards to the Ladyjacks 24. Colorado State also outrebounded Texas Southern 48 to 36. Colorado State is averaging 20.0 more rebounds a game than its opponent. Last season the Rams were averaging -1.4 boards a game against their opponents.
Blocked: The Rams have 14 blocks blocked shots on the season. Melissa Dennett and Joy Jenkins each have four blocks. They are on pace for a total of 56 blocks for the season. Last season, Shannon Strecker led the team in blocked shots with 39.
Post Production: Colorado State post players (Melissa Dennett, Lindsay Thomas, Joy Jenkins, Kylee O?Dwyer, M?Sur Tor-Agbidye and Mailyn Moulton) combined for 93 of the Rams? 157 points this season. The posts are accountable for 59.2% of the Colroado State scoring offense.
Defensive Stance: Colorado State has held each of the last two opponents to under a .400 field goal percentage for the game. Currently, the Rams are shooting .500 on the season compared to the opponents shooting only .323. Last season, the Rams held only four opponents to a field goal percentage of .300 or less. Colorado State has already done that once this season (Texas Southern, .300).
Denker In November: Head Coach Chris Denker is now 5-1 at Colorado State in the month of November. The 5-1 record in November is the best winning percentage he has for any month. The Rams will play two more games this month.
Staying Fresh: The five Colorado State freshman scored 20 points in the season opener. Annika Walseth was the top freshman scorer with 11 points.
Into The Looking Glass: Colorado State returns one starter (guard Jasai Ferrucho) off the 2002-03 squad and seven other members of the roster (three of which started at least four games during the year) and will welcome five new student-athletes into the fold for the 2003-04 season. The Rams lose five seniors, four of which were starters, after losing senior forward/center Lisa Narkiewicz at the end of December to a torn ACL.
Home Sweet Home: The Rams have won 17 consecutive games in Moby Arena, which is the second longest winning streak in school history behind the 21 games from 1998-99. The 17 wins in Moby Arena is also the second longest in school history, regardless of gender. Twice, the men?s team has won 14 in a row. The CSU record for consecutive home wins stands at 22 back when the men played in South College Gym.
Quite A History: This is the 30th season of Colorado State women?s basketball. The Rams have an all-time record of 435-368 for a winning percentage of .542. The Rams have won at least 20 games in the last eight seasons and have nine 20+ win seasons in the first 29. Colorado State has also finished in the top three in the conference the last eight seasons, including a Mountain West Conference regular season title in 2002 and a conference tournament title in 2001.
Tripled Up: CSU has made at least two three-pointers in its last 49 games, dating back to an 0-for-14 performance against San Diego State on Jan. 17, 2002. The Rams made a season-high 11 three-pointers against Air Force last season.
Home Grown: On the 14 player roster for 2003-04 season, half hail from the state of Colorado. Vanessa Espinoza, Joy Jenkins, Marilyn Moulton, Kylee O?Dwyer, Sydney Price, Msur Tor-Agbidye and Ashley Venekamp all graduated from Colorado high schools. The other seven players on the team represent six other states or countries.
Early Signings: Colorado State signed two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in Nov.:
Hitting The NBA Arenas: The Rams will play at least three games this season on the home court of NBA teams. On Dec. 6, the Rams will face the University of Oregon in the Rose Garden in Portland, home of the Blazers. On Jan. 3, both the men?s and women?s teams from Colorado State will play in the Pepsi Center, home of the Denver Nuggets, in a doubleheader. The women face Loyola Marymount at 1:00 with the men squaring off with Pepperdine at 3:30.
Mountain West Moving: The Mountain West Conference Tournament is moving much closer to home next season. The tournament will be held at the Pepsi Center in Denver for at least the next three years after spending the previous four at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Next season, the Mountain West Tournament runs Mar. 10-13, 2004.
Ticket Information: Tickets to all home Colorado State games are available by calling the Ram Ticket Office at 1-800-491-RAMS or locally, 491-RAMS. Tickets are also available for purchase on the Colorado State website at www.csurams.com. Season tickets are $130 for adults and $56 for youth (ages 3-18). Reserved single-game tickets are just $8, while general admission is $6 and youth general admission is $4. CSU students are admitted for free.
