Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
8-18 (2-13MWC)
BYU
23-3 (13-2MWC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| BYU Cougars | 33 | 36 | 69 |
| Colorado State | 43 | 24 | 67 |
Rams Unable To Hold Off BYU
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2006
Despite a career-high 27 points from sophomore Sara Hunter, the Colorado State women's basketball team (8-18, 2-13 MWC) fell to the No. 16/18 BYU Cougars (23-3, 13-2 MWC), 69-67 in Moby Arena on Thursday night.
The Rams established themselves early in the contest, as Hunter and senior Vanessa Espinoza scored all nine of the Rams opening points to give CSU a 9-5 advantage just four minutes into the game. Hunter hit her first three three-point attempts of the night to give the Rams an early advantage. Colorado State, however, was unable to pull away from the Cougars, and following a 7-2 run of their own the score was tied at 18 with 13 minutes before halftime.
The Rams responded with a 20-7 run, during which junior Marilyn Moulton tallied seven points, to push the lead to 38-25 at the 3:25 mark of the half, and following a three-pointer by BYU, the Rams enjoyed a 10 point halftime cushion, their largest of the conference season.
Espinoza scored the final seven points of the half for the Rams, and finished with 13 points to match Hunter's output for the first half.
The second half looked to be more of the same, as Hunter notched her fourth three of the night to start the scoring and push the Rams' lead back to 13. BYU scored the next seven, cutting the Rams' lead to six points. BYU cut the lead to five points with 14:39 remaining in the game, but another three by Hunter kept the Cougars at bay.
The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes but following a jumper by senior Lindsay Thomas at the 11:15 mark, BYU began a 16-0 run over the next nine minutes to take their first lead of the night, 60-58 with five minutes remaining and extended that lead to eight points, 58-66 with two minutes left.
Once again, it was Espinoza and Hunter who kept the Rams alive. Espinoza knocked down a trey to end the BYU scoring run and cut the deficit to five points, 66-61. With the game within two possessions the Rams fouled, but BYU's Dani Kubik sunk both free throws. Hunter answered with her sixth three of the night. BYU senior Ambrosia Anderson went 1-for-2 from the line with 37.6 seconds left and the Rams got the ball back in Hunter's hands. She responded with her seventh three to the cut the lead to two points, 69-67 with 26 seconds left.
The Rams put BYU freshman Shawnee Slade on the line with 22 seconds remaining, and after two misses, Colorado State had an opportunity to win or send the game to overtime. The Rams got the ball back in to Hunter who faked from three and drove into the lane, but was unable to get a good shot and time ran out on the Rams' comeback bid.
Hunter (27) and Espinoza (16) led the way for the Rams' offense. Espinoza tallied eight assists and a team-season-high six steals, and turned the ball over just once in the contest. As a team, the Rams committed a season-low nine turnovers. Hunter matched a career-high with seven three-pointers in the game and has dropped 19 treys in her last three meetings with the Cougars.
Junior Molly Nohr added nine points and three rebounds before fouling out of the contest and Moulton added seven points, a team-high nine rebounds and a career-high five blocks.
The Rams close out the regular season on the road against Air Force on Saturday afternoon. Tip from Clune Arena is set for 2 p.m.
