Dec. 31, 2010

Complete Release

Colorado State (7-5) is home for its final non-conference game before Mountain West play begins. The Rams will take on the Pepperdine Waves (8-5) on Sunday. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. MT.

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.

Live stats are available on CSURams.com by clicking the link on the calendar of the home page or on the women's basketball schedule page.

Rams vs. Waves series...            
The matchup is the fifth in the series between the Rams and the Waves. The teams most recently squared off during the 2004-05 season, a 64-58 home win for the Rams. Colorado State is 3-2 all-time against Pepperdine, and has won three consecutive games in the series. CSU is also 2-1 in games played in Fort Collins.

About Pepperdine...               
Pepperdine is on a three-game win streak with wins over Cal-State Fullerton, Cal-Poly and UC Riverside, including two 80-point scores over the former two opponents. The team is 8-5 overall. Colorado State and Pepperdine have not played any mutual opponents, however Pepperdine did lose to MWC foe San Diego State, 75-61, on Dec. 7, the teams' last loss.

Three players: Lauren Bell (18), Jazmine Jackson (17) and Alex Jarrell (12) all scored double figures in a 65-61 victory at UC Riverside on Tuesday. Sixteen steals and only nine turnovers sealed the comeback win for the Waves despite shooting only 31.3 percent.

Pepperdine is out-shooting its opponents by 7.0 points, commiting 8.0 fewer turnovers and stealing the ball 6.4 more times. Jackson and Bell are the point leaders for the Waves with 14.6 and 12.5 points per game, respectively. Jackson and Skye Barnett lead the team on the defensive side with 6.8 rebounds per game each.

Last time out...               
The game went down to the wire as the Rams and Eagles were tied with 23.9 seconds left, but Winthrop was able to pull away in the end and Colorado State ended up in the loss column Thursday at Winthrop Coliseum, 58-56.

The game marked CSU’s final non-conference road contest. The Rams (7-5, 0-0 Mountain West) conclude their non-conference slate Sunday against Pepperdine at Moby Arena in a game moved up one hour to 4 p.m. MST.

CSU tied Thursday’s game on two Hayley Thompson free throws with just 23.9 seconds to play, but Winthrop (6-6, 0-0 Big South) then gained possession and drove down the court for a clutch layup. CSU junior Kim Mestdagh tried to answer, but her shot hit the rim and the Rams were unable to regain possession. A Rams foul and a missed Eagles free throw gave CSU one last chance, but the Rams didn’t have enough time to take advantage of their final opportunity.

The Rams had trouble early in the turnovers column, committing 15 through the first 20 minutes of play compared to three Eagles turnovers. Fortunately for CSU, Winthrop shot only 26.7 percent in the half, keeping it a close contest. Winthrop capitalized on 18 of the Rams’ giveaways. Colorado State finished the night with 25 turnovers.

Mestdagh continued her double-figure scoring streak, reaching 10 points on a three-pointer at the 5-minute mark in the first half. She ended the night with seven field goals from beyond the arc, 27 points and six rebounds.

CSU’s Kelly Hartig scored her first points as a Ram. She hit her first basket at 15:40 in the first half. The junior finished the game with six points and eight rebounds.

At the line...                   
Early in the season the Rams have already stamped their footprint in the Mountain West Conference statistical standings. CSU has improved its free-throw percentage to a second-place 73.4 percent (171-233) in the league, up from 69.6 percent last season.

Junior Kim Mestdagh is off to a good start in 2010 at the line. She has hit 86.7 percent of her shots (39-45), which is second in the conference this season.

In the Rams last matchup at Winthrop, Thursday, freshman Hayley Thompson kept the team alive with a three-point field goal, and later tied the game with two crucial free throws with just 24 seconds remaining.

In the MWC books...               
Colorado State is in good standing in the Mountain West Conference statistical records. The team is fourth in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 65.2 points per game. The Rams are second in free-throw percentage with 73.4 percent, and they are second in three-point field-goal percentage with 36.9 percent. The team has made the fourth most three-point field-goals in the league, averaging 6.8 per game. The Rams are third in the assists column, averaging 15.8 per game, and they are fifth in assist to turnover ratio, with 0.8.

