Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
3-3
Denver
2-5
Recap: Rams' defense overwhelms Denver in 76-49 win
11/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State women's basketball team put together one of its top second-half defensive performances of the season and got season-high scoring nights from Elin Gustavsson, Stine Austgulen and Callie Kaiser in a 76-49 win over the Denver Pioneers on Wednesday night from Moby Arena.
Gustavsson led the Rams (3-3) with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Austgulen had 12 points (4-of-5 three-point shooting) with a team-high five rebounds, while Kaiser added 11 points with four boards. The Rams shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) for the game, including 45.8 shooting (11-fo-24) from three-point range.
Tonight's win was CSU's 18th straight victory at Moby Arena, tying the second-longest home winning streak in program history.
CSU recorded 16 assists to Denver's (2-5) seven, led by a team-high six assists from Ellen Nystrom. The Rams forced 23 turnovers, including 12 in the second half, and allowed only six Pioneer field goals after halftime.
The Rams led by 11 at the half thanks to one of their top first-half shooting performances of the season, firing at a 53 percent clip in the opening half. Gustavsson had the hot hand early, and had already reached a new season-high with 14 points on 6-of-8 first half shooting. Nystrom capped the strong opening half with a half-court three off the glass, giving the Rams a 41-29 advantage heading to halftime.
CSU locked down on defense to stretch its lead beyond 20 points in the third quarter. Beginning at the 6:16 mark in the third, the Rams held the Pioneers without a field goal, and made 7-of-9 to take a 60-35 lead to the final quarter. CSU held serve the rest of the way, allowing only three field goals over the final 16 minutes to seal the 76-49 win.
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IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams
"It was a really nice team win. We got a lot of kids in the basketball game tonight. Some nice performances. I thought our energy defensively was really solid. It was disruptive for the most part all night and three field goals in the last 16 minutes, I believe they had. That's a pretty good second half defensively."
On the development of this year's team compared to last year's team:
"You know, it's interesting. One of our coaches, he statted (input stats) some things from last year, and through the first five games last year, we were almost identical to almost every stat category, even better this year in some categories, from rebounds to points scored. So when you look at it that way - and this group is doing some good things - but when you play Washington, Oklahoma, one of those `power five' schools with some bigger, stronger bodies you have to elevate your game and you get exposed if you are weak in an area. So that's where we, I think, will learn a lot from those games as we go back and are able to practice, but this will be good for us. The kids say they want to play these games, you want to play those really hard games - and we have a tough road ahead of us - but we will continue to get better."
Senior forward Elin Gustavsson
On her role in helping the team to a good start each game:
"Of course, I have a big role on this team. I thought I did a much better job of not thinking during this game. I feel like I have so much to give. I didn't think. I just wanted to be there for my team. I want to have a big role and I want to show them that they can rely on me."
Junior guard Stine Austgulen
On her three-point shooting:
"It is always nice to be back home. We've been on the road for a while. Coach (Ryun Williams) put me in there to shoot it. I got some great passes from my teammates, so all I had to do was knock them down. Of course, it was nice to see them go in."
NOTES
- The Rams matched their second-best home winning streak with their 18th straight home win on Wednesday. The Rams previously won 18 straight at home from 2002-04, and set their record with 21 consecutive home wins from 1998-99.
- With her 20-point performance tonight, Elin Gustavsson moved past Sherry Neely for 17th place on CSU's all-time scoring list. Gustavsson currently has 1,041 career points.
- CSU has won 33 of its past 34 games played at Moby Arena.
- CSU is now 19-9 all-time against Denver.
- The Rams have won four consecutive games against Denver, dating back to 2013.
- CSU has won six consecutive games against other in-state opponents.
- The Rams have won eight of their last nine games against in-state foes.
- Wednesday's contest marks the third time this season that CSU has held its opponent under 50 points.
UP NEXT
The Colorado State women's basketball team continues its homestand this week with matchups against the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions (Friday, Dec. 2) and the Northern Colorado Bears (Sunday, Dec. 4) at Moby Arena. The Rams tip off against the Lady Lions at 7 p.m. MT, and are slated to begin their contest against the Bears at 2 p.m. MT.
