Oct. 30, 2012

Complete Release

Colorado State (0-0) hosts its exhibition opener Thursday vs. Colorado School of Mines. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT at Moby Arena (8,745).

Head Coach Ryun Williams are eager to begin the 2012-13 campaign. With the return of two-time all-conference selection, Sam Martin, and the reigning Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year, Meghan Heimstra, the Rams will look to improve upon last season's 13-17 record. Sophomore LaDeyah Forte will lead Colorado State from the point guard position. She finished second in assist-to-turnover ratio in the MW in her rookie year.

The Orediggers will be the Rams' only tune-up before the home opener vs. Montana State on Nov. 11. The Bobcats are one of 10 teams on CSU's schedule with 19 or more wins in 2011-12.

The contest on Thursday will be the first for both teams. Mines ended the 2011-12 season with a 12-17 record overall and was 11-11 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Orediggers finished in a tie for fifth place.

The game will be broadcast live on AM 1410 KIIX. Matt Wozniak, now in his fourth season with the Rams, calls all the action. Live game video will also be available via Rams All-Access subscription on CSURams.com, and for the first time, fans will be able to listen to every Rams' game for free on Rams All-Access.

About the School of Mines...

• The Orediggers are under the direction of new head coach Brittany Simpson. The Colorado Mesa alum formerly served as an assistant coach for Mines for four years before being appointed to oversee the program in April.
• Mines returns four starters and 11 letterwinners overall, losing just three players from the 2011-12 season.
• Among the returning starters is senior guard Angie Charchalis. She started every game for the Orediggers last season, averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
• Last season Mines won six of its final nine games and clinched the final spot in the RMAC tournament. The Orediggers lost in the first round to Western State ending their 2011-12 season at 12-17.

Rams' Returners...    
This season the Rams return three starters in juniors Sam Martin (second-team all-MW) and Hayley Thompson and sophomore point guard LaDeyah Forte. Other letterwinners returning are Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year, Meghan Heimstra, Kara Spotton and Morgan Hunt.

Sophomores Mandy Makeever (shoulder) and Hanne Mestdagh (knee) are still recovering from injuries sustained last season. Amber Makeever will return to the court this year after sitting out last season with a hip injury.

The Newcomers...    
With the loss of seniors Kellly Hartig and the fourth-highest scorer in CSU women's basketball history, Kim Mestdagh, the Rams will have to fill the gap with help from these five newcomers for the 2012-13 season.

Freshman Caitlin Duffy (St. Thomas More, Rapid City, S.D.) a first team All-American, led her high school team to their first girls basketball state championship averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 steals per game her senior year.

Freshman Taylor Varsho (Marshfield High School, Marshfield, Wisc.) was named all-state her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. She averaged a team high 18.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game as a senior. Varsho ended her high school career as the Marshfield leading scorer with 1,364 points.

Freshman Emily Johnson (Georgetown High School, Georgetown, Tex.) was named captain in both her junior and senior seasons, earing the MVP title during her senior campaign. Johnson averaged 13.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.3 steals, and 5.6 rebounds per game. Emily was also Texas Girls Coaches Association all-state as a junior and senior.

Junior transfer Katrina Ottesen (Central Arizona Junior College, Chandler, Ariz.) lead the Vaqueras in scoring, averaging 15.1 points and 2.3 assists per game, made a team-high 84 three-pointers, and was named female athlete of the year. Ottesen and the Vasqueras were undefeated in conference play and finished fourth in the junior college final four.

Junior transfer Alicia Nichols (Northeastern Junior College, Brush Colo.) was named an all-region IX player in 2011 and 2012. Nichols held high school records in career points (1,133), rebounds (924), steals (299), and assists (381.) She was named all-state during her junior and senior seasons and earned all-conference accolades all four years.

Sister Act...    
Twins Amber and Mandy Makeever, who suffered through hip and shoulder injuries, have once again joined the same class as redshirt sophomores.

