Preview: Rams close non-conference schedule on Wednesday at Montana

Dec. 20, 2016

Colorado State Rams (7-4) at Montana Lady Griz (3-7)
Wednesday, Dec. 21 | 7 p.m. MT| Dahlberg Arena (7,200) | Missoula, Mont.
Coverage: KARS 102.9 FM | Live Stats | Griz All Access (fee required)

Tickets: CSURams.com/tickets
Twitter: @CSUWomensBball | @CSURamsGameday | @CSURams

CSU Women's Basketball Weekly Release 

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State women's basketball team will close its non-conference schedule this Wednesday, as the Rams travel to Missoula, Mont. for a road contest at Montana.

Opening tip for CSU's (7-4) game at Montana (3-7) is set for 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday. The Rams final non-conference contest can be followed free of charge through live audio and live stats. Each are accessible through the links above or on the women's basketball schedule page on CSURams.com. Live audio will be carried as usual by KARS 102.9 via the CSU Radio Network, while Montana will provide live stats on gogriz.com.  Live video is available via Montana's Griz All Access, but a fee is required.

The Rams are still searching for their first road win after facing each of then-No. 17/15 Washington, then-No. 13/12 Oklahoma, then-No. 18 Colorado and Nebraska in one of the nation's most daunting road schedules. CSU is the nation's only team to face three top-20 opponents on the road this year. All seven of the Rams' wins have come at home, including their program-record 22nd consecutive win at Moby Arena on Sunday (W vs. Seattle, 66-62).

The Lady Griz are 3-2 at home and 3-7 overall. Montana's home wins came against Great Falls, Incarnate Word and Rocky Mountain. Montana fell to common foe Seattle, 66-62, and dropped contests against Mountain West foes Utah State (65-47) and Wyoming (67-42).

A CSU Win Would...
- Mark CSU's first victory in a true road contest this season.
- Break a tie in the all-time series between the two schools. CSU and Montana have met eight times previously, with each school claiming four victories.
- Be Ryun Williams' 98th win as CSU head coach.

Layups
- The Rams recently broke the program's home win streak record, collecting their 22nd consecutive victory at home. The streak is tied for the fourth-longest in the nation. CSU trails only UConn, Baylor and Army.
- CSU entered this week as one of the top teams in the nation in terms of protecting the basketball. As a team, the Rams rank 14th in the nation for fewest turnovers per game (13.0).
- The Rams have also been productive from the three-point arc, ranking 11th in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (9.3). Junior guard Hannah Tvrdy leads the MW in three-point field goal percentage (.514), while Stine Austgulen and Tvrdy each rank 10th in the conference in three-pointers per game (1.7).
- Nystrom and Elin Gustavsson have paced the Rams in scoring, averaging 15.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Gustavsson and Nystrom recently became the 18th and 19th players in program history to reach 1,000 career points, respectively. 
- Nystrom and Gustavsson also lead the team in rebounding, averaging 7.3 and 6.5 rebounds per game, respectively. Nystrom has two double-doubles this season, while Gustavsson has one.
- Tvrdy ranks third on the Rams in each of those categories, averaging 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game so far this season. Tvrdy leads the team and ranks third in the MW in field goal percentage (.551), while Gustavsson places sixth in the MW in that category (.511).
- Nystrom also ranks within the top 10 in the Mountain West in scoring (fifth - 15.3 points per game), rebounding (ninth - 7.3 per game), assists (fourth - 4.5 per game), free throw percentage (ninth - .813) and steals per game (fifth - 2.0). Sophomore Callie Kaiser also ranks amongst the league's free throw leaders, ranking ninth with a .815 percentage from the charity stripe.

