Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
5-5
Tulsa
8-2
Ram Women Narrowly Fall To Tulsa
12/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2005
Despite a season-best 20 points effort from sophomore Sara Hunter, the Colorado State University women's basketball team dropped a close decision to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 69-65 on Friday night to open the Wells Fargo/UTSA New Year's Classic in San Antonio. The Rams are now 5-5 overall on the season, 0-4 on the road. The Golden Hurricane improved to 8-2 with the victory.
Hunter led the way for the Rams offense, connecting on six three pointers on the night. She also recorded a game-high three steals on the defensive end and added three rebounds to her totals.
In addition to Hunter's 20 points, seniors Lindsay Thomas and Melissa Dennett each added a double-double, the fourth and sixth of the season, respectively for the duo. Thomas notched 10 points and 11 rebounds while Dennett added 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Red shirt freshman Casie Shepherd had another solid game for the Rams off the bench, dropping in eight points to go along with four rebounds and a block in just 11 minutes on the floor.
The Rams found themselves down by four points heading into the break after being outshot by Tulsa 48 percent to 37 percent in the opening frame. However, the Rams shooting improved in the second half to the tune of 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the floor.
The difference in the game came at the free throw line where the Rams were able to muster just five points on eight attempts, compared with the 14-of-23 shot by the Golden Hurricane from the charity stripe.
Despite that, the Rams mounted a comeback over the final 5:45 of the game, holding Tulsa without a field goal over that stretch, but were unable to overcome the four-point halftime deficit, eventually falling by that same margin 69-65.
Next up, the Rams will square off against Tournament Host Texas-San Antonio at 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MT to close out the tournament. It will be the final non-conference game of the season for the Rams, who open up Mountain West play at home on Jan. 4 against San Diego State.
