Rams optimistic for season opener
Thanksgiving break will be anything but a break for the CSU
women’s basketball team. Not only will Rams open their season
tonight against Texas Southern, but they will also play at Stephen
F. Austin in Nachogdoches, Texas, on Monday and host the Coors
Rocky Mountain Invitational Nov. 28 to 29.
The team, however, is anxious to play a meaningful game.
“Finally, we get sick of practicing and we are ready to play
games,” said sophomore point guard Vanessa Espinoza.
The Rams started the preseason with an 84-64 win over Sparta
Praha of the Czech Republic and ended it with a commanding 73-35
win over University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. After those two
exhibition wins, the Rams believe they are ready for the regular
season.
“We have been practicing hard and working on rebounding and
taking good shots,” senior forward Joy Jenkins said. “That is
something we did not do so well in our last game and we need to
work on knocking down some shots.”
The Rams will open the season against Texas Southern tonight for
the teams’ first meeting in school history. Texas Southern finished
last season with a 5-22 record, but like CSU began the preseason
with two exhibition wins.
“They are athletic and we are going to have to go out there and
play hard,” Jenkins said. “We have to play our style and not
theirs.”
CSU has victories in its last three season openers and has won
three straight home openers. With the game at Moby Arena, the Rams
will have the opportunity to extend their home winning streak to 17
games.
After the home opener, the Rams will head to Texas to play
Stephen F. Austin. The Ladyjacks ended last season with a 15-13
record and have a 1-1 record all-time against CSU. In their most
recent meeting, the Rams beat the Ladyjacks 85-62 at Moby Arena.
Stephen F. Austin has also won its first two exhibition games but
will play No. 12 Louisiana Tech tonight before facing the Rams.
CSU will wrap up the holiday break by hosting the Coors Rocky
Mountain Invitational. The Rams will play Long Beach State in the
first game on Nov. 28 and the championship and consolation games
will take place on Nov. 29. The Rams hope to start the season on
the right foot and expect to play well.
“We have really high expectations. We want to come out from
tip-off and set the tone,” Espinoza said. “We are going to play
pressure defense and take care of the ball, which I think we have
done really well so far. We also want to have good rebounding,
offensively and defensively. That wins games.”
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