Record Watch
- Ellen Nystrom now has 1,111 points for her career, ranking 16th on CSU's all-time scoring list and 63 points behind No. 15 Jane Lange (1,174 points). Elin Gustavsson is 17th on that list with 1,082 points, placing her 92 points back of Lange.
- In addition to her scoring prowess, Nystrom also currently places third all-time on the Rams' career assists list with 461. Nystrom recently passed Deb Spickler, who now ranks fourth with 455 assists, and is 62 behind Dee Dee Dominguez for the No. 2 spot. Dominguez, who played for the Rams from 1992-96, tallied 523 career assists. Becky Hammon is CSU's all-time assists leader with 538 for her career.
- Nystrom also ranks within CSU's top-10 rebounds leaders all-time with 691 for her career. Nystrom recently passed Melissa Dennett for CSU's No. 9 spot on the list, and is 41 behind Lindsay Thomas (2002-06), who ranks eighth with 732.
- Nystrom needs seven steals to break into the top 10 of CSU's all-time steals list. Nystrom has 156 for her career, just behind Kathy Lightfoot's total of 163.
- Gustavsson is nearing the top 10 all-time career blocks leaders at CSU, needing 12 more to enter the list. Ninth place on the list is a three-way tie between Ashley Augspurger (1999-03), Shannon Randles (1995-99) and Janie Schieffelin (1978-82).

Scouting Montana
- The Lady Griz hold a 3-7 record entering Wednesday's matchup, with wins over Great Falls, Incarnate Word and Rocky Mountain.
- Montana has one common opponent with CSU in Seattle. The Lady Griz fell to the Redhawks, 60-44, while the Rams defeated the Redhawks, 66-62, on Sunday.
- Wednesday's contest marks the ninth time that CSU and Montana have met. Each have won four of the previous eight games.
- As a team, Montana stacks up well nationally as far as fouls and turnovers committed. The Lady Griz commit the 12th fewest fouls per game in the nation (13.8), and rank 46th in the country for fewest turnovers per game (14.0).
- Montana is averaging 52.7 points per game on .320 shooting over its first 10 games. The Lady Griz are led offensively by Taylor Goligoski, who averages 12.1 points per game.

Defend Moby
- With its win against Seattle on Dec. 18, CSU recorded its 22n straight win, setting the program record for its longest home winning streak in program history. The Rams had previously won 21 consecutive games at Moby Arena during 1998-99.
- With the win streak that dates back to last season, the Rams currently have the fourth-longest active home winning streak in the country. CSU trails only UConn, Baylor and Army in that category.
- Under head coach Ryun Williams, the Rams broken program records for longest winning streak (28 in 2015-16), longest road winning streak (12 in 2015-16) and now, longest home winning streak (22 broke the record on Dec. 18).

Nystrom First in Mountain West to Earn Pair of Weekly Honors
- Senior guard Ellen Nystrom put the Rams on her back in their 66-62 win over Seattle. Nystrom recorded her second double-double of the season, including a career-high 33 points with 13 rebounds.
- Nystrom accounted for half of the team's 66 points, while her 13 field goals made were the sixth-most in a single game in program history and over half of the team's 24 field goals made on Sunday.
- The 2016-17 Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year picked up the first and sixth MW Player of the Week honors of the season, becoming the first to win multiple weekly honors during the 2016-17 season.

Rams Navigate One of Nation's Most Challenging Early Schedules
- CSU has not backed down from the nation's top competition through the first few weeks of the season, taking on each of then-No. 15/13 Washington, then-No. 13/12 Oklahoma, Nebraska and No. 18 Colorado on the road.
- CSU is one of only a handful of teams to face a pair of AP top-15 opponents through the first month of the season. Only 10 other schools had done so at that point: Baylor, Cal Poly, Connecticut, DePaul, Gonzaga, Houston Baptist, Maine, Ohio State, South Carolina and Texas.
- Of that list, CSU was only one of seven teams outside the five power conferences to face multiple AP top-15 opponents in November. Furthermore, only two teams in the nation other than CSU faced each of those top-15 opponents in true road contests: Cal Poly and Houston Baptist.
- With CSU's trip to then-No. 18 Colorado on Dec. 8, CSU remains the only Division I team in the nation to play three top-20 opponents on the road.

