Colorado State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Travels To Laramie
1/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Game 17: Colorado State (7-9, 1-4 MWC) at Wyoming (12-4, 2-3 MWC)
January 25, 2006 • 7:00 p.m. • Laramie, Wyo. • Arena Auditorium (15,028)
The Matchup: The first installment of the Border War takes place on Wednesday evening in Laramie. The Rams and Cowgirls will be playing for the 68th time with the Rams owning a 40-27 edge in the series. Wyoming is 2-3 in conference play, while CSU is 1-4. Both teams have losses to UNLV and New Mexico, while CSU has also lost to TCU and Utah, while the Cowgirls dropped a game on Saturday to BYU. Wyoming has beaten TCU and Air Force, while the Rams have a win over San Diego State.
Scouting Wyoming: Sophomore guard Hanna Zavecz leads the team with 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She also leads in assists, blocks and steals, doing everything for the Cowgirls this season after being named second team All-MWC last year. Wyoming is 6-2 in Laramie this year and 1-1 in league games at home.
Last Time Out: Colorado State lost its fourth straight game on Saturday, falling 73-63 to TCU in Moby Arena. The Rams move to 7-9 on the year and 1-4 in Mountain West Conference play. Senior forward Melissa Dennett again led the team, notching a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Vanessa Espinoza also scored 10 points, while both juniors Marilyn Moulton and Molly Nohr came off the bench to chip in nine points each.
Final Five: In the last five minutes of conference games, seniors Melissa Dennett and Vanessa Espinoza are shooting 50 percent from the field (10-for-20) and have scored 32 of the team's 47 points down the stretch. The rest of the team is just 3-of-19 (.158) from the floor with 15 points.
Make It A Double: Melissa Dennett tallied a double-double against TCU, marking her seventh one of the season and the 16th of her career. The senior has also been in double figures in scoring in 12 of the team's 16 games this year and in double figure rebounds in eight games this season. For her career, she has 57 double figure scoring and 20 double figure rebound contests.
Closing In: Senior center Lindsay Thomas currently has 1,063 career points, which ranks 12th in school history. With just 10 more, she will tie for 11th (1073, Jennifer Halbach, 1984-88). Melissa Dennett currently ranks 14th with 1,031 points and with six more, with tie for 13th (1037, Sherry Neely, 1981-85). The pair are also moving up the offensive rebounds career chart. Thomas currently has 243 o-boards, needing just 11 to tie Zenarae Pieters (1994-98) for second, while Dennett needs one to tie Katie Cronin's (1995-99) mark of 220.
Contributing: There were eight student-athletes for CSU that played in the game against TCU on Saturday and all eight saw at least 15 minutes, scored at least three points and grabbed at least one rebound in the game. All eight of them also made at least one field goal and six of the eight had at least one assist.
The Long Ball: Colorado State has made four or more three-pointers in 12 of the team's 16 games this season, including nine of the last 10 and four of the five conference games. CSU has also had nine games with five or more three-pointers. The Rams are averaging 5.1 triples per contest which ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference.
Hunting Them Down: Sophomore guard Sara Hunter grabbed a season-high six rebounds against TCU on Saturday, good for second most on the team. Five of Hunter's six rebounds came on the defensive end. Her career high is eight against Utah last season.
Getting The Nod: Freshman forward Casie Shepherd has been inserted into the starting lineup the past two games for the Rams, starting in place of Molly Nohr. Shepherd averaged 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over the weekend, bettering her season totals of 4.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. She also tallied two blocks and two steals, averaging 26.0 minutes a game.
Taking It To The Hole: Melissa Dennett scored her 1,000th career point with her second free throw of a two shot four with 5:50 remaining in the first half of the game against UNLV. She becomes the 14th player in school history and the second this season to eclipse 1,000 points. During the first half, Dennett scored 11 straight points for the Rams and 15 of the last 20 in the half. Vanessa Espinoza is also closing in on one grand as she has 980, needing just 20 to break the barrier. This could be the first time in school history three players surpass the 1,000 career mark in the same year, as Lindsay Thomas hit 1,000 against Tulsa and currently has 1,063.
Going Strong: Marilyn Moulton scored nine points against TCU, going four-for-five from the field in just 15 minutes of play. The nine points for the junior is a career-high against Mountain West opponents and is the third-highest output this season.
