Colorado State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Preview: vs. Wyoming
2/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2006
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Game 24: Wyoming (18-6, 8-5 MWC) at Colorado State (8-16, 2-11 MWC) February 25, 2006 • 2:00 p.m. Fort Collins, Colo. • Moby Arena (7,845)
The Matchup: Colorado State and Wyoming will face off in the second Border War to be televised nationally on CSTV. The first meeting between the rivals went to overtime, with the Cowgirls winning 87-80. The Rams look to snap a four game losing skid, while Wyoming is coming off back-to-back wins over ranked opponents.
Scouting Wyoming: The Cowgirls are led by current Mountain West Player of the Week Hanna Zavecz with 14.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Guard Jodi Bolerjack is also averaging double figures with 12.8 points a contest. The Cowgirls rank in the top five in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 13 a contest. Wyoming has made 89 more three-pointers than its opponents and are averaging 6.9 triples a game this season.
Last Time Out: The Rams dropped an 83-57 decision at TCU on Wednesday evening. Colorado State was led by senior forward Melissa Dennett with 17 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Sara Hunter was also in double figures with 13 points and hit three three-pointers in the contest. Both Hunter and senior center Lindsay Thomas both went 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Block Party: With her two blocks against TCU, Melissa Dennett became just the second player in school history (Teresa James) to record 30 or more blocked shots in three consecutive seasons. The senior ranks third on the career charts with 99 swats and her 30 blocks this season ranks 10th on the single-season list.
Triple Threat: Sara Hunter hit three three-pointers against TCU on Wednesday, bringing her season total to 51. She becomes one of only seven players in school history to make 50 or more long shots in a year, as she is tied for ninth on the single-season charts with 51. The other players to make 50 or more in a year: Becky Hammon (4), Katie Cronin (2), Ashley Augspurger, Vanessa Espinoza, Heather Haanen and Jacque Johnson.
Helping Hands: The game at TCU marked the fifth time this season the Rams had seven players record at least one assist in the game. In every game this year, Colorado State has had at least five players with an assist.
Shooting WIth A Purpose: Sara Hunter went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, giving her a .958 percentage for the year (23-24). Hunter has now made 15 straight and is a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in conference play. Junior guard Liz Kramer has also made eight straight free throws and is 11-of-12 from the line in league play.
Senior Boards: Lindsay Thomas has notched at least five rebounds in 14 of the last 15 games and Melissa Dennett has done the same in nine of the last 10. The duo account for 15.4 rebounds per game or 46.5 percent of the team's boards.
Opponents At The Arc: In Mountain West Conference play, opponents are taking 7.4 more three-point shots than the Rams. Colorado State has taken 163 from beyond the arc, while the opposition has taken 259. The Rams are shooting .344 (56-163) from beyond the arc, while the opponents are hitting at a .359 (93-259) clip.
Board Exams: For the second straight year Melissa Dennett has recorded over 200 rebounds. Dennett also has a career-high 50 assists, surpassing her previous high of 31 from last year.
Kramer Assists: Liz Kramer has had multiple assists in each of the last nine games, including a career-high tying seven at UNLV. In the last four road games, Kramer has tallied 15 assists (3.75 per game) to bring her season average to 2.0 per contest.
Hitting 100: Junior center Marilyn Moulton notched her 100th rebound of the season with her fifth at TCU and now has 225 for her career. The 100 is a season-high.
Dishing Them Out: With two more assists each, Sara Hunter and Liz Kramer will record their 50th assist of the year, giving the Rams five players with 50 or more. The last time Colorado State had five players with 50 or more assists was in 2002-03.
Lucky Number 14: Vanessa Espinoza became the 14th player in school history and the third Ram this season to surpass 1,000 career points as she now has 1,006. Seniors Melissa Dennett and Lindsay Thomas also eclipsed the one-grand total earlier this year and now have 1,149 and 1,137, respectively. It marks the first time in school history that three players have hit 1,000 points in the same season, though not the first time three 1,000 point scorers have played together at CSU.
Cleaning The Glass: Lindsay Thomas became just the seventh player in school history to record 700 rebounds with her last at UNLV. Thomas is the first player since Katie Cronin (1995-99) to grab her 700th board. She is now 43 shy of sixth place on the list (Jane Lange, 1979-83).
It's All In A Half: The outcome of the first half of play this season has predominantly told the tale of the end of the game. The Rams are 7-2 this year when leading at the half and just 1-14 when they enter the locker room trailing after the first 20 minutes.
Land Of The Free (Throw): Both starting guards, Vanessa Espinoza and Sara Hunter have been great from the free throw line this season. Espinoza is a perfect 12-for-12 in conference play and has made her last 13, while Hunter is 23-for-24 on the season and has sunk 15 straight, dating back to the Portland game.