Kaiser's Breakout Week
- On the road against Colorado, the Rams' third top-20 opponent of the season, CSU turned to sophomore Callie Kaiser off the bench. Kaiser responded, scoring a career-high and team-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
- Following that effort, Kaiser was rewarded with her first career start against New Mexico Highlands. Kaiser strong week continued, as she set another career high for points, tallying 20 against the Cowgirls on 7-of-9 shooting.
- For the week, Kaiser averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists. Kaiser shot .824 (14-of-17) from the floor, and .714 (5-of-7) from beyond the three-point arc.

Rams Set School Single-Game Three-Point Field Goals Record
- Having already broken the school single-game blocks record this season, the Rams drained 20 three-point field goals against New Mexico Highlands to add another single-game program record to the list.
- Seven different Rams made at least one three-point field goal against the Cowgirls, and six Rams made multiple three-point field goals. The performance ended up lifting the Rams to a 65-point win (96-31), CSU's fourth-largest margin of victory in program history.
- The previous record was 19, a total the Rams racked up against San Jose State on Feb. 1, 2014. The rest of the then-top five (now top six) performances were made up by a four-way tie at 14 three-pointers in a game. The 2014 team also had one of those 14 three-point field goal outings, recording it against Utah State on Feb. 12, 2014.

Gustavsson and Nystrom Reach 1,000-Point Milestone
- Two of CSU's most consistent scorers throughout their respective careers, seniors Elin Gustavsson and Ellen Nystrom have become the 18th and 19th players, respectively, in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
- The duo of Nystrom and Gustavsson join select company in CSU's history. The only other senior classes to include two 1,000-point scorers are Melissa Dennett/Lindsay Thomas (2002-06), Becky Hammon/Katie Cronin (1995-99) and Karen Hosek-Kreuzer/Sherry Neely (1981-85).

Rams Break Program's Single-Game Blocks Record
- Of the many notable performances from the Rams' 76-29 win over Adams State was CSU's proficiency in blocking shots. The Rams denied 13 of the Grizzlies' attempts, marking a new single-game school record for blocked shots.
- CSU's 13 blocks were the most since the Rams blocked 11 shots against Idaho on Nov. 24, 2006. The Rams tallied 11 blocks two other times previously.
- Of the 13 blocks, six were accounted for by Anna Dreimane in just 12 minutes of action.
- Dreimane's six blocks in that game tied for the third-most in a single game in CSU history. The record is held by Teresa James, who denied 10 shots against Baylor on Dec. 12, 1992.

Nystrom Earns Mountain West's First Player of the Week Award of 2016-17
- Following the top scoring performance of her career, senior guard Ellen Nystrom was the recipient of the Mountain West's first Women's Basketball Player of the Year award of the 2016-17 season.
- Nystrom scored the most points of any Mountain West player through Nov. 13, dropping a career-high 22 points to lead the Rams to a 69-42 win over Omaha. Nystrom shot .571 (8-for-14) for the night, marking the second-highest shooting percentage of any MW player over that period. Rounding out an impressive start to her senior campaign was a career-high three offensive rebounds (five total).
- The weekly honor was the second of Nystrom's career. Her first came on March 6, 2016.

Rams Picked to Win Mountain West Title
- For the third consecutive season, the Rams have been the pick by conference coaches and select media to win the Mountain West. The preseason nod is the CSU's fourth all-time. In each of the previous three instances, the Rams have gone on to win the Mountain West.
- CSU received 283 points in the voting, including 17 of 29 possible first-place votes. Boise State finished second in the voting with 271 points and 11 first-place votes, while Fresno State checked in at third in the league with 221 points. New Mexico received the remaining first-place vote, and finished sixth in the preseason poll (176 points).

Nystrom Named Preseason MW Player of the Year
- Leading the top returners for CSU is senior guard Ellen Nystrom, who was named the 2016-17 Preseason MW Player of the Year as part of the preseason conference voting. During conference play last season, Nystrom averaged 11.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, along with the league's best assist/turnover ratio (2.6).
- Program records held by Nystrom include CSU's single-season assists record (186) - a record previously held by CSU great Becky Hammon - as well as the single-game program record for assists (16), which she set in the 2016 MW Tournament championship game.

