Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
12-6 (3-2MWC)
Wyoming
12-6 (3-2MWC)
Ram Women Win Border War by 10
1/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Colorado State women?s basketball team improved to 12-6 overall and 3-2 in league play Friday night with a 61-51 victory over Wyoming at home.
The Rams were again led by junior Melissa Dennett who went 9-for-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the line to tally 22 points, tying her second highest of the year. Dennett also pulled down eight boards in the contest, just narrowly missing her eighth double-double of the season.
Also playing well for the Rams tonight were junior Vanessa Espinoza and freshman Sara Hunter. Espinoza contributed eight points but also pulled down career-high 10 rebounds to lead the Rams. Hunter once again found her groove from three-point-range, going a perfect 4-of-4 for 12 points, tying her career-best.
After CSU jumped out to a quick 9-3 run, including a 5-0 run to open the game, things began to tighten up a bit. Beginning at the 16:00 mark Wyoming used a 10-0 run over the next six minutes to take the lead at 9:49, 13-11. The Rams ended the run with a layup by Dennett and the lead see-sawed for the remainder of the half. The lead changed hands three times over the last seven minutes and the Rams went into half time with a 33-31 advantage after Dennett?s jumpshot broke the tie with just four seconds remaining in the half.
The Rams shot well in the first half, converting on 11-of-24 shots for 45.8 percent from the field. The team also converted on 8-of-12 free throws in the first half, 67 percent.
The second half was reflective of the first half as neither team seemed to be able to gain the upper hand. Wyoming came out explosive, taking the lead off the bat on a 5-0 run and holding Colorado State scoreless until 16:14 remaining in the game. Wyoming held onto the lead for the next six minutes before CSU tied it up at 41 on a Kylee O?Dwyer layup. The Rams then took the lead at the 9:20 mark off of a jump shot by Molly Nohr. The Rams did not trail the rest of the game.
Colorado State maintained its composure and eventually pulled away. The Rams were sparked by two big three-point baskets by Hunter, the second of which came at the 4:01 mark to go up 53-46. Wyoming did not make another field goal the rest of the game. The Rams finished the last 6:10 of the game on a 13-7 run and picked up its third conference victory 61-51.
Colorado State shot 45.7 percent for the game on 21-of-46 shooting, including 5-of-11 from behind the three-point line. The Rams also shot 77.8 percent from the charity stripe, 14-of-18. CSU outscored the Cowgirls in the paint 24 to eight.
Wyoming shot just 27.9 percent for the game on 17-of-61 shooting. The Cowgirls shot 41 three-point baskets, the second most by a Colorado State opponent this year. UNC shot 48 threes against the Rams earlier this year.
Wyoming was led by Ashley Elliott?s game-high 28 points on 9-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-13 from behind the arch. Elliott?s 28 points ties her for second-most in the Mountain West Conference this year, tying Shona Thorburn of Utah. Thorburn posted 28 versus New Mexico. Hanna Zavecz also of Wyoming scored 32 at BYU earlier this year.
Colorado State Head Coach Chris Denker was excited and pleased with the Rams? performance tonight.
?I thought at the offensive end, our kids did a great job in getting the shots we wanted,? said Denker.
He also felt the team did a good job on the defensive side.
?When you can hold a team to 27 percent shooting, 61 (points) is enough,? said Denker.
Colorado State will be in action again on February 3 when they take on Air Force in Colorado Springs. Tip is set for 7 p.m.; complete results will be available at CSURAMS.com.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS Wyoming vs Colorado State 01-28-05 7:05 p.m. at Moby Arena (Fort Collins, Colo.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Wyoming 12-6 (3-2 MWC) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 12 SISK, Dominique..... f 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 15 13 ZAVECZ, Hanna....... f 3-13 2-9 0-0 2 4 6 5 8 1 3 0 2 32 31 LENHARDT, Kristen... f 1-5 1-3 0-0 1 5 6 3 3 2 1 0 1 27 23 HICKS, Erin......... g 1-9 1-9 0-0 1 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 29 24 ELLIOTT, Ashley..... g 9-20 5-13 5-7 3 4 7 4 28 6 3 0 4 40 02 BOLERJACK, Jodi..... 1-7 1-5 0-1 1 1 2 0 3 2 0 0 0 28 03 LAPAR, Tarah........ 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 42 EWING, Lorissa...... 2-4 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 12 53 HIPPEN, Sara........ 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 TEAM................ 4 4 8 3 Totals.............. 17-61 10-41 7-12 12 19 31 18 51 12 11 0 8 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-32 34.4% 2nd Half: 6-29 20.7% Game: 27.9% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-22 31.8% 2nd Half: 3-19 15.8% Game: 24.4% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 58.3% 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Colorado State 12-6 (3-2 MWC) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 32 DENNETT, Melissa.... f 9-10 0-0 4-6 2 6 8 3 22 2 3 1 1 32 45 THOMAS, Lindsay..... f 3-11 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 2 6 1 1 0 0 31 05 ESPINOZA, Vanessa... g 2-7 1-3 3-4 0 10 10 3 8 4 5 0 0 28 20 NOHR, Molly......... g 1-5 0-1 1-2 0 2 2 0 3 4 1 0 0 20 21 WALSETH, Annika..... g 0-3 0-3 4-4 0 5 5 3 4 2 1 0 0 25 04 HUNTER, Sara........ 4-7 4-4 0-0 0 3 3 0 12 3 2 0 0 23 15 KRAMER, Liz......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 9 31 O'DWYER, Kylee...... 1-1 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 16 43 TOR-AGBIDYE, Msur... 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 1 1 0 0 13 51 MOULTON, Marilyn.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 TEAM................ 1 2 3 Totals.............. 21-46 5-11 14-18 6 36 42 14 61 17 17 1 1 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-24 45.8% 2nd Half: 10-22 45.5% Game: 45.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 2-2 100 % Game: 45.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-12 66.7% 2nd Half: 6-6 100 % Game: 77.8% 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Rob Bryson, Cid Garcia, Mark Penaflor Technical fouls: Wyoming-None. Colorado State-None. Attendance: 3008 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Wyoming....................... 31 20 - 51 Colorado State................ 33 28 - 61 Points in the paint-WY 8,CS 24. Points off turnovers-WY 10,CS 6. 2nd chance points-WY 14,CS 9. Fast break points-WY 2,CS 0. Bench points-WY 9,CS 18. Score tied-7 times. Lead changed-8 times. Last FG-WY 2nd-04:56, CS 2nd-03:31.
