Colorado State University Athletics
Women?s Basketball Preview ? Game 25: Wyoming
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Senior Night: Colorado State will recognize its two seniors on Friday night prior to the start of the Wyoming game. Guard Jasai Ferrucho and forward Joy Jenkins will be thanked for four wonderful years with the Rams. The Rams will attempt to win their fourth straight game and fifth in a row at home against the Cowgirls, who are 5-6 in league play and 9-15 overall.
Three In A Row: A career-high 22 points by sophomore guard Vanessa Espinoza and a game-high eight assists by Jasai Ferrucho led Colorado State to a 79-65 victory over UNLV. Sophomore center Lindsay Thomas scored 14 points and had a team-high six rebounds, while Ferrucho added 13 points, freshman forward Kylee O?Dwyer scored 11 points off the bench and sophomore forward Melissa Dennett added 10 points in the win. Espinoza, besides the career-high 22 points, added six assists and five steals and hit three three-pointers. The Rams shot 50% from the field in the game, including three-for-four from the three-point line in the second half.
Home Sweet Home: After scoring just three points in the first six minutes of the game and falling 13-3, Colorado State rebounded to defeat San Diego State, 65-56. Colorado State was led by Vanessa Espinoza with 16 points, while Lindsay Thomas added 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds and Melissa Dennett chipped in 11 points in the win. Jasai Ferrucho also tallied a game-high eight assists and Dennett blocked two shots.
Player of the Week: Vanessa Espinoza was named co-Mountain West Conference Player of the Week along with New Mexico?s Lindsey Arndt. Espinoza averaged 19.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game, along with shooting .522 from the field, .500 from the three-point line (5-of-10) and .818 from the free throw line. Espinoza scored a career-high 22 points against UNLV and had five steals in the contest. Against San Diego State, she led the team with 16 points and in 72 minutes of play in the two games, committed just two turnovers.
On Pace: Jasai Ferrucho is on pace to end the conference season with more assists than points. The senior currently has 74 assists and 72 points in the first 11 games. If she stays on her current pace, she will become just the third player in Mountain West history to tally more points than assists among starters and the first since the 1999-2000 season. Nikki Heckroth from New Mexico notched 54 points and 45 assists while Tiana Fuertes from Utah had 66 points and 64 assists. In the second half of conference play (four games), Ferrucho has averaged 8.5 assists and 5.3 points per game and has 30 assists in her last three contests.
She?s Smart Too: Lindsay Thomas was named to the 2004 Academic All-District VII CoSIDA Women?s Basketball First Team. Thomas was one of six student-athletes named to the First Team in District VII, which includes schools from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Thomas is an English and Spanish double major with a perfect 4.00 grade-point average and is academically a senior in class standing.
Boarded Up: Through the first half of conference play, Vanessa Espinoza averaged 1.7 rebounds per game while Lindsay Thomas averaged 6.6. Both have stepped up their play in the second half. In the first four games of the second half, Espinoza has increased to 3.3 rebounds per game, while Thomas is up to 7.8. Freshman guard Annika Walseth, Jasai Ferrucho, sophomore center Msur Tor-Agbidye and freshman guard Molly Nohr have also increased their rebounding numbers through the second half of league action.
Queens Of The Mountain: Lindsay Thomas sits atop the league in field goal percentage, shooting .526 on the year, while Jasai Ferrucho leads in assists per game at 5.29. In conference play only, Ferrucho is averaging 6.73 assists per game to lead the league and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.85.
Floats & Shakes: Annika Walseth hit her 24th three-pointer against UNLV, which is the 10th most by a freshman in school history. Walseth is connecting on .381 of her three-point attempts to rank sixth among freshman in school history and also rank fifth this week in the Mountain West.
Gotta Wear Shades: Both the present and future are looking good for Colorado State. The top three scorers and top two rebounders for the Rams are sophomores and the trio of Melissa Dennett, Vanessa Espinoza and Lindsay Thomas all rank in the top eight in the league in scoring and Dennett and Thomas both rank in the top seven in rebounding. The trio leads the Rams in scoring this season and are combining for 38.4 of the Rams? 67.1 points per game this season (.572).
