Nov. 30, 2009

Complete Release

After taking first place in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational, the Rams will travel to Idaho in search of their first road win. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. MT on Tuesday from the Cowan Spectrum Arena (7,000).

The Vandals came to life Sunday  after starting the season 0-5. Without their head coach Jon Newlee on the bench due to an illness, Idaho defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 90-66 when associate head coach Gavin Petersen stepped in.

Four players scored in double digits in the contest as the Vandals will now start a four-game homestand vs. the Rams.

The game will be broadcast live on AM 1410 KIIX. Matt Wozniak calls all the action.  Live game audio will also be available via Rams All-Access subscription on CSURams.com.

Rams vs. Idaho series... 
Tuesday's meeting between Colorado State and Idaho marks the seventh overall meeting between the two schools and the fourth meeting in as many years.

The overall series is currently tied at 3-3 and the Rams are 2-1 vs. Idaho since 2006. Head Coach Kristen Holt is 1-0 against the Vandals.

About Valpo... 
The Vandals host the Rams with an overall record of 1-5 to start the season, behind the guidance of Head Coach Jon Newlee. Newlee is in his second season with Idaho with 26 years of coaching experience and 11 years as a head coach. Last season he was named the WAC Coach of the Year after improving the team's conferenece record to 10-6 (third place). The 9.5 game improvement from the previous season was the seventh-best in the NCAA in 2009.

In the Vandals lone win this season, sophomore guard Shaena-Lyn Kuehu scored a career high 20 points vs. Louisiana-Lafayette. Senior point guard Charlotte Otero also had a career-high 15 points and Rachele Kloke and Yinka Olorunnife each had 19 points. As a team Idaho had a 53.3 shooting percentage.

Heimstra Heats up...   
In six games this season sophomore forward Meghan Heimstra has scored a total of 59 points and has 60 rebounds. Against Texas state on Nov. 28, the Longmont native topped her career-high set earlier this season with 13 rebounds. Heimstra was named to the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Mestdagh sets career highs...  
Sophomore Kim Mestdagh is improving with every game the Rams play this season. Mestdagh set a career high in points starting with the Nov. 15 game vs. Wichita State. She had 21. Since then Mestdagh has broken that record twice with 22 points vs. Texas State (11/27) and her current high score of 25 points vs. Delaware (11/28), which secured her the Most Valuable Player award in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational. She has led the Rams in scoring in each game this season.

Last time out...    
After trailing by an early score of 4-0, the Colorado State women's basketball team used a 27-4 run to defeat the Delaware Blue Hens, 67-44, in the championship game of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational Saturday night at Moby Arena.

During the first-half run, Colorado State's defense held Delaware without a field goal for 11 minutes, 45 seconds. Overall in the first half, the Rams held the Blue Hens to just 17 percent shooting from the floor. The Rams shot 39 percent in the first half, resulting in a 32-10 halftime lead.

Mestdagh, who has scored in double figures in all six games on the season, reached the mark just 10:16 into the game. Sophomore Chatilla van Grinsven also reached double figures in the first half, tallying 11 on 5-of-6 shooting. She finished the night with 15 points.

The Rams led by as many as 35 in the second half and never less than their halftime lead of 22. The offensive production was a balanced effort with all eight players scoring.

With the win, the Rams are now 4-0 at Moby Arena this season, their best home start since the 2004-05 team started 5-0.

Rams seeing double...   
Since the start of the season, five Rams have scored double figures in at least one game. Sophomore Kim Mestdagh leads the pack with six-consecutive games, followed by junior Bonnie Barbee with four. Sophomores Meghan Heimstra and Chatilla van Grinsven each have two games and Natalie van den Adel rounds out the bunch with one game.

Homegrown talent...   
In addition to the three international players on the CSU roster, the Rams also feature two players from Colorado. 

Junior guard Sara Hemmings graduated from Greeley West High School as a five-sport athlete, and played one season at the University of Northern Colorado before transferring to the University of Arizona and then coming to CSU.  Sophomore forward Meghan Heimstra is a former two-time all-Colorado peformer at Silver Creek High School in nearby Longmont, Colo.

Holt holding court...   
Second-year Head Coach Kristen Holt is in her second season at the helm of the Rams' program. Last season, Holt improved the Rams' overall record by six wins and improved conference wins by four games. She has installed a fast-paced offense this season in order to continue building a program of excellence at Colorado State.

Up next...    
On Friday Colorado State leaves for Berkeley, Calif. to play in the Colliers International Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Southern Illinois and No. 11/7 Texas A&M join the Rams in the tournament hosted by No. 22/15 California.