Startin' Martin...               
Freshman Sam Martin has started 100 percent of the Rams' games this season, and at this rate would start the most by a CSU freshman since Sarah Hunter in 2004-05. Averaging 29.8 minutes per game (second most) has had an impact in the Mountain West conference record books. She is currently ranked in the top 15 in six statistical categories. Martin is ranked 10th in points, averaging 12.8 per game. She is ranked 12th in rebounding, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. The Colorado native is ranked first in field-goal percentage with 57.1 percent. She is tied for ninth in free-throw percentage, making 77.8 percent of her shot and she is tied in seventh for blocked shots per game with 1.1. She is also tied for eighth in most offensive boards per game with 2.5.

Crashing the boards...               
Junior Chatilla van Grinsven leads the team along with freshman Sam Martin with 6.7 rebounds per game each, which is 11th best in the conference. An all-tournament team selection in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational, van Grinsven pulled down a career-high eight offensive boards vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Nov. 28, helping the Rams score 19 second-chance points. She is tied for second in the Mountain West in offensive rebounds with 3.0 per game.

Filling the stat sheet...               
Sophomore Chantel Kennedy leads Colorado State in both assists and steals this season with 37 and 21, respectively. Her 1.9 steals and 3.4 assists per game rank sixth and 11th in the conference. In the Rams' game vs. Texas Southern on Nov. 27, Kennedy assisted a career-high nine shots and tied a career-high with five steals.

Kennedy's assist-to-turnover ratio is also first in the league and 21st in the nation. With  37 assists and just 15 turnovers through 12 games this season, she averages 2.5 assists to every turnover.

Hartig makes Rams debut...   
Despite an ankle injury, junior Kelly Hartig made her Rams debut vs. South Dakota wearing number 13 on Dec. 20. The Colorado native was previously uneligible due to NCAA transfer rules. She has since started two games for CSU and in the last matchup at Winthrop on Thursday, she tied a career-high eight rebounds.

Hartig brings a wealth of experience from Virginia, as her team advanced to the NCAA tournament's second round in 2008-09. A Colorado native from Highlands Ranch, the forward earned Most Improved Player for the Cavaliers her sophomore year. 

Improved RPI...               
Colorado State closed the 2009-10 season with an NCAA RPI of 175, which is up 19 spots from the 2008-09 season.

Under Head Coach Kristen Holt’s watch, the Rams’ RPI has steadily improved. In 2007-08, the year before Holt took over, CSU closed the year at No. 309, and improved to 194th following the 2008-09 campaign. Factoring in last season’s 175 final RPI, the Rams have improved by 134 spots in the last two seasons.  

Mestdagh record watch...               
With two seasons left, junior Kim Mestdagh is already making an impact in the Rams' record books. The second-highest point scorer (19.2 ppg) in the Mountain West is on pace to crack the top-15 this season on CSU's all-time career points list. After 12 games this season, she sits in 17th place with 950 career points.

To date Mestdagh has reached double figures in all 12 of the Rams' games this season and has scored 20 or more points in four contests. The Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational MVP for the second-consecutive year recorded two 17-point games, hitting five three-pointers in each contest, with an 85.7 field-goal percentage vs. Texas Southern. She also assisted a team-high five shots and forced four steals vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

This season the Belgium native is in the top five in the Mountain West in scoring (19.2; second), three-point field-goal percentage (.433; fifth) and three-point field goals made (45; first).

Mestdagh's 43.6 three-point field-goal percentage is fifth best among all players at CSU in a single season with at least 50 attempts. She is 45-104 from beyond the arc this season.

Mestdagh recorded a career-high 32 points at North Dakota on Nov. 21, her second game she's scored at or above 30 points in her career. The Belgium native notched her second career double-double earlier this season vs. Northern Iowa on Nov. 12 with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The following is a list of Mestdagh's current spot in CSU's all-time record books:

Points
    17.    950   
Points Per Game (min. 45 games)
    7.    13.01 (950/73)
3-Point Field Goals Made
    3.    185 (503)
3-Point Field-Goal Attempts
    6.    503 (185)
3-Pt Field-Goal % (Based on 75 attempts)
    11.    .368 (185-503)
Free-Throw % (Based on 100 attempts)
    10.    .773 (119-154)

Coors Light Coaches’ Show...           
The Coors Light Basketball Coaches’ Show airs Mondays at 6 p.m. MT, live from the Beach House Grill in Old Town Fort Collins, and will continue throughout the season until Feb. 28. Shows air live on the Colorado State Sports Network’s Flagship, KLZ (560 AM). A complete schedule can be found on the bottom of Page 4 of this release.

Up next...   
Colorado State begins Mountain West Conference play on the road in the Border War at Wyoming. Tipoff vs. the Cowgirls will be at 7 p.m. MT.