Colorado State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Preview - UMKC
11/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2006
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Game 1: UMKC (1-0) at Colorado State (0-0) Monday Nov. 13, 2006 • 7 p.m. Fort Collins, Colo. • Moby Arena (8,745)
The Match up
The Rams officially open the 2006-07 season Monday night at Moby Arena, playing host the the UMKC Kangaroos.
Rams' Head Coach Jen Warden's squad enters the contest after a 1-1 showing in exhibition play in which the Rams defeated Western State, 72-48, but stumbled in a close battle with Metro State, 84-79.
UMKC is led by Bo Overton, who holds a 20-38 overall record and enters his third season with the Kangaroos of the Mid-Continent Conference.
Overton returns a strong cast of players, including 10 letterwinners and four starters from a season ago, led by senior C Stephanie Brown and junior G Brittny Picconi. Brown was named a preseason first-team All-Conference honoree. Picconi earned a second-team nod, and led the Kangaroos with a 16.5 ppg. scoring average in exhibition play.
In 2005-06, the Kangaroos posted a record of 10-18 and an 8-8 (fifth place) record in conference action.
UMKC opened the season Saturday evening, by defeating Northern Colorado in Kansas City. Led by a team-leading 17 points off the bench from Marta Waalen, the Kangaroos picked up a 71-46 victory.
Metro State Recap
Despite a 29-point effort from junior G Sara Hunter, the Colorado State women's basketball team fell to Metro State College, 84-79, in the team's final exhibition contest.
The Roadrunners were able to open up an early lead as the Rams began the game 0-for-6 from the floor in the first 3:36 of the contest before freshman G Kelly Jo Mullaney put the Rams on the board with a three-pointer.
Down 8-3, the Rams went on an 11-4 run to regain the lead 14-12 with 11:51 remaining in the first half. A Sara Hunter three-pointer sparked the run with 14:41 on the clock. With six minutes remaining in the first half and the and the Rams trailing 23-21, Hunter scored 11 of the Rams' final 13 points of the half to finish with 16 in the games' opening stanza.
After entering the locker room trailing 35-34, the Rams opened the second half on a 14-6 run as Molly Nohr began to heat up from the floor. The senior G scored the Rams' first seven points of the run and CSU jumped out to a 48-41 lead with 16:31 remaining in the contest.
Metro State battled back into the game and tied the contest at 53 with under 11 minutes left to play. Nohr fouled out of the game with 4:24 remaining - in the midst of a 16-5 Metro State run aided by CSU turnovers - and the Rams' were unable to keep pace with the Roadrunners, despite a hard-fought effort from Coach Warden's young squad.
The Roadrunners took a game-high 77-66 lead with 3:50 left to play. Hunter added two more three's late in the contest, and the lineup of Hunter and freshmen Emily Neal, Raysha Ritter, Kelly Jo Mullaney, and Juanise Cornell cut the lead by six, eventually falling by a final of 84-79.
Warden on Monday
Colorado State is 0-0 under head coach Jen Warden when playing on a Monday.
Rams in Season Openers
The Rams are 1-0 in season-opening contests under Jen Warden. Last season, Colorado State defeated Concordia-St. Paul, 83-69 at Moby Arena to begin the season 1-0. The Rams hold a record of 22-10 all-time in season-opening contests, including 6-0 since the 2000 season opener.
Hunter in Exhibition
After a slow start in the Rams' exhibition opener, Junior G Sara Hunter returned to form in the team's second exhibition game against Metro State, dropping in a what would have been a career-high 29 points, had the contest not been exhibition. Hunter shot at a 10-for-18 clip in the game, including 5-for-9 from long range.
Neal Sees First Action
Freshman G Emily Neal saw her first collegiate action in the Rams' exhibition game against Metro State. She was one of four Rams in double-figures in the contest, finishing with 10 points and adding three rebounds and one assist off the bench.
Moulton On The Boards
Senior C Marilyn Moulton (4 points) was quiet from the field against Metro State, but contributed a game-high 13 rebounds. She has two-career double-digit rebounding games.
Block Party
Dating back to last season, Senior C Marilyn Moulton has recorded a block in each of her last five regular-season games.
Sharing the Ball
Four Rams scored in double-figures in each of the team's exhibition contests. Against Western State, senior Marilyn Moulton led the way with 16 points, followed by freshmen Juanise Cornell (12 points), Kelly Jo Mullaney (11 points) and Raysha Ritter (11 points). Against Metro State, Junior Sara Hunter dropped 29 and senior Molly Nohr added 14. The Freshmen still got in on the act, however, as Mullaney once again scored 11 points and Emily Neal chipped in 10.
