Strong defense keys Pack win in home opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque (1-2) | 36 | 24 | 60 |
| Colorado St.-Pueblo (2-0) | 38 | 32 | 70 |
| Pueblo, CO (Massari Arena) | |||
| Dubuque | Colorado St.-Pueblo |
|---|---|
| Pts: Mollie Whiting - 18 | Pts: Amanda Bartlett - 16 |
| Reb: Jena Darwin - 9 | Reb: Katie Tomlinson - 12 |
| Ast: Jena Darwin - 3 | Ast: Kendall Babler - 6 |
| Team Statistics | Dubuque | Colorado St.-Pueblo |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 33.9% (20-59 ) | 37.5% (27-72 ) |
| Rebounds | 44 | 52 |
| Assists | 10 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 18 | 14 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 12 |
| Bench Pts | 14 | 17 |
Multiple 10-board efforts, career night by Babler lifts ThunderWolves.
PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - Nov. 26, 2010) - Led by a tenacious game on the glass and a strong showing by the Pack back court, CSU-Pueblo came away with a win against a scrappy Dubuque team, winning 70-60 at the Chuck Stephens Classic.
CSU-Pueblo created opportunities with strong back court play all night long, as the ThunderWolves' point guard trio of Rachel Espinoza (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.), Kendall Babler (Jr., Rifle, Colo.) and Alex Evans (Fr., Louisville, Colo.) combined for 14 assists, 11 of which came in the first half. But despite that great play-creating ability of the Pack guards, CSU-Pueblo only held a tenuous 38-36 lead at halftime over the Division III Spartans squad, due in part six first-half Dubuque three-pointers.
CSU-Pueblo ratched up their three-point defense in the second half, holding the Spartans to just two threes while CSU-Pueblo abandoned a largely fruitless three-point offense to work on points in the transition. As a result, CSU-Pueblo outscored Dubuque 32-24 in the second half, holding at least an eight point lead for the final 12 minutes of the game.
Babler led the Pack with a career night, entertaining ideas of a triple-double as she netted 14 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds and six assists. A newcomer to the squad, post Katie Tomlinson (Jr., Mesa, Ariz.) was effective in the paint, recording a game-high 12 rebounds.
CSU-Pueblo, now 2-0, will look for their first 3-0 start since 2007-08 when it takes on Drury (Mo.) to close out the Chuck Stephens Classic Saturday night. Friday night, Drury, which was nationally-ranked to start the season, fell to 1-4 after an 82-79 overtime loss to Adams State.