Leading The Way: Melissa Dennett has either led the team or tied for the team lead in scoring the last five games and in 15 of the 24 games this season. Over the last five games, Dennett has averaged 15.6 points per game.
Senior Record: Melissa Dennett now holds the school record by a senior for offensive rebounds with 77. The previous record of 73 was held by Jennifer Halbach from the 1987-88 seasons. Dennett's 77 o-boards also ranks sixth on the CSU single-season charts and is just 15 shy of the record of 92 by Shannon Randles (1996-97).
The Little Blocker: Molly Nohr became the first player under six feet tall at CSU to record 10 blocks in a season since Heather Haanen recorded 11 in 2000-01. Nohr is one of four Rams to have 10 or more blocked shots this season.
She's Smart Too: Lindsay Thomas was recently named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII First Team for the third straight season and has now been forwarded to the national ballot for Academic All-American. Thomas is an English and social work double major with a 3.99 grade point average.
Tick-Tock: Colorado State has three players averaging 30 or more minutes a game and two more that are at 29. Sara Hunter leads the team with 34.6 minutes per contest, while Vanessa Espinoza is at 31.9, though she missed three games. Melissa Dennett is at 30.3, while Lindsay Thomas is at 29.7 and Molly Nohr averages 29.0 per contest.
Dump It Inside: Molly Nohr has 83 assists this season and 57 of those are to post players, or 68.7 percent. Nohr leads the team with 3.46 assists per game, which also ranks sixth in the Mountain West Conference and she is also fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.47.
No Doubles: Colorado State has not allowed an individual on the opposing team to reach double figures in rebounds in the last eight games. TCU was the last team to have someone notch double digit rebounds on Jan. 21 when both Lori Rayford (10) and Natasha Lacy (11) were in double figures.
Perfection Achieved: Colorado State, for just the third time in school history, was perfect from the free throw line in a game (minimum 10 attempts). The Rams were a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe, with Melissa Dennett, Lindsay Thomas, Vanessa Espinoza, Liz Kramer and Molly Nohr each sinking a pair. The other two times the team was perfect from the line both came against Mountain West foes. The Rams made 16-of-16 against Utah on Mar. 3, 1989, while they were 13-for-13 at Wyoming on Mar. 2, 1985.
Building Blocks: Colorado State has recorded at least one blocked shot in the last 65 Mountain West Conference games, dating back to a 62-57 victory over UNLV on Jan. 19, 2002. The Rams have also had at least one block in 23 of the 24 games this season, led by Melissa Dennett's 30.
Contributing: All seven players that have seen action in all 24 games this season have scored in double figures in at least one game. Melissa Dennett leads the way with 18 double figure games, while Lindsay Thomas has done so 15 times. Sara Hunter (13), Molly Nohr (7), Marilyn Moulton (3), Casie Shepherd (4) and Liz Kramer (1) round out the team's double figure scoring games.
Lots of Time: Lindsay Thomas has played in all 115 games during her career at Colorado State and has made 51 consecutive starts and 86 throughout the last four years. Vanessa Espinoza has missed just four games in her four seasons, playing in 111 and starting in 80, and had her string of 56 consecutive starts snapped at BYU. Melissa Dennett has played in 91 games for the Rams, breaking her consecutive string of 78 starts against Utah, where she came off the bench.
Hitting Their Shots: Colorado State leads the Mountain West Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.373) and free throw percentage (.759). In conference games only, the Rams are second in both categories, connecting on .351 of three-point attempts and .773 of free throws. The Rams also lead in blocked shots in league action, averaging 3.58 per contest.
Best In the Mountain West: Melissa Dennett leads the Mountain West Conference in rebounds per game with 8.5 a contest and is also on top in offensive rebounds with 3.35 per game. She is also fourth in field-goal percentage (.512) and scoring (14.9). Vanessa Espinoza ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (.453) and is fourth in free throw percentage (.833), while Sara Hunter is third in three-pointers per game (2.09). In conference games only, Molly Nohr is tied for second in free throw percentage (.889), Dennett is second in rebounds (8.6) and fourth in scoring (15.1) and Espinoza is third in three-point field goal percentage (.480).
Among The Nation's Leaders: Colorado State currently ranks 3rd in the nation in free throw percentage (.765) and 28th in three-point field-goal percentage (.373). Statistics are through games played on February 13. The nation's leader in free throw percentage is Northern Iowa at .784.
Fan Support: Colorado State has had at least 1,000 fans attend each of the last 157 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 now the most prolific shot blocking duo in school history. Dennett has 99 career blocks and Thomas has 81 for a total of 180. They passed the tandem of Shannon Strecker and Ashley Augspurger, who combined to block 175 shots during their careers (1999-2003).
Quite A Stretch: Colorado State has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 128 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.
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 - February 20, February 27 and March 6.