Bench Press: The three players that came off the bench against TCU (junior guard Liz Kramer, Marilyn Moulton and Molly Nohr) combined to score 21 of the team's 63 points, marking just the third time this season and the first time since the UC Irvine game on Nov. 26, the bench scored more than 20 points in a contest. This season, the non-starters are averaging 12.5 points per game, compared to 55.5 points from the starters.
Lone Rangers: Melissa Dennett was the only player in double figures in scoring against UNLV, posting up a season-high 28. In the loss to Utah, Lindsay Thomas was the only Ram to hit double figures, scoring 14. The last time only one Rams scored in double figures in back-to-back games was in 1993 when Holly Anderson scored 11 against Utah on Jan. 23 and Keleigh Logan scored 13 at San Diego State on Jan. 28.
Block Party: Melissa Dennett blocked two shots against UNLV, bringing her season total to 23, which already ties for 15th on the CSU single season charts. The senior also has 92 blocks in her career, which ranks third all-time. Teresa James (1992-93) owns the single-season record with 48 and the career record with 164. Dennett's high for a season is 36 from 2003-04.
Send Us To The Stripe: In Mountain West Conference play, the Rams are shooting .766 from the free throw line, sinking 59 of their 77 attempts, which leads the league. Five different players have connected on all of their attempts, including a perfect 8-for-8 from Molly Nohr and 6-for-6 from both Lindsay Thomas and Vanessa Espinoza. Nohr has made her last 13 free throws, dating back to a miss against Tulsa.
Arc Accuracy: Vanessa Espinoza has now hit at least one three-pointer in her last 13 games, the longest active streak in the Mountain West Conference. Espinoza is connecting on .451 (32-71) of her three-point shots this season, which would rank second, just behind her own record of .455 (51-112) from the 2003-04 season. For her career, Espinoza is shooting .415 (130-313) from beyond the arc, which would tie the school record, currently held by Brenda Brunner (59-142) from 1993-96.
That Can't Be Right!: The Rams' leading scorer, Melissa Dennett is averaging 15.3 points per game. The senior, however, is scoring more points in the team's losses than in the victories. In losses, Dennett is averaging 16.3 points per game, compared to just 14.0 in the wins.
Balanced Attack: Six different Rams have either led the team or shared in the team lead in scoring in a game this season. Melissa Dennett has led the Rams on eight occasions, Vanessa Espinoza four times, Sara Hunter and Molly Nohr twice and Casie Shepherd and Lindsay Thomas once.
Lots of Time: Lindsay Thomas has played in all 107 games during her career at Colorado State and has made 43 consecutive starts and 78 throughout the last four years. Vanessa Espinoza has missed just one game in her four seasons, playing in 106 and starting in 76, including the last 55. Melissa Dennett has played in 83 games for the Rams, starting in 73 and the last 73 straight.
Starting Scoring Streaks: Melissa Dennett has started in the last 73 games for Colorado State, and has tallied at least one point and two rebounds in each of those games. Since the start of her sophomore season, Dennett has averaged 13.92 points and 7.56 rebounds per game, shooting .525 from the field.
Four and Five For Three: Vanessa Espinoza and Sara Hunter have combined to hit 64 of the team's 82 three-pointers this season, combining for four three-pointers a game. The pair make more three-pointers per game than any other duo in the Mountain West Conference, and also sink 78.0 percent of the Rams' outside shots, the most dominant pair in the league.
Taking Care of the Ball: In Colorado State's seven wins, the team is winning the turnover battle, averaging 18.3 turnovers, compared to 19.7 for the opposition, but in its losses, the Rams are averaging 19.2 turnovers per game, while forcing just 11.9. In the wins, the turnover margin is a +1.4, while it is -7.3 in the losses.
Rebounding Tandem: Melissa Dennett and Lindsay Thomas are combining to average 16.3 rebounds per game this season to lead the Mountain West Conference. The next best rebounding tandem is BYU's Ambrosia Anderson and Dani Kubik who combine for 14.1 rebounds a contest. Dennett and Thomas are bringing down 44.8 percent of the Ram's rebounds this year.
Hitting A Grand: Lindsay Thomas became the 13th player school history to score 1,000 points in a career, hitting her 1,000th point at the 1:57 mark of the second-half against Tulsa with a layup. Thomas now has 1,063 points to rank 12th on the school career charts and 19th in Mountain West Conference history. She needs 11 points to move into 11th on the CSU charts (1,073, Jennifer Halbach, 1984-88).
First Possession: Melissa Dennett has won the opening tip in 15 of 16 games for the Rams this season (TCU). The Rams have scored first in 13 of the 16 games. She also won 20 of 28 opening tips during the 2004-05 season.
