Colorado State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Preview: At BYU
1/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2006
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Game 18: Colorado State (7-10, 1-5 MWC) at #20/20 BYU (16-1, 6-0 MWC)
January 28, 2006 • 2:00 p.m. • Provo, Utah • Smith Fieldhouse (22,400)
The Matchup: Colorado State travels to Mountain West Conference leader BYU to take on its third nationally ranked team of the year. The Rams have dropped five straight games, while the Cougars have won their last eight. Colorado State has also lost the last three games against BYU after winning seven of eight games from 2001 to 2004.
Scouting BYU: Senior Ambrosia Anderson leads the Mountain West Conference in scoring with 19.7 points per game and leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per contest. Mallary Gillespie also averages double figures with 10.6 points per game and Melinda Johnsen averages 3.9 assists per game. The Cougars are averaging 14.4 points per game more than their opponents and have a 7.3 per game rebounding advantage.
Last Time Out: Colorado State, playing in its first overtime contest of the season, fell 87-80 to Wyoming on Wednesday evening. Senior forward Melissa Dennett recorded her eighth double-double of the year, scoring a team-best 25 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds for the Rams. Junior guard Molly Nohr recorded career-highs in both scoring and rebounding, scoring 18 and tallying nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Sara Hunter and freshman forward Casie Shepherd were also in double figures in scoring with 11 and 10, respectively.
Left Early: Senior guard Vanessa Espinoza played just one minute in the second-half after getting hit in the eye. The senior required stitches and is questionable for the game on Saturday against BYU.
It's Been A While: In the first half against Wyoming, Colorado State did not attempt a three-pointer. The last game where the Rams did not put up a triple in a half was the second half at Fresno State on Feb. 4, 1993 -- a 55-53 victory for CSU. The last time the Rams did not try a three-pointer in the first half of a game came way back on Dec. 29, 1990 -- a 53-49 loss to Northern Iowa.
Hop, Skip & A Jump: Melissa Dennett moved from 13th in career scoring at CSU to 12th with her 25 points against Wyoming. Dennett now has 1,059 career points and is just eight shy of tying teammate senior center Lindsay Thomas, who has 1,067. The pair are also closing in on 10th on the list, Jane Lange (1979-83) with 1,174. Dennett also skipped from sixth to fourth in career offensive rebounds and now has 225.
Behind The Line: Molly Nohr hit a career-high three three-pointers against Wyoming, giving her 12 on the year. Surprisingly, 11 of Nohr's 12 triples this season have come in Ram losses, with just one in a victory.
Did I Hear A Niner?: Colorado State has shot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc in nine of the team's 17 games, including three of the last four contests and in six of the last eight games. The Rams have shot exactly 40 percent from the three-point line in the last two games against TCU and Wyoming.
Contributing: All eight players that have seen action in all 17 games this season have scored in double figures in at least one game. Melissa Dennett leads the way with 13 double figure games, while Vanessa Espinoza and Lindsay Thomas have done so 11 times. Sara Hunter (9), Molly Nohr (4), junior center Marilyn Moulton (2), Casie Shepherd (2) and junior guard Liz Kramer (1) round out the team's double figure scoring games.
Good Golly: Molly Nohr has scored at least one point, pulled down at least one rebound and dished out at least one assist in all 17 games this season.
Enjoying The Starts: Casie Shepherd has started the last three games for CSU, and is averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, along with 26.7 minutes per game with a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. In the first 14 games, coming off the bench, Shepherd averaged just 11.5 minutes per game with 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game and was shooting 70 percent from the charity stripe (21-30).
Upon Further Review: When researching a note, it was discovered that Jennifer Halbach (1984-88) did not score 1,073 points to rank 11th in school history like originally thought. Halbach scored 923 points, which ties her for 18th with Jacque Johnson (1996-00) and moves the three current seniors up one spot in the career scoring. Lindsay Thomas is 11th with 1,067 points, Melissa Dennett is 12th with 1,059 and Vanessa Espinoza ranks 14th with 980.
Lopsided: In the first half at Wyoming, the Rams scored 30 points. Only four of those points came from the guards, while 26 were scored by post players.
Even Without OT: CSU tallied season highs in both total rebounds and offensive boards in the loss at Wyoming. The Rams ended the game with 53 rebounds, 21 of them on the offensive end. At the end of regulation play, the Rams still would have had season highs in both categories with 50 rebounds and 18 off the offensive glass. The previous highs were 46 rebounds at Denver and 16 o-boards against both UNLV and Concordia-St. Paul.
