Colorado State University Athletics
No. 2 Blue Devils Too Strong For Rams
12/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2005
Durham, N.C. - Despite a double-double from senior forward Melissa Dennett, the Colorado State Rams (5-4) fell 99-52 to the No. 2 ranked Duke Blue Devils (9-0) on Thursday evening in front of more than 4,000 fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Dennett recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Casie Shepherd tallied nine points in a career-high 17 minutes off the bench for Colorado State. Junior Molly Nohr added eight points including a 2-for-2 performance from three point range and sophomore Sara Hunter chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
Turnovers caused by the defensive pressure of Duke plagued the Rams all night as the Blue Devils converted 33 Ram turnovers into 46 points, while the Rams were only able to force 11 turnovers.
The Rams played the Blue Devils tough in spurts on the night and trailed by one, 13-12 six minutes in before Duke went on a 10-0 run to push the lead to double-figures. A 23-0 run near the end of the first half took Duke's lead from 14 to 33 and Duke was up 54-18 at the half.
The Blue Devils opened up the second half strong, extending the lead to its largest point 80-28. The Rams responded with a 10-0 run at that point in the game but would never pull to closer than 40 the rest of the way as Duke had a 9-2 run to end the game with a 47-point, 99-52 victory.
The Rams were held to a dismal 25 percent (6-for-24 FGs) shooting in the first half, but responded in the second half by shooting at a 47.8 percent clip (11-for-23 FGs). "I think that there are some things to build on here that I am very positive about," said head coach Jen Warden following the game. The Rams also outrebounded Duke in the contest by a slim 35-34 margin.
The loss drops the Rams to 0-3 away from Moby Arena to begin this season. The Rams will take a few days off for the holidays and return to the court on Dec. 30-31 at the Wells Fargo New Year's Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Rams square off against Tulsa at 4 p.m. MT on Dec. 30 and then face Texas-San Antonio at 2 p.m. MT on New Year's Eve.