Sister Act 2...    
Fans may recognize another familar face on the court Thursday evening. Sam Martin's sister Courtney Martin is entering her freshman season at Colorado School of Mines. The forward also attended Chaparral High School in Parker, Colo. The tallest player on the team at 6 feet, 2 inches, Martin will wear No. 31 for the Orediggers.

Moby Madness...    
For the first time since 2002-03, CSU was undeated at home in conference play, compiling a 7-0 record last season. The Rams will look to continue their home court dominance with four games on the Moby floor to begin the 2012-13 campaign.

With just three losses at Moby Arena last season, the Rams' .769 (10-3) win percentage ranked eighth all-time in the women's basketball record book.

Marquee matchups...    
Colorado State's 2012-13 schedule features eight contests against teams that participated in the postseason last year, two of which went to the NCAA tournament. The Rams' first regular-season contest is vs. Montana State, which is one of 10 teams on CSU's schedule with 19 or more wins in 2011-12.

Following the opener, the team will be home for three more contests vs. in-state rival Northern Colorado, Seattle and Toledo on Nov. 13, 17 and 20, respectively. All three teams took part in last year's postseason. After finishing second in the Big Sky Conference, UNC fell in the first round of the WNIT to Colorado. Seattle, which completed its best season in program history last year with a 20-12 record, advanced to the final four of the Women's Basketball Invitational before faltering vs. Northern Iowa. Toledo made it all the way to the Elite Eight in the WNIT before losing to Syracuse in overtime.

CSU is in for a tough two-game road stretch in early December when they travel to Bowling Green and Colorado. The Buffaloes went far in the WNIT, advancing to the Elite Eight. They finished with a 21-14 record in 2011-12.

The Rams final home game in 2012 will feature a tough Denver squad that finished 19-12 last year, on Dec. 20.

CSU's two toughest opponents will challenge the Rams during a competitive Mountain West slate. San Diego State, will be CSU's first league game in Moby on Jan. 13, followed by a rematch in California on Feb. 13. MW newcomer Fresno State will visit Fort Collins on Jan. 27 before the Rams make their second Califormia trip in league play on Feb. 27. Both teams earned spots in the 2012 NCAA tournament with conference tournament titles.

MW career leaders...    
Sam Martin is one of five players currently in the league with 750 or more points in her career. At 782 points, the junior sits in third behind San Diego State's Courtney Clements (888) and Air Force's Alicia Leipprandt (851).

With a .541 career field-goal percentage, Martin is fifth all-time in the Mountain West. After two years with CSU, the Colorado native has compiled a .545 field-goal percentage in conference play, which leads the MW in the all-time records. Melissa Dennett, who played from 2002-06, earned the second spot at .531, and Angie Gorton (1999-02) has the fourth-best percentage at .524, giving the Rams three of the top five league field-goal percentages of all time since the conference was formed in 1999.

Meghan Heimstra and Martin are two of five players in the MW with 350-plus career rebounds. Heimstra leads all current players with 503 boards and Martin is fourth on the list with 370. Heimstra is one of only 50 MW players to record 500 or more rebounds in her career.

The Century Mark...    
Senior Meghan Heimstra is closing in on a career milestone with the Rams. Heimstra begins the 2012-13 campaign with 88 blocked shots. She is just 12 away from becoming the fourth player at Colorado State and the 16th Mountain West player to reach the 100-block career mark.

Video and Audio Streaming...   
The Rams will have all of their home contests streamed live on CSURams.com/All-Access this season. Fans can watch home games live on their computer for $9.95 per month or $59.95 per year.

Fans can also listen to every game this year for free on CSURams.com/All-Access.

Up next...     
Colorado State begins its 2012-13 non-conference schedule with four games at Moby Arena. Montana State will be the first visitor on Nov. 11. Tipoff  vs. the Bobcats is scheduled for 2 p.m.