Make It A Double: Melissa Dennett tallied back-to-back double-doubles, and now has eight season and 17 in her career. The senior has also been in double figures in scoring in 13 of the team's 17 games this year and in double figure rebounds in nine games. For her career, she has 58 double figure scoring and 21 double figure rebound contests.
The Long Ball: Colorado State has made four or more three-pointers in 13 of the team's 17 games this season, including 10 of the last 11 and five of the six conference games. CSU has also had 10 games with five or more three-pointers. The Rams are averaging 5.2 triples per contest which ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference.
Taking It To The Hole: Melissa Dennett scored her 1,000th career point with her second free throw of a two shot foul with 5:50 remaining in the first half of the game against UNLV. She becomes the 13th player in school history and the second this season to eclipse 1,000 points. 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 1,067.
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. Against Wyoming, the trio scored 30 points. Wyoming was just the fourth time this season the bench scored more than 20 points in a contest. This season, the non-starters are averaging 13.5 points per game, compared to 55.2 points from the starters.
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.
Starting Scoring Streaks: Melissa Dennett has started in the last 74 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 14.07 points and 7.65 rebounds per game, shooting .526 from the field.
Send Us To The Stripe: In Mountain West Conference play, the Rams are shooting .776 from the free throw line, sinking 83 of their 107 attempts, which leads the league. Five different players have connected on all of their attempts, including a perfect 6-for-6 from both Lindsay Thomas and Vanessa Espinoza, while Molly Nohr is 13-of-14.
That Can't Be Right!: The Rams' leading scorer, Melissa Dennett is averaging 15.9 points per game. The senior, however, is scoring more points in the team's losses than in the victories. In losses, Dennett is averaging 17.2 points per game, compared with 14.0 in wins and is the only player in double figures in the losses.
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 nine 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 108 games during her career at Colorado State and has made 44 consecutive starts and 79 throughout the last four years. Vanessa Espinoza has missed just one game in her four seasons, playing in 107 and starting in 77, including the last 56. Melissa Dennett has played in 84 games for the Rams, starting in the last 74 straight.
Four and Five For Three: Vanessa Espinoza and Sara Hunter have combined to hit 67 of the team's 88 three-pointers this season, combining for 3.94 three-pointers a game. The pair make more three-pointers per game than any other duo in the Mountain West Conference, and also sink 76.1 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 11.5. In the wins, the turnover margin is a +1.4, while it is -7.7 in the losses.
Hitting A Grand: Lindsay Thomas became the 12th 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 1,067 points to rank 11th on the school career charts and 19th in Mountain West Conference history.
First Possession: Melissa Dennett has won the opening tip in 16 of 17 games for the Rams this season (TCU). The Rams have scored first in 13 of the 17 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 field goal percentage (.429), three-point field goal percentage (.378) and free throw percentage (.755). The Rams are also leading the league in scoring offense, averaging 68.7 points per game. In conference matches only, the Rams lead in free throw percentage, shooting .776 from the charity stripe and are second in blocked shots with 3.33 per game and defensive rebounds with 25.5.
Best In the Mountain West: Melissa Dennett leads the Mountain West Conference in rebounds per game with 9.1 a contest and is also on top in offensive rebounds with 4.00 per game, over a whole offensive board better than anyone else in the league (Alecia Steele, Air Force, 2.83). She also leads the conference with 1.35 blocks per game, is third in field-goal percentage (.531) and scoring (15.9). Molly Nohr ranks second in free throw percentage (.850), Vanessa Espinoza is fourth (.810). In conference games only, Dennett is tied for the lead league in both scoring (18.0) and rebounding (8.7) and leads the conference in field goal percentage (.556).
Among The Nation's Leaders: Colorado State currently ranks 20th in the nation in free throw percentage (.751) and 27th in three-point field-goal percentage (.376). The Rams are also 66th as a team in field-goal percentage (.431). Statistics are through games played on January 23. Individually, Vanessa Espinoza currently ranks 19th in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage, connecting on .451 of her shots. Utah's Julie Larsen leads the nation, hitting .551 of her three-point attempts. The Mountain West Conference has four of the top 30 outside shooters in the nation as Katie Montgomery from New Mexico and Jodi Bolerjack from Wyoming also rank among the most accurate.
On This Date: Colorado State is 5-6 in games played on Jan. 28, with a 3-1 record at home, and 2-5 away from the friendly confines of Moby Arena. This will be the first meeting between Colorado State and BYU on Jan. 28.
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 17.
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.
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 74. 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 121 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.
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.
