Rams Top Rival Wyoming in MWC Tourney, 64-56

CSU, UNM to face off in the quarterfinals

March 10, 2009

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -

The No. 8-seeded Colorado State women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack, led by 11 points each from senior Amaka Uzomah, and sophomores Zoi Simmons and Bonnie Barbee, to defeat fifth-seeded rival Wyoming, 64-56, on Tuesday evening at the Thomas & Mack Center in the first round of the 2009 Conoco Mountain West Conference Championships.

The Rams (10-20) trailed for just 12 seconds in the contest and gradually built a lead that peaked at 20 points in the opening stanza, before holding off a late-game Cowgirls' run to advance to a quarterfinal matchup with the No. 4-seeded New Mexico.

The Cowgirls (16-14) used a 7-0 run between the 3:22 and 1:43 marks to cut the Rams lead to two possessions, 58-52, but after two front-end misses on one-and-one opportunities by freshman guard Kim Mestdagh and Uzomah, the Rams held off Wyoming by hitting 6-of-8 attempts from the stripe in the final 1:17.

Mestdagh, who added five points and three rebounds for the Rams, opened up the scoring for CSU with a three-pointer at the 17:51 mark to give the Rams an early 3-1 advantage. Wyoming's Hillary Carlson, added the first two of her game-high 17 points on the ensuing UW possession to tie the game, before a 12-3 Rams' run pushed the CSU lead to nine points, 15-6, just seven minutes into the contest.

The Rams lead reached to double-digits with a 10-2 scoring spree between the 11:45 and 9:40 to push the lead to 13 points before freshman Meghan Heimstra's jumper gave Colorado State a 38-18 edge with just more than two minutes left in the first half. Heimstra finished with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field for the Rams.

The Cowgirls mounted a comeback scoring the last six points of the first half, and the first five of the second half to cut the Rams lead back to nine points, 38-29, just three minutes into the half. And following Carlson's lay-in at the 10:47 mark, the Rams were clinging to a 45-37 edge.

That is when Barbee sparked the Rams, scoring four of her 11 points as part of an 8-2 Rams' run to hold the Cowgirls at bay. The Rams were held without a field goal over the final 3:41, but hit key free throws to come away with the victory.

CSU outrebounded the Cowgirls, 39-29, behind a game-high nine boards from Uzomah. Senior Carine Reimink added five, while classmate Britney Minor and junior Juanise Cornell each chipped in four rebounds. Cornell also added five points and senior guard Kandy Beemer scored seven.

The Ram and Lobos will play Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT, and will be televised live in High Definition by The Mtn.