Posting Up: In the second half of conference play, Kylee O?Dwyer has concentrated more on her inside game. The freshman was 7-of-15 (.467) from beyond the arc in the first seven league games and 7-of-16 (.438) from two-point range. In the last four contests, O?Dwyer has taken just two triples -- missing both -- but is 9-for-17 (.529) from down low.
Did You Know?: Colorado State has played only one game in its entire history with no free throws made by the Rams. At Denver on Nov. 3, 1978 the Rams made zero of their three attempts in a 55-54 loss to open the 1978-79 season.
Its Not All Scoring: Jasai Ferrucho has stepped up her play during the conference season, but her points per game remains identical (6.5 per game). The senior is averaging 3.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.8 steals and just 2.3 turnovers per game in league action. During the non-conference season, Ferrucho averaged 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.7 turnovers per game.
Crunch Time: The last three games, CSU opponents have placed the Rams on the free throw line down the stretch to try to win. On Saturday against UNLV, Vanessa Espinoza and Jasai Ferrucho combined to hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute and Ferrucho got her own rebound on a miss to score a layup with 13 seconds left. Against San Diego State on Thursday, the Rams were 7-of-8 in the final 1:05 and they were 7-of-8 in the last minute against BYU. This season, the Rams are 35-for-47 in the final minute of a game (.745) and in the last five minutes, are shooting .734 (94-128).
It?s Offensive: Lindsay Thomas is currently tied for 11th on the Colorado State single-season charts with 69 offensive rebounds, while Melissa Dennett is tied for 16th with 65 o-boards. The record is 92 held by Shannon Randles from the 1996-97 team and Thomas has the most by a Ram since Katie Cronin brought down 70 in 1998-99 where the Rams played 36 games.
Close Count: In games decided by 10-points or less this season, the Rams are 4-6, however in games decided by more than 10 points, the Rams are 11-3.
Home Cooking: Head Coach Chris Denker is now 12-1 in Moby Arena against league opponents and 2-10 on the road in conference play since he started at the beginning of last season.
Staying Outside The Lines: Vanessa Espinoza is much more deadly from beyond the arc than within it. The sophomore is shooting .478 from the three-point line this season and is just .410 from within the arc. In conference play, Espinoza is connecting on .489 of her three-point shots and .433 of her two-point attempts.
On Pace: Senior Jasai Ferrucho currently has 74 assists in Mountain West Conference play for an average of 6.73 per game. If she continues at her current pace, she will end league play with 94 assists, which will place her one shy of the MWC record of 95 by Erin Thorn from BYU last season.
On This Date: Colorado State is an even 4-4 in games played on Feb. 27 with identical 2-2 records in Moby Arena and on the road and the Rams have not played a neutral site game on Feb. 27.
Made To Be Broken: If the season were to end today, Vanessa Espinoza would break the single-season record for three-point field goal percentage at CSU. The sophomore is shooting .478 from beyond the arc (43-90). The CSU record for three-point field goal percentage is .440 held by Elizabeth English (44-100) from 1999-2000. Espinoza also sits first in career three-point field goal percentage at .429 (54-126) with a minimum of 75 attempts and is 15th with 54 three-pointers made.
Heating Up: Sophomore Melissa Dennett has scored in double figures in the last nine games for the Rams and in 10 of 11 conference tilts. Dennett is tied for the team lead with 13.0 points per game, including a 13.5 per game mark in conference play. Lindsay Thomas has also scored in double figures in the last seven games and has hit at least 10 points in eight of the last nine games. Vanessa Espinoza has also scored at least 10 in six of the last seven games and is now tied with Dennett for the team lead per game.
Guard Duty: Colorado State is 15-2 when the two starting guards combine for 20 or more points. The two losses came at the hands of Boston College and Colorado. With Vanessa Espinoza and Jasai Ferrucho combining for 20 or more, the Rams are 13-2 this year and are 0-7 when the pair fail to reach the 20-point barrier.
Ram Record Book Against Wyoming:
Tripled Up: CSU has made at least two three-pointers in its last 68 games, dating back to an 0-for-14 performance against San Diego State on Jan. 17, 2002. The Rams have also sunk at least one trey in 302 of the last 303 games, dating back to Nov. 25, 1994 against Penn in the first game of the season.