Double-Double Debut
Freshman Juanise Cornell did not disappoint in her Moby Arena debut against Western State. The 5-10 forward from Azusa California recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to help the Rams to a 72-48 victory. In the Rams' second exhibition game against Metro State, Cornell scored seven points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Taking Care of the Ball
Colorado State committed just eight turnovers in the team's first exhibition game against Western State. That total would have been a season-low for the Rams in 2005-06. Down the stretch, Colorado State was particularly careful, giving the ball away only once in the game's final 18 minutes. No Ram guard committed more than one turnover in the contest, led by Molly Nohr who finished with eight assists to just one turnover.
Sara's Stamina
Junior G Sara Hunter, who led the Rams in minutes per game last season averaging more than 35 per contests, played the entire 40 minutes in both of the Rams' exhibition contests. Last season Hunter played 40+ minutes in four contests.
Home Sweet Home
The Rams open the regular season in the friendly confines of Moby Arena. Last season, the Rams posted a record of 6-8 at home. Overall, since 1974-75, the Rams hold a record of 279-146 (.656) in Moby Arena.
Youth Movement
With seven freshmen on the roster for the 2006-07 season, this year's team ranks as one of the youngest in school history. The last time that a Colorado State women's basketball team featured more than seven freshman was the 1999-2000 season, the first year of the Mountain West Conference. That year, the Rams posted a 23-10 mark, 9-5 in conference action and went on to go 3-1 in the WNIT.
Growing Pains
The Rams enter the 2006-07 season with one of the youngest rosters in the country. Seven of the Rams' 12 players are true freshman, two of which, Kelly Jo Mullaney and Juanise Cornell are expected to be in the starting lineup to begin the season.
Eleven For Mullaney
Freshman G Kelly Jo Mullaney began her career at Colorado State in thrilling fashion, putting together back-to-back 11-point games in the Rams' exhibition schedule, the only freshman on the roster to score in double-digits in both games.
A Little Help From My Friends
Senior G Molly Nohr recorded an assist in the first 28 games last season before being held without an assist in the Rams' final game of the season. Junior G Sara Hunter also notched an assist in 16 of her last 17 games. Nohr (12) led the Rams in assists during exhibition play, followed closely by Hunter and freshman G Kelly Jo Mullaney who each totalled seven.
Hunting for Three's
Junior G Sara Hunter has established herself as one of the deadliest three-point threats in school history in just two seasons with the Rams. As a freshman, Hunter knocked down 47 three's, 14th most in a single-season in school history and her team-leading 63 from last season ranks sixth on that list. Hunter has already cracked the career top-10 list, and on her current pace of 55 three's per season, could end her career second all-time in that category behind former Consensus All-American Becky Hammon (365).
Moulton of Swat
Marilyn Moulton has moved into the top-20 on the career blocked shots chart. The Senior C from Longmont, Colo. has rejected 34 shots in her career and her 2005-06 total of 23 ranked second on the team behind Melissa Dennett. Moulton is also tied for second on the single-game charts after recording five blocks in the Rams near-upset of BYU on March 2, 2005.
Fan Support
Colorado State has had at least 1,000 fans attend each of the last 161 home contests. The last time that the Rams played in front of fewer than 1,000 fans was Jan. 5, 1996 against Idaho State.
Nohr's Accuracy
Molly Nohr hit an impressive 87.1 percent (54-62) from the free throw line during the 2005-06 season, the fourth best percentage in school history (minimum 50 makes). Nohr has also become one of the most accurate three-point shooters in school history. Her career .385 shooting percentage (30-78) from long range currently ranks sixth on the career-charts (minimum 75 attempts).
Rams In Double Digits
The last time that Colorado State was held without a double-digit scorer in a game was March 10, 2001 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament against BYU. The Rams won the game 59-56 to clinch the MWC Tournament Title. The streak now spans 158 regular- and post-season games. The streak was nearly ended last season in the Rams' final game by BYU in the 2006 MWC Tournament. Melissa Dennett was the only Ram to reach double-figures, scoring 10 points to preserve the streak.
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio Key
During the 2005-06 season, the Rams recorded 407 assists, but turned the ball over 533 times. The team notched six contests - Concordia-St. Paul, South Dakota State, Colorado, Portland, Northern Colorado and Wyoming at home - in which the team had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. In those games, the Rams posted a 4-2 record.
Getting Back on Track in Moby
In order to be successful, Colorado State will need to get back on track in Moby Arena. Entering last season, the Rams had recorded double-digit home wins in seven straight seasons and made the postseason in six of those seasons. Colorado State, will play 14 contests in Moby Arena this season.