Colorado State University Athletics
Game notes: CSU looks to bounce back at ASU
12/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2010
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Colorado State vs. Colorado | Game 9 |
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Rams travel to Arizona State...
Colorado State (5-3) is on the road for its second game in a row at Arizona State. Tipoff will be at 2:30 p.m. MT Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena (14,198).
The Rams last competed against the Sun Devils on March 16, 2000, at Moby Arena. CSU won the matchup, 66-54, as the Rams improved to 21-9 on the season.
The game will be broadcast live on AM 1410 KIIX. Matt Wozniak calls all the action. Live game audio will also be available via Rams All-Access subscription on CSURams.com.
Live stats are available on CSURams.com by clicking the link on the calendar of the home page or on the women's basketball schedule page.
Rams vs. Sun Devils series...
Colorado State plays Arizona State for the ninth time Saturday. The Sun Devils lead the series, 6-2, overall and they are 3-0 in Tempe, Ariz.
About Arizona State...
Arizona State is off to a 5-2 start, with losses to ranked teams No. 4/4 Tennessee and No. 15/14 Florida State. ASU is currently on a two-game win streak with wins at home over Cal-Poly and New Mexico. A 28-4 run at the end of the first half and into the second in the ASU Classic championship game vs. UNM allowed the Sun Devils to turn a two-point deficit into a 22-point lead. Senior Dymond Simon, the tournament's MVP, scored 10 consecutive points over a 2:15 span during the beginning of ASU's run late in the first half. The Lobos would come within 15 points, but were never able to regain the lead.
The Sun Devils are out-scoring their opponents by 7.6 points this season and out-rebounding them by 5.1. They are on top of every category except for field-goal percentage and three-point field-goal percentage.
Dymond is the lone player averaging double digits with 14.3 points per game this season. Senior Becca Tobin and junior Kimberly Brandon are the leaders defensively. The two average 7.0 and 6.7 rebounds per game, respectively.
Last time out...
Colorado State ended its five-game win streak with a loss to in-state rival Colorado, 73-49, Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.
The winning streak of the Rams (5-3) came to a hault as the Buffaloes (7-2) out-shot the team 41.9 percent to 30.0 percent from the field. CSU juniors Chatilla van Grinsven and Kim Mestdagh, and freshman Sam Martin scored double digits for the Rams with 16, 10 and 10, respectively. Mestdagh, who has hit at least five three-point shots in the last five contests, was held scoreless behind the arc. van Grinsven went to the free-throw line eight times, making six free throws. The team shot only 57.9 percent (11-19) from the line, a season low.
Early fouls also hurt the Rams. Mestdagh sat out for most of the first half with two, playing only 9 minutes. van Grinsven was also in trouble with four fouls with 7:35 left in the game. Chantel Kennedy, who until today did not have more than three fouls in a game this season, was nailed with her fourth 3 minutes into the second half and sat out the remainder of the game.
The game was kept to a low score in the first half, as the Rams trailed 26-16 going into the locker room. CSU improved its field-goal percentage from 26.9 percent to 32.5 percent in the second half, but the team couldn’t get its shots to fall.
Colorado’s Chucky Jeffery led the Buffaloes with 21 points, 19 of which came in the second half. She also grabbed 13 rebounds, marking her fifth double-double on the season.
At the line...
Early in the season the Rams have already stamped their footprint in the Mountain West Conference statistical standings. CSU has improved its free-throw percentage to a third-place 73.0 percent (119-163) in the league, up from 69.6 percent last season.
Junior Kim Mestdagh is off to a good start in 2010 at the line. She has hit 89.7 percent of her shots (26-29), which leads the conference this season.
Sophomore Meixandra Porter has proven to be a clutch performer from the free-throw line for the Rams. On Nov. 21 at North Dakota, she kept CSU on top in the final seconds, hitting four of five free throws.
In the MWC books...
Colorado State has made a leap in the Mountain West Conference statistical records with its 5-3 record. The team is third in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 66.8 points per game. The Rams are fifth in field-goal percentage with 40.4 percent, and they are third in three-point field-goal percentage, averaging 34.0 percent. The team has made the fourth most three-point field-goals in the league, averaging 6.4 per game. The Rams are second in the assists column, averaging 15.9 per game, and they are third in steals with 8.9 per game.
On the defensive side of the ball CSU is fourth in assist/turnover ratio, with 0.8 more assists than turnovers pre game. It's fifth in rebounding offense, pulling down an average of 39.6 boards per game, and it's fifth in rebounding defense, allowing only 37.4 boards from its opponents. The team is fifth in rebounding margin, grabbing 2.2 more rebounds than its foes. They are fifth in defensive rebounds, averaging 26.8 per game.
