By Sara Trump
The Cougar women know they can beat anybody in the conference with good defense and energy for a full forty minutes.
Defense was the main key to beating Colorado State Saturday night at the Marriot Center, 66-55. However, an added boost of energy from a record home crowd of 3,820 helped spark the Cougars on to victory.
“The crowd totally helped us win,” said Chanell Rose, who had a career-high 16 points. “It makes the game so much fun and exciting.”
In a game in which there were nine ties and sixteen lead changes, the home court advantage came heavily into play.
CSU was coming off its first conference loss, at Utah, but still had an impressive 12-3 overall record. Their leading scorer Ashley Augspurger, had a game high 17 points along with five boards.
“Colorado is an explosive offensive team,” said head coach Trent Shippen. “But we matched up well with their shooters and just kept battling.”
Battle they did, as starting guard Stacy Jensen got into foul trouble early and played only nine minutes in the first half. After picking up her fourth foul with only two minutes gone in the second half, Jensen was forced to the bench for the next eight minutes of the game.
The Cougars didn”t let that get them down, and Jennifer Leitner was again huge off the bench. Her defensive presence helped hold the Rams to 55 points, twenty-two below their average. Leitner is still playing on a sore foot that doesn”t allow her to play at full strength.
“Defense is just mental,” Leitner said. “It”s the thing I can do best right now with my shooting out of sync because I”m not able to practice as much. It”s just about hustle.”
Leitner wasn”t alone in playing with pain, as Erin Thorn, who had 13 points, twisted her ankle with five minutes left in a tie ballgame. The Cougars then went on a 6-0 run to put them ahead for good. That didn”t keep Thorn out, however, as she came back in and hit a big jumper to put the Cougars ahead 57-52.
Caroline Beus also provided an inside presence with 14 points of her own, as the Cougars scored 30 points in the paint to the Rams 16.
The Cougars now get a chance to improve their record away from home as they begin a three-game road trip with a game at Utah next Saturday. The Utes are a perfect 5-0 in conference play and ranked number 24 in the nation.
“This is huge for our confidence and team, to have two wins, back-to-back,” Shippen said. “Utah is going to be really tough, but if we play our hardest we believe we can beat anybody.”
