Colorado State University Athletics
Game Notes: Rams hit road to face streaking Cougars
1/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game No. 15
Colorado State (5-9, 0-1 MWC) at BYU (10-2, 0-0 MWC)
Jan. 10, 2009 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Marriott Center (22,700) | 3 p.m. MT
Rams hit road to face streaking Cougars...
The Colorado State women’s basketball team continues Mountain West Conference action on Saturday when the Rams travel to Provo, Utah, to face the BYU Cougars. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. MT from the Marriott Center.
The Rams (5-9, 0-1) enter the contest looking for their first road win of the season, and are coming off of a 74-53 home loss to TCU that snapped a two-game winning streak.
BYU (10-2, 0-0) opens Mountain West Conference play on an eight-game winning streak, but has been idle since a Jan. 3 victory at Portland.
Saturday’s contest will be broadcast live on AM 1410 KIIX in the Fort Collins area. Brian Roth, in his eighth season behind the mic for the Rams, calls all the action. Nick Sebesta will provide color commentary. Live game audio will also be available via Rams All-Access subscription on CSURams.com.
Live statistics are available free of charge on CSURams.com by clicking on the “Gametracker” icon on the calendar of the home page or from the women’s basketball schedule page.
The game will also be televised live on BYUTV (Comcast 232 in Fort Collins) with Jarom Jordan and Kristen Kozlowski calling the game.
Rams vs. Cougars...
Saturday’s contest between the Rams and the Cougars marks the 68th in the series between the two schools. BYU owns a 45-22 advantage in the all-time series, and has won 10 straight since the Rams won 15 of 19 meetings between 1994 and 2004.
CSU vs. BYU series history in MWC...
1/20/00; W, 63-52 (Provo)
2/17/00; W, 84-74 (Fort Collins)
3/10/00; L, 69-77 (Las Vegas)
1/20/01; L, 55-66 (Provo)
2/15/01; W, 77-72 (Fort Collins)
3/10/01; W, 59-56 (Las Vegas)
1/10/02; W, 81-64 (Provo)
2/09/02; W, 75-65 (Fort Collins)
1/16/03; L, 56-71 (Provo)
2/15/03; W, 71-70 (Fort Collins)
1/15/04; W, 54-52 (Fort Collins)
2/14/04; W, 72-64 (Provo)
1/15/05; L, 54-74 (Provo)
2/10/05; L, 47-59 (Fort Collins)
3/09/05; L, 65-70 (Denver)
1/28/06; L, 54-70 (Provo)
3/02/06; L, 67-69 (Fort Collins)
3/08/06; L, 45-65 (Denver)
1/18/07; L, 56-69 (Provo)
2/17/07; L, 50-67 (Fort Collins)
1/12/08; L, 39-60 (Fort Collins)
2/13/08; L, 44-59 (Provo0
More about BYU...
Head coach Jeff Judkins is in his eighth season at the helm of the Cougars program, where he has compiled a record of 149-80, and returns 12 letterwinners and two starters from last season’s team that posted a 13-16 mark (7-9 MWC) and missed the postseason for just the second time in Judkins’ tenure.
The Cougars are led by senior forward Shawnee Slade, who averages a team-most 11.8 points per game and ranks second in rebounding at 5.5 boards per game.
Colorado product Mindy Nielson is one of four players on the Cougars roster (along with senior center Cassie King and sophomore forward Keilani Moeaki) to start all 12 games. Nielson, averages 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, while dishing out a team-best 45 assists. King is the team’s top rebounder (5.5 rpg) and shoots 62.7 percent from the field.
BYU was selected to finish fifth in the MWC preseason coaches poll, but the Cougars are off to a strong start, having won eight straight heading into Saturdays’ game.
Last time out...
Kandy Beemer, Kim Mestdagh and Juanise Cornell combined for 29 first-half points on 11-for-23 shooting and the Rams’ defense held TCU scoreless for the first 2 minutes, 30 seconds of the contest. However, the Lady Frogs eventually found their form from the field and the Rams’ trio of Beemer, Mestdagh and Cornell struggled to the tune of two points on 1-for-13 shooting in the second half.