Startin' Martin...
Freshman Sam Martin has started 100 percent of the Rams' games this season, and at this rate would start the most by a CSU freshman since Sarah Hunter in 2004-05. Averaging 28.4 minutes per game (second most) has had an impact in the Mountain West conference record books. She is currently ranked in the top 15 in four statistical categories. Martin is ranked 14th in rebounding, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. The Colorado native is ranked seventh in field-goal percentage with 49.3 percent. She is tied in seventh for blocked shots per game with 1.0 and she is also ranked third for most offensive boards per game with 3.0.
Crashing the boards...
Junior Chatilla van Grinsven leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game, which is 10th best in the conference. An all-tournament team selection in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational, she pulled down a career-high eight offensive boards vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Nov. 28, helping the Rams score 19 second-chance points. She is first in the Mountain West in offensive rebounds with 3.4 per game.
Filling the stat sheet...
Sophomore Chantel Kennedy leads Colorado State in both assists and steals this season with 31 and 19, respectively. Her 2.4 steals and 3.9 assists per game rank third and seventh in the conference. In the Rams' game vs. Texas Southern on Nov. 27, Kennedy assisted a career-high nine shots and tied a career-high with five steals.
Kennedy's assist-to-turnover ratio is also first in the league and 27th in the nation. With 31 assists and just 13 turnovers through eight games this season, she averages 2.4 assists to every turnover.
An early present for the holidays...
There's only one more game until junior Kelly Hartig will play in her first contest as a Ram wearing number 13. After sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules, Hartig will be eligible to play beginning Dec. 20 vs. South Dakota.
Hartig brings a wealth of experience from Virginia, as her team advanced to the NCAA tournament's second round in 2008-09. A Colorado native from Highlands Ranch, the forward earned Most Improved Player for the Cavaliers her sophomore year.
Improved RPI...
Colorado State closed the 2009-10 season with an NCAA RPI of 175, which is up 19 spots from the 2008-09 season.
Under Head Coach Kristen Holt’s watch, the Rams’ RPI has steadily improved. In 2007-08, the year before Holt took over, CSU closed the year at No. 309, and improved to 194th following the 2008-09 campaign. Factoring in last season’s 175 final RPI, the Rams have improved by 134 spots in the last two seasons.
Mestdagh record watch...
With two seasons left, junior Kim Mestdagh is already making an impact in the Rams' record books. The second-highest point scorer (18.9 ppg) in the Mountain West is on pace to crack the top-15 this season on CSU's all-time career points list. After eight games this season, she has 871 career points.
To date Mestdagh has reached double figures in all eight of the Rams' games this season. The Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational MVP for the second-consecutive year recorded two 17-point games, hitting five three-pointers in each contest, with an 85.7 field-goal percentage vs. Texas Southern. She also assisted a team-high five shots and forced four steals vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
This season the Belgium native is in the top two in the Mountain West in scoring (18.9; second), three-point field-goal percentage (.470; second) and three-point field goals made (31; first).
Mestdagh's 47.0 three-point field-goal percentage is the highest among all players at CSU in a single season with at least 50 attempts. She is 31-66 from beyond the arc this season.
Mestdagh recorded a career-high 32 points at North Dakota on Nov. 21, her second game she's scored at or above 30 points in her career. The Belgium native notched her second career double-double earlier this season vs. Northern Iowa on Nov. 12 with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The following is a list of Mestdagh's current spot in CSU's all-time record books:
Points Per Game (min. 45 games)
9. 12.62 Mestdagh (871/69)
3-Point Field Goals Made
7. 171 Mestdagh (465)
3-Point Field-Goal Attempts
7. 465 Mestdagh (171)
3-Pt Field-Goal % (Based on 75 attempts)
11. .368 Mestdagh (171-465)
Free-Throw % (Based on 100 attempts)
10. .768 Mestdagh (106-138)
Coors Light Coaches’ Show...
The Coors Light Basketball Coaches’ Show airs Mondays at 6 p.m. MT, live from the Beach House Grill in Old Town Fort Collins, and will continue throughout the season until Feb. 28. Shows air live on the Colorado State Sports Network’s Flagship, KLZ (560 AM). A complete schedule can be found on the bottom of Page 4 of this release.
Up next...
Colorado State is home for one game hosting South Dakota on Dec. 20. Tipoff will be at 2 p.m. MT at Moby Arena. The Rams defeated the Coyotes last season, 52-47, at Moby Arena.