Nov. 5, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Exhibition Game No. 2 
Colorado State (1-0 exhibition) vs. Colorado Christian (0-0 exhibition)
Nov. 7, 2008 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena (8,745) | 7 p.m. MT

Rams host CCU in final exhibition tuneup... 
First-year Head Coach Kristen Holt and the new-look Colorado State women's basketball program host Colorado Christian University on Friday in the team's final exhibition tuneup before the start of the 2008-09 season. 

The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. MT from Moby Arena.  Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are available at the McGraw Athletic Center ticket office or online at CSURams.com.   
 
Live statistics are available on CSURams.com by clicking on the "Gametracker" icon on the calendar of the home page or from the women's basketball schedule page. 

About Colorado Christian... 
Colorado Christian enters the 2008-09 season under the tutelage of first-year head coach Tim Hays.  Hays, who formerly coached Launceston Tornadoes of the Austalian Basketball Association (ABA), takes over a CCU squad that posted an overall record of 15-20 in 2007-08 and made its first conference postseason appearance in program history. 

Highlighting the Cougars' returning players, is junior guard Talmai Aguirre.  Aguirre, the 2006 RMAC Freshman of the Year, led the Cougars in scoring last season with an average of 16.5 points per game.  Aguirre was also stellar defensively for CCU, recording 60 steals.  The sharpshooting guard knocked down 91-of-291 (31.3 percent) three-point attempts on the season.  She was named a preseason all-RMAC selection for the Cougars who are picked to finish fifth in the RMAC east division.  

CSU vs. CCU comparision*...

Projected Starters... 
Colorado State
• Guard:  Zoi Simmons (5-6, So.)
• Guard:  Kandy Beemer (5-5, Sr.)*
• Forward:  Britney Minor (5-10, Sr.)
• Forward:  Juanise Cornell (5-10, Jr.)
• Center:  Carine Reimink (6-1, Sr.)

Colorado Christian
• Guard:  Jodie Krall  (5-6, So.)
• Guard:  Talmai Agui (5-7, Jr.)
• Forward:  Ainsley Barrett (5-9, Jr.)
• Forward:  Kelsie Hert (6-1, Fr.)
• Center:  Abby Rosenthal (6-1, Jr.)

* - Denotes team captain for 2008-09 

Last time out... 
In a Halloween-night exhibition game to open up the 2008-09 season, the Colorado State women's basketball team received a bit of a scare from the visiting Adams State Grizzlies, but used a 12-2 run over the final two minutes of the game to come away with a win in a 59-58 thriller in front 1,054 fans at Moby Arena.

With the Rams trailing 58-57 and less than 10 seconds remaining in the contest, freshman guard Kim Mestdagh rebounded the second missed free throw by Adams State's Jocelyn Pardilla and hit the outlet pass to start a fast break up the right side of the court that led to sophomore point guard Zoi Simmons' game-winning lay in with 0.6 seconds.  Simmons' layup capped the Colorado State run and gave the Rams a victory in the exhibition debut of first-year Head Coach Kristen Holt.

Barbee breaks out... 
Bonnie Barbee had a breakout performance against Adams State as she sparked the Rams late-game comeback against the Grizzlies with two consecutive three-pointers between the 1:58 and 1:25 marks of the second half.  The sophomore guard finished as CSU's leading scorer, tallying 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.

Home sweet home... 
Including exhibition games, Colorado State will play eight of its first 11 contests at Moby Arena. Overall since 1974-75, the Rams hold a record of 287-166 (.635) in Moby Arena.  The Rams will play a total of 15 regular-season contests in Moby Arena in 2008-09, the most home dates for a CSU women's basketball team since the 2004-05 season (16 home games).

International flavor... 
Rams fans will notice that the 2008-09 Rams roster features many players - both newcomers and returners alike - who are originally from outside of the United States.  Returning senior Carine Reimink (Reedy Creek, Australia) returns for her second season at CSU along with junior transfer Devran Tanacan (Istanbul, Turkey), who sat out 2007-08 after transferring to CSU from the University at Albany. 

Three freshmen have also travelled quite a long way to join the Rams squad.  Guard/forward Kim Mestdagh hails from Ieper, Belgium, while forward Chatilla van Grinsven (Helmond) and Natalie van den Adel (Barendrecht) are both from the Netherlands.

Homegrown talent... 
In addition to the five international players on the CSU roster, the Rams also feature three players from Colorado.  Junior guard Alison Cheney graduated from Platte Valley High School in Kersey, Colo., and played two seasons at Western Nebraska Community College before coming to CSU.  Freshman forward Meghan Heimstra is a former two-time all-Colorado peformer at Silver Creek High School in nearby Longmont, Colo., and freshman guard Morgan Ackley was a six-sport athlete at Fort Collins High School.  

Holt holding court... 
First-year Head Coach Kristen Holt will coach her first regular-season debut when the Rams open the 2008-09 campaign at Wichita State, Nov. 15, but this is not Holt's first stint as a head coach.  In 2001-02, Holt took over the reins of Radford University. Holt guided the Highlanders - predicted to finish last in their conference -  to an 11-16 overall mark, including an 8-6 record in the Big South, which earned her conference Coach of the Year honors. 

Worth the wait... 
Three Colorado State players - Devran Tanacan, Chatilla van Grinsven and Natalie van den Adel - will sit out some games to begin this season as part of a penalty from the NCAA, to maintain their amateur status.  All three players are eligible to play in the Rams' two exhibition contests.  Tanacan will sit ou the season opener at Wichita State, while van Grinsven will miss four games (Nov. 15  at Wichita State, Nov. 19 at Colorado, Nov. 22 vs. Idaho and Nov. 28 vs. Valparaiso).   Van den Adel will be eligible to return to the Rams' lineup for the first time on Feb. 28 at New Mexico. 

Time change... 
The Colorado State vs. Utah game scheduled for Jan. 17, has been changed to a 1 p.m. MT tip.  The game was originally scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. MT at Moby Arena. 

Up next... 
Colorado State opens the 2008-09 season traveling to Wichita, Kan., to take on the Wichita State Shockers on Nov. 15.  The trip to Wichita will be a return for Rams Head Coach Kristen Holt, who served as an assistant coach under former Shockers' coach Jane Albirght from 2003-07 before coming to Colorado State.

Coors Light Coaches' Show... 
Head basketball coaches Kristen Holt and Tim Miles will make their debuts on the 2008-09 Coors Light Coaches' Show beginning Nov. 17.  The show, which will air live at 7 p.m. MT from the Stonehouse Grille in downtown Fort Colliins, can be heard on AM 600 KCOL in Fort Collins and AM 560 KLZ in Denver.

Coors Light Coaches' Show schedule...
• November 17  
• December  1
• December 15
• January 5
• January 12
• January 19
• February 2
• February 9
• February 16
• February 23
• March 2