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CU rips CSU in women's basketball

By Paul Willis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 19, 2008 at 11:36 p.m.

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The Buffaloes' Bianca Smith passes while Colorado State's Carine Reimink closes in Wednesday night in Boulder.

Photo by Marty Caivano / Daily Camera

The Buffaloes' Bianca Smith passes while Colorado State's Carine Reimink closes in Wednesday night in Boulder.

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Sure, the Colorado State women's basketball team is in a rebuilding mode.

That doesn't make it any less sweet for the University of Colorado to beat the Rams.

The Buffaloes walloped the youthful Rams 93-63 at the Coors Event Center on Wednesday night, getting career performances from center Kara Richards and forward Brittany Spears in the process.

"I love rivalries and what it brings out, and it clearly brought out more fans tonight," CU coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "But that was a different Colorado State team than we played a year ago. They are more athletic and they have a lot of shooters."

With a crowd of 3,588 watching the annual version of the in-state rivalry, Richards scored a career-best 25 points, converting 15 straight for CU in one stretch in the second half.

"I just got more aggressive," said Richards, sporting a bruise beneath her right eye. "I started calling for the ball."

Spears matched a career most with 24 points and added 10 rebounds for her eighth career double-double. The sophomore, quickly emerging into a marquee player in the Big 12 Conference, is averaging 23.5 through two games.

She nailed her first five shots, including three three-pointers, to ignite CU to its sixth win in seven years in the series.

"Now I feel more comfortable having a year under my belt," Spears said. "I'm a lot more confident."

Former CSU guard Kelly Jo Mullaney showed no signs of nerves against her former squad, as the Buffaloes' newly anointed point guard had 14 points and six assists in 31 minutes.

"I've been looking forward to this game for a long time, having played in that uniform," Mullaney said. "But I tried to look at it like just another opponent."

CSU, led by 15 points from Kandy Beemer, kept pace with the Buffaloes early and trailed only 35-33 late in the first half.

But the Buffaloes ripped off a 20-4 run that spilled into the second half as the Rams converted only one field goal in 12:28.

"I thought right at the beginning of the second half we came out a bit flat, and that time more than any is when we needed to come out with intensity," CSU coach Kristen Holt said.

CU 93, CSU 63

COLORADO STATE (0-2) - Minor 3-8 5-6 11, Reimink 3-9 0-0 6, Cornell 0-8 0-2 0, Barbee 5-14 1-2 13, Beemer 6-12 0-0 15, Uzomah 2-4 0-0 4, Mestdagh 1-7 0-1 2,

Heimstra 2-5 0-0 4, Ackley 1-1 0-0 2, Cheney 1-2 2-2 4, Tanacan 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-73 8-13 63.

COLORADO (2-0) - Spears 9-15 3-4 24, Richards 8- 12 9-9 25, Fressle 1-7 0-0 3, Smith 3-10 2-2 9, Mullaney 5-7 4-4 14, Blythe 0-0 1-2 1, Skildum 0-1 2-2 2, Seabrook 4-5 1-1 9, Piterniece 0-0 0-0 0, Dunn 2-4 0-0 6. Totals 32-61 22-24 93.

Halftime - Colorado 42-35. Three-point attempts - Colorado State 5-23 (Cornell 0-2, Barbee 2-7, Beemer 3-9, Mestdaugh 0-4, Heimstra 0-1); Colorado 7-16 (Spears 3-5, Fressle 1-1, Smith 1-6, Dunn 2-4). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Colorado State 39 (Tanacan 9); Colorado 41 (Spears 10). Assists - Colorado State 11 (Beemer 4); Colorado 20 (Mullaney 6). Total fouls - Colorado State 22; Colorado 12. A - 3,588.