Game Notes: Rams host SDSU in regular-season finale

March 2, 2009

Game No. 29 
Colorado State (9-19, 4-11 MWC) vs. (RV/NR) San Diego State (20-6, 11-3 MWC)
March 4, 2009 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena (8,745) | 7 p.m. MT

Rams host SDSU in regular-season finale... 
The Colorado State women’s basketball team closes out its regular-season schedule on Wednesday Night, hosting the San Diego State Aztecs at 7 p.m. at Moby Arena. 

Wednesday will also mark the final home game for the Rams' four seniors - Kandy Beemer, Britney Minor, Carine Reimink and Amaka Uzomah - who will be honored before the game with a Senior Night celebration. 

Colorado State (9-19, 4-11 MWC), is coming off of a 78-56 road loss to New Mexico, and is looking to snap a two-game skid and improve upon a two-game home winning streak that includes wins over UNLV (85-55) and Air Force (65-54). 

The Aztecs (20-6, 11-3 MWC) rank second in the MWC behind Utah and are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll.  They have won seven of their last eight since defeating CSU, 62-61, on a last-second shot at home last month. 

Wednesday'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.  Kevin McGlue 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.

Rams vs. Aztecs... 
Wednesday's meeting between the Rams and the Aztecs marks the 37th in the series between the two programs.  San Diego State holds a 21-15 advantage all-time, having won three straight games against the Rams.  Colorado State is 9-7 against the Aztecs in Fort Collins, Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference in 1999-2000, CSU is 12-8 against the Aztecs.   

CSU vs. San Diego State series history in MWC... 
2/05/00; L, 58-68 (San Diego)
3/04/00; L, 51-58 (Fort Collins)
2/03/01; W, 55-54 (San Diego)
3/01/01; W, 81-67 (Fort Collins)
1/17/02; W, 58-49 (Fort Collins)
2/16/02; W, 69-60 (San Diego)
2/06/03; L, 47-60 (San Diego)
3/07/03; W, 81-49 (Fort Collins)
1/24/04; L, 55-58 (San Diego)
2/19/04; W, 65-56 (Fort Collins)
1/20/05; W, 63-50 (Fort Collins)
2/19/05; W, 56-49 (San Diego)
1/05/06; W, 68-65 (Fort Collins)
2/04/06; W, 68-55 (San Diego)
4/07/06; W, 69-58 (Denverv
1/20/07; L, 66-78(ot) (San Diego)
2/22/07; W, 67-56 (Fort Collins)
1/30/08; L, 52-86 (San Diego)
3/01/08; L, 56-76 (Fort Collins)
1/31/09; L, 61-62 (San Diego)

More about San Diego State... 
Head coach Beth Burns is in the fourth season of her second stint with San Diego State, her 17th season overall as a head coach and has a career record of 285-201 (.586). 

The Aztecs are led by a trio of talented players, including two preseason all-MWC selections, sophomore center Paris Johnson and junior guard Jene Morris, and junior guard Quenese Davis.  Johnson leads the team in scoring (14.5 ppg.) and rebounding (8.3 rpg.) while shooting 53.9 percent from the floor.  Morris ranks second on the team, averaging 14.2 points per game, while Davis scores 11.5 points per game and averages a conference-leading 5.92 assists per game. 

As a team, San Diego State ranks third in the Mountain West in both scoring offense (64.7 ppg.) and scoring defense (56.7 ppg.), while leading the conference in assists (15.58), steals (11.58) and blocks (5.96) per game.   

Last time out... 
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 at New Mexico.

Mestdagh opened the contest hitting her first three shots 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, 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, and the difference reached 16 points, 46-30, with 14:33 remaining.

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.

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.

Freshman Natalie van den Adel, playing in her first action of the season after sitting out the Rams’ first 27 games, played 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.

Chatilla van Grinsven chipped in with six points, four rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes.  Senior forward Amaka Uzomah pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Rams.

Holt signs on through 2012-13... 
Colorado State Head Coach Kristen Holt on Feb. 5 agreed to a multi-year contract that will keep her at CSU through the 2012-13 season.  The announcement was made by Director of Athletics Paul Kowalczyk. "I would like to thank Dr. Frank and Paul Kowalczyk for the opportunity to remain at Colorado State as the head women's basketball coach," said Holt.  "I am excited about the strides that our team has made this season.  Colorado State has a history of great women's basketball and it is my goal to elevate this program atop the Mountain West and return it to national prominence."

Improvements paying off in win column... 
With last week's win over Air Force, CSU reached nine victories, their most since 2005-06 (9-20).  It also gives CSU regular-season sweeps over two MWC opponents (Air Force and UNLV), marking the first time a Rams team accomplished that feat since 2004-05 (San Diego State and Air Force).  The Rams' five-game improvement over last season's record ranks tied for 18th nationally as of games played Feb. 27. 

Beemer cracks top 10... 
With 58 three-pointers, senior guard Kandy Beemer moved past former teammate Sara Hunter (57, 2006-07) for sole possession of 8th place in the team's single-season record book. 

Getting offensive on the glass... 
Senior forward Amaka Uzomah, who ranks tied for eighth in the MWC with an average of 6.6 rebounds per game, has notched 75 offensive boards for this season.  Uzomah became the first player with back-to-back 70-plus offensive rebounding seasons since Rams standout Melissa Dennett did it three times between 2003-06.  Last season, Uzomah notched 78, good enough for eighth on the all-time list.  As a team, the Rams pulled down 398 offensive boards on the season, the fourth-best single-season team total in school history and the most since the 2007-08 team notched 435 offensive rebounds. 

Minor major at the line... 
Senior forward Britney Minor has made 169 career free throws in two seasons at CSU and cracked the career top 20 at Colorado State vs. Air Force (2/21).  Minor is the only player on the list with less than three seasons at CSU.  Entering Wednesday's game vs. SDSU, Minor is just four free throws shy of becoming the first player since Melissa Dennett, in 2004-05, to record 100 makes from the charity stripe in a single season. 

Cornell heating up the winter months... 
Juanise Cornell has strung together some strong performances for the Rams as of late, averaging 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game over the Rams' last 11 contests.  Cornell's current streak was sparked by a 19-point, 12-rebound performance in leading CSU to a 55-50 victory at Air Force on Jan. 17.  She followed up that performance with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Rams' first matchup with vs. Wyoming (Jan. 24).  She has scored in double-digits in seven of CSU's last 11 games. 

Mestdagh among top freshman shooters... 
Freshman guard Kim Mestdagh has hit 47 three-pointers this season, second on the team behind Kandy Beemer's 58.  She currently ranks tied for second in a single season by a CSU freshman with former standout Sara Hunter (2004-05).  The duo ranks just behind Becky Hammon, who is first with 88 treys as a frosh during the 1995-96 season. 

Long range Rams... 
As a team, Colorado State has notched 162 three-pointers on the season, good enough for 9th on the team single-season charts in the Rams' record book. 

Van den Adel makes CSU Debut... 
Natalie van den Adel's long wait finally ended.  The freshman guard, who served a 27-game NCAA amateurism penalty to start this season, saw her first action in a Rams uniform at New Mexico on Saturday.  Van den Adel tallied five points and two rebounds in 14 minutes in her CSU debut. 

Up next... 
Colorado State is idle for the final weekend of the regular season and will begin preparations for the 2009 Conoco Mountain West Conference Championships, March 10-14, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.  The Rams are in position to enter the tournament as either the seventh or eighth seed. 

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