The Rams found themselves down just eight points, 61-53, with 7:40 remaining in the game, but the Lady Frogs closed the game on a 13-0 run to come away with the 74-53 victory in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
Beemer finished as the Rams’ leading scorer with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting from long range, all in the first half. She also pulled down a career-high six rebounds.
Mestdagh finished with 11 points and four assists and Cornell added eight points and seven rebounds.
Amaka Uzomah earned her first start of the season and led the Rams with 10 rebounds. She also added seven points.
TCU’s Emily Carter tallied a career-high with 24 points, and TK LaFleur posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Long-range Rams...
Colorado State three-point threats Kandy Beemer and Kim Mestdagh currently rank tied for fourth and 10th, respectively, in the Mountain West Conference for three-pointers made per game. Beemer averages 2.36 per game, just ahead of Mestdagh (1.79). Colorado State and Utah (Kalee Whipple and Morgan Warburton) are the only two schools to have two players ranked in the top 10 on the list.
Uzomah’s rebounding in MWC...
Senior forward Amaka Uzomah pulled down a team-leading 10 rebounds in the Rams’ game against TCU on Wednesday. It marked the 20th games against the MWC (including the MWC tournament) that Uzomah has pulled down double-digit rebounds. After a slow start, one rebound in last year’s MWC opener at UNLV, Uzomah has recorded at least five boards in all but one game against an MWC opponent, including 12 straight games with nine or more rebounds.
Mestdagh becoming a regular...
Freshman guard Kim Mestdagh has become a regular on the court for the Rams, and has started eight of the Rams’ last 10 games. During that stretch, Mestdagh is leading the team with 10.4 points per game. Mestdagh also ranks second on the team during that stretch pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range to go along with team-leading totals of 18 assists and 12 steals.
Simmons from the stripe...
Sophomore guard Zoi Simmons was perfect (13-for-13) from the free-throw line in the Rams’ two games at the Wells Fargo New Year’s Classic and leads the Rams with a free-throw percentage of .909 (20-for-22). Simmons has improved her free-throw shooting dramatically since her freshman season, when she connected on just 30-for-49 (.612) from the charity stripe.
Turnaround among tops in NCAA...
At 5-9, Colorado State has already surpassed its win-total from all of 2007-08, and has posted one of the top turnarounds in the NCAA this season. Through games played Jan. 4, the Rams rank tied for 13th with an increase of one win, alongside Delaware and Miami (Fla.). Fordham (+7) ranks atop the list, followed by Alabama (+4). Hofstra, Central Connecticut State and Colgate (+3) are tied for third, while Kent State, Central Michigan, Washington State, Mercer, Eastern Washington, Cal State Northridge, and Sam Houston State (+2) are tied for sixth.
Starting for the Rams?...
Head Coach Kristen Holt, searching for the right combination, has used six different starting lineups for the Rams this season. Two players, seniors Kandy Beemer and Britney Minor, have started all 14 games for the Rams, while Carine Reimink has missed her first start of the season last time out vs. TCU. Junior Juanise Cornell has started 10 times, followed by freshman Kim Mestdagh’s eight starting nods and sophomores Zoi Simmons’ four starts. Two players, sophomore Bonnie Barbee and freshman Chatilla van Grinsven, have each started three games.
The following is a breakdown of the Rams’ won-loss record by starting lineup:
• Beemer, Mestdagh, Minor, Cornell, Reimink 3 (2-1)
vs. N. Colorado (W), at Montana (L), vs. UNI (W)
• Beemer, Mestdagh, Minor, van Grinsven, Reimink 3 (1-2)
vs. Denver (L), at UTSA (L), vs. Prairie View A&M (W)
• Beemer, Barbee, Minor, Cornell, Reimink 3 (1-2)
at Wichita State (L), at Colorado (L), vs. Idaho (W)
• Beemer, Simmons, Minor, Cornell, Reimink 3 (1-2)
vs. Valparaiso (L), at Creighton (L), vs. South Dakota (W)
• Beemer, Simmons, Mestdagh, Minor, Reimink 1 (0-1)
vs. Murray State (L)
• Beemer, Mestdagh, Minor, Cornell, Uzomah 1 (0-1)
vs. TCU (L)
Up next...
Colorado State travels to Las Vegas, Nev., for a conference matchup with the UNLV on Wednesday. The Rams and the Rebels are scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT from the Cox Pavilion.
