Nov. 27, 2009

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

By Garrett Finke
Athletic Media Relations

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational basketball tournament got underway Friday evening and the host, Colorado State came away with a win in the opening round, 66-54, against a deep Texas State team.

“We are excited to possibly win a tournament,” Head Coach Kristen Holt said. “We haven’t had a chance to do that in a long time.”

Both teams had trouble finding the basket in the first half but sophomore sensation Kim Mestdagh scored 16 of her career high 22 points in the second half. Mestdagh, last week’s MWC Player of the Week, hit six three-pointers, four of which came in the second half.

Despite shooting 36 percent and being outrebounded, the Rams (3-2) managed a win by playing tough defense. The Rams held the Bobcats (2-2) to 26 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers.

Junior guard Bonnie Barbee contributed 17 points and assisted on three other baskets. Sophomore Meghan Heimstra cleaned the glass for the Rams, picking up a game-high 13 rebounds, six on the offensive end.

The Rams will play in the late game again tomorrow as they face off against Delaware for the championship Saturday night. Delaware defeated Houston in the early game Friday, giving the Rams a chance to watch their opponent.

“They play a lot of zone we haven’t seen yet,” Holt said. “They will have to respect Bonnie (Barbee) and Kim’s (Mestdagh) shot.”

Texas State and Houston will play the early game at 5 p.m. MT and tip-off for the Rams vs. Blue Hens is set for 7 p.m. Saturday night.