Hitting Their Shots: Colorado State leads the Mountain West Conference in both field goal percentage (.431) and three-point field goal percentage (.376) and are a close second in free throw percentage (.751), just behind Air Force (.753). In conference matches only, the Rams lead in free throw percentage, shooting .766 from the charity stripe and are first in blocked shots with 3.40 per game.
Best In the Mountain West: Melissa Dennett leads the Mountain West Conference in rebounds per game with 8.8 a contest and is also on top in offensive rebounds with 3.88 per game, over a whole offensive board better than anyone else in the league (Alecia Steele, Air Force, 2.71). She also leads the conference with 1.44 blocks per game, is third in field-goal percentage (.528) and fourth in scoring (15.3). Vanessa Espinoza is fourth in free throw percentage (.810) and Lindsay Thomas ranks fourth in both rebounds (7.5) and defensive rebounds (5.38). In conference games only, Dennett leads the conference, shooting .554 from the field and she is tied for third in offensive rebounds (3.20) and blocks (1.20).
Among The Nation's Leaders: Colorado State currently ranks 22nd in the nation in free throw percentage (.748) and 24th in three-point field-goal percentage (.383). Vanessa Espinoza ranks 18th in the country in three-point field-goal percentage as well (.467). The Rams are also 62nd as a team in field-goal percentage (.433). Statistics are through games played on January 16.
On This Date: Colorado State is 5-6 in games played on Jan. 25, with a 4-1 record at home, but just 1-5 away from the friendly confines of Moby Arena. This will be the third meeting between Colorado State and Wyoming on Jan. 25, with each team winning on its home court (1980, L, 83-93, Laramie; 2002, W, 57-49, Fort Collins).
Double Your Pleasure: Lindsay Thomas and Melissa Dennett both tallied double-doubles in the games with South Dakota State, UC-Irvine, San Jose State and Tulsa. Thomas and Dennett had double-doubles in the same game three times last season. The Rams are 4-2 (1-3 this season) when both Thomas and Dennett record a double-double in the same game. Thomas has 18 career double-doubles, while Dennett has 16.
Scoring 80: The Rams have scored 80 points in four games this season and are 4-0 in those games. Colorado State is 166-12 all-time when scoring at least 80 points in a game. The last time Colorado State lost after putting up 80+ was on Jan. 22, 2004 when the Rams lost to UNLV 83-92 in Las Vegas.
Dynamic Duo: Lindsay Thomas and Melissa Dennett are on pace to go down as the most prolific shot blocking duo in school history. Dennett has 92 career blocks and Thomas has 73. The tandem of Shannon Strecker and Ashley Augspurger currently are the best blocking tandem in school history with a combined 175 blocks.
Quite A Stretch: Colorado State has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 120 games, dating back to Jan. 17, 2002 against San Diego State. In that contest, the Rams were 0-14 from beyond the arc. That game snapped a 232 game streak, dating back to a Nov. 25, 1994 victory over Pennsylvania.
Fan Support: Colorado State has had at least 1,000 fans attend each of the last 155 home games. The last time the Rams played at home in front of fewer than 1,000 fans was Jan. 5, 1996 when Colorado State faced Idaho State.
Missing the Mark: The last time no Rams reached double figures in scoring was during the 2000-01 season. On March 10, 2001 no player reached double figures in a game against BYU. The Rams won that Mountain West Conference Tournament game 59-56. Colorado State had five players reach double figures in the season opener. This season the Rams have had at least one player reach double figures in scoring in every game this year.
Warden Hosts Pregame "Chalk Talks": This season Jen Warden will host a pregame "chalk talk" at all Colorado State home games. She will begin her talk 22 minutes prior to tip-off. The "chalk talks" are open to members of the Slam Dunk Club and will be held in the Hall of Fame room on the south concourse of Moby Arena. For more information on the Slam Dunk Club, contact Lisa Eakins at (970) 491-6569.
Coors Light Ram Basketball Coaches' Show: Catch women's basketball coach Jen Warden on the Colorado State Sports Network throughout the season. Warden will be on the Coors Light Ram Basketball Coaches' Show with head men's basketball coach Dale Layer live from the Fort Collins Hilton. The show starts at 7 p.m. The broadcast can be heard on 600 AM KCOL in Fort Collins and 710 AM KNUS in Denver. Colorado State football and men's basketball play-by-play announcer Rich Bircumshaw will be the host. Broadcast Dates - January 30, February 6, February 13, February 20, February 27 and March 6.
