Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
9-19, 4-11MWC
New Mexico
19-8, 8-6MWC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State | 26 | 30 | 56 |
| New Mexico | 34 | 44 | 78 |
Lobos down Rams, 78-56, at The Pit
2/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2009
By Danny Mattie
Athletic Media Relations
ALBUQERQUE, N.M. – Freshman guard Kim Mestdagh tallied a game-high 18 points, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, but Colorado State fell 78-56 on Saturday afternoon to the New Mexico Lobos in front of 8,798 fans at The Pit.
The Rams (9-19, 4-11 MWC) led for just 32 seconds after Britney Minor’s jump shot at the 19:32 opened the scoring, and a 6-0 UNM run over the next two minutes gave the Lobos (19-8, 8-6 MWC) a lead that they would not relinquish.
"I think the thing that I really have felt all year is that we're a team that fights to stay in ball games,” said Head Coach Kristen Holt. “I thought that Kim, not just because of the way she scored, but I just thought she kept fighting. We have all got to pick it up to the point where we don't give up. That's the thing that I’m disgusted with now. I just feel like we hit a point, and we didn't grind it out and do what we had to do to stay in the game.”
Mestdagh opened the contest hitting her first three from long range, and kept CSU in the game early on after her third trey of the first half cut the Lobos’ advantage to 26-21 with 4:32 remaining before halftime.
Sophomore guard Bonnie Barbee added a pair of three-pointers of her own and scored all eight of her points in the first half, as CSU went into the locker room down eight points, 34-26.
A Mestdagh lay-in to open the second half cut the CSU deficit to 34-28, but UNM scored 12 of the game’s next 14 points, capped by a three-pointer from Littleton, Colo., native Amanda Adamson and the difference reached 16 points, 46-30, with 14:33 remaining in the contest.
Mestdagh’s fourth-and-final three-pointer at the 8:12 mark got CSU to within 12 points, 58-46, but the Lobos stamped out any hope of a Rams’ comeback, scoring the game’s next 11 points, including six consecutive by 6-foot, 6-inch center Valerie Kast, to push the lead past 20 points and put the game out of reach.
"I'm not going to take away from New Mexico,” added Holt. “They are a good team, and they are very good at home. They hit shots and did some good thing. I want our team to be known as the team that is going to outwork their opponent and there are certain things that maybe we can't help, but today I just felt like we didn't play hard and we have to figure that out."
Mestdagh’s 18 points was two points shy of her career-high and marked a new personal best vs. an MWC opponent. She also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal, in 31 minutes of action in her 12th start of the season.
“I really like the way she stepped up,” said Holt of Mestdagh’s scoring outburst. “She has been locked in at practice and I thought she played really well today.”
Four Lobos tallied double-figures scoring led by junior guard Amy Beggin’s 14 points and five assists. Freshman guard Lauren Taylor added a career-high 13 points in just 10 minutes of action, while senior center Angela Hartill and Kast added 10 points each.
Senior forward Amaka Uzomah and Hartill tied for the game high, pulling down eight rebounds for their respective squads.
Freshman Natalie van den Adel, playing in her first action of the season after sitting out the Rams’ first 27 games, saw action early in the contest, checking in at the first media timeout just 4:07 into the game. She finished with five points and two rebounds in 14 minutes.
“It was a good game for Natalie, to get going,” added Holt. “Overall, she played pretty well in her first game.”
Chatilla van Grinsven chipped in with six points, four rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes.
The Rams now have one game remaining on their regular-season slate, and return home to Moby Arena on Wednesday when they will host San Diego State for “Senior Day.” Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. Tickets are available by calling 1-800/491-Rams, or online at CSURams.com.