CSU in the National Polls to Open 2016-17
- In the first polls leading up to the 2016-17 women's basketball season, Colorado State is receiving votes in both national polls - the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches' Poll. At the start of the season, CSU received 17 votes in the coaches' poll, and 10 from the AP.
- The Rams entered the polls last season, climbing as high as No. 22 entering NCAA Tournament play. Last season's stretch of rankings marked the first time since 2002 that CSU had been nationally ranked by the AP Poll.

Rams Look for Fourth Straight Postseason Berth
- Entering the 2016-17 season, the Rams will be looking for their fourth straight postseason appearance. The 2015-16 Rams reached the NCAA Tournament after a dramatic win over Fresno State in the MW Tournament championship game, while each of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams earned selections to the WNIT.
- CSU's bid to the NCAA Tournament last season was its sixth all-time. Before the 2015-16 season, the Rams had not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2002.

Rams to Defend Three Consecutive MW Regular Season Titles
- CSU was once again picked to win the Mountain West in 2016-17, and will look to defend each of its regular season and tournament titles. The Rams have won the MW in the regular season in each of the past three seasons (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16).
- No other program in Mountain West history has ever won three consecutive regular season conference titles outright. Additionally, no current MW member has ever won consecutive regular season titles. The only other program to win consecutive regular season titles was Utah.

Williams Nearing 100 Wins at CSU
- Now entering his fifth season as CSU head coach, Ryun Williams is nearing 100 wins at the helm of the Rams' program. Williams compiled a 90-37 record over his first four seasons at CSU.
- The Rams have averaged 22.5 wins per season during the Williams era. Excluding an 11-19 first season (2012-13), CSU has averaged 26.3 wins each season.

Elite Defense
- During the Ryun Williams era at CSU, one of the hallmarks of CSU's success has been stellar defense. The Rams expect to be strong on the defensive end again in 2016-17.
- In 2016-17, the Rams ranked fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, sixth in scoring defense and eighth in three-point field goal defense. CSU was the only team in the country to be ranked in the top eight in each of the three defensive categories at the end of last season.

Shooters Shoot
- One of the major factors in CSU's success this season will be adjustment to changing roles from prior seasons to the 2016-17 season. One of those roles will be filling the void beyond the three-point line left by the departure of Jamie Patrick, one of CSU's all-time top three-point shooters.
- Ellen Nystrom and Elin Gustavsson, who will look to increase their scoring roles this season, shot .356 and .372 from beyond the arc, respectively, last season. Stine Austgulen took 68 three-point shots last season, the second-most on the team, while Hannah Tvrdy ranked third with 59 attempts and Sofie Tryggedsson placed fourth with 53.

2015-16 at a Glance
- CSU put together one of the program's all-time best seasons in 2015-16, reaching the NCAA Tournament after a MW Tournament championship and its third straight MW regular-season championship. The Rams went 31-2 (.939) in 2015-16, and finished a perfect 18-0 in conference play.
- With their 18-0 league record, the Rams became the first team in conference history to win the Mountain West outright in three consecutive seasons. CSU went 15-3 in each of 2013-14 and 2014-15 en route to respective regular season titles in each of those seasons.
- The 2015-16 CSU squad is also the only team to this point to finish unbeaten in conference play since the Mountain West transitioned to an 18-game league schedule, and only the third team to accomplish that feat overall. The last team to finish unbeaten in MW play was Utah in 2007-08. No current MW member other than CSU has ever gone undefeated in league play.
- The Rams MW Tournament championship hoisted them to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002. CSU also cracked the AP Top 25 in 2015-16, a feat the Rams had also last accomplished in 2002.
- CSU's winning percentage of .939 last season was the best in program history. The Rams enter this season with active win streaks of 15 games at Moby Arena and 12 games in true road contests.
- Ellen Nystrom became the second Ram all-time to be named MW Player of the Year (Gritt Ryder in 2014-15). Ryun Williams was named MW Coach of the Year, earning the award for his second time in four years.

Up Next
- Following their final non-conference game of the season, the Rams open conference play at UNLV on Thursday, Dec. 29 before hosting Boise State on Saturday, Dec. 31.

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