Extremely Loyal: Colorado State has played in front of at least 1,200 fans in its last 108 games in Moby Arena, dating back to Dec. 30, 1997 against Eastern Washington where only 1,178 people were in the stands. The last game with less than 1,000 fans in Moby Arena came way back on Jan. 5, 1996 when there were 811 in the stands for a game against Idaho State -- a span of 132 games.
Listen Live: Every Colorado State women?s basketball game can be heard over the airwaves this season and can also be found on the internet. Brian Roth announces the play-by-play for the fourth consecutive season and Corbu Stathes adds the color commentary for the third year in a row. The games can be heard live on KIIX 1410 AM on the Colorado State Sports Network and can be found by clicking on the purple Yahoo! icon on the front page of the CSU website at www.csurams.com.
Coaches TV Show: The Ram Basketball Report airs each Saturday morning on ESPN2 (Channel 46 in Fort Collins), and repeats each Tuesday and Thursday (Channel 68).
Streaks, Milestones and Notes:
Coaches Radio Show: Join Chris Denker and the dean of Colorado State women?s basketball broadcasts Brian Roth at Johnny Carino?s every Tuesday evening from 5-6. The duo will recap the previous week, preview the upcoming week and answer any questions. Listen to the show on KIIX 1410 AM.
Home Court Advantage: Since the inception of the Mountain West, Colorado State is 30-4 in Moby Arena against league opponents. The Rams posted perfect 7-0 records in 2002 and 2003 and are 5-1 this season. The 29-4 mark since the beginning of the conference is the best mark in the league, while New Mexico is 29-4 and Utah is 28-4.
Twice Honored: Lindsay Thomas was named Mountain West Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 11 after helping the Rams to a 2-0 record, recording a career-high 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. Montana. Thomas added 12 points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes against IPFW, hitting 6-of-9 shots from the field. For the week, Thomas averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the field. Melissa Dennett was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 15 after helping lead the Rams to victories over Denver and San Francisco. Dennett scored a career-high 24 points at Denver. Dennett scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 71-63 victory at San Francisco. For the week, Dennett averaged 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.1 percent from the floor.
Series Story: The 65th meeting between Colorado State and Wyoming marks the longest series against any opponent for the Rams. CSU holds the 38-26 advantage in the all-time series, including a 19-11 mark in Fort Collins. The Rams have won the last seven in Moby Arena, dating back to a 66-65 loss on Feb. 6, 1997. Last season the two teams squared off four times, with the Rams winning three of four.
Early Signings: Colorado State signed two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in Nov.:
Scouting The Opposition: Wyoming is 9-15 on the season and is currently fifth in the Mountain West Conference standings with a league record of 5-6. The Cowgirls have dropped four of their last five games, but destroyed San Diego State 71-46 on Saturday. Wyoming posts a 1-8 record on the road this season, including a 1-3 mark in the MWC.
Ashley Elliott leads the team with 17.0 points per game and connected on seven three-pointers against the Aztecs. She has hit 64 three-pointers this season and is the only Cowgirl averaging double figures in scoring. Freshman Michelle Lieber leads the team with 6.3 rebounds a game and senior guard Brenda Pickup leads with 116 assists and 65 steals.
Wyoming is averaging 52.5 points and 32.2 rebounds per game and is allowing 57.9 points and 33.9 rebounds per contest. The Cowgirls are shooting .359 from the field, .320 from the three-point line and .709 from the free throw line. They are averaging 10.9 assists, 17.2 turnovers, 6.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
In conference play only, Elliott leads the way with 17.8 points while Pickup is second with 12.1 per game. Lieber leads the team with 5.0 rebounds and Pickup is right behind her with 4.9 a game. Pickup has 57 assists and 35 steals to lead the team and Elliott has connected on 27 three-pointers, which leads the conference.
Wyoming is averaging 56.2 points and 30.4 rebounds while allowing 56.6 points and 33.7 rebounds per game. They are shooting .391 from the field, .324 from the arc and .754 from the charity stripe and are averaging 10.9 assists, 14.2 turnovers, 6.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
Elliott led the Cowgirls with 18 points in the first meeting between the teams, while Lindsay Thomas led CSU with 13 points. It was the only game in Joy Jenkins? career she has missed, after having surgery to repair a broken nose.
Joe Legerski is in his first season with the Cowgirls after spending the previous 12 at Utah as either an assistant or associate head coach.
