Tvrdy leads Rams to second-half surge and 72-43 win over San Diego State

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State's Hannah Tvrdy scored a career-high 28 points, including 18 third-quarter points, to lead the Rams to a second-half surge and a 72-43 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs on Wednesday night from Moby Arena.

Colorado State (13-7, 5-4 MW) led San Diego State (9-10, 3-5 MW), 35-29, at halftime, but scored 30 third-quarter points to put the game on ice early. Tvrdy's added 10 rebounds to her career-best 28 points for her third double-double of the season. The senior from Seward, Neb., finished the game shooting 12-for-18, including 8-for-10 shooting in that third quarter outburst.

Senior forward Veronika Mirkovic tallied a career-high 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, while senior guard Stine Austgulen added 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting with five rebounds. On the defensive end, CSU held a high-scoring San Diego State offense to just 28 percent shooting from the field and only 16 percent shooting in the second half. SDSU shot 1-for-11 (nine percent) in the fourth quarter, and made just one field goal inside the paint over the last 20 minutes.

Colorado State started slow, trailing by as many as five points in the first quarter before cutting the deficit to 17-15 heading to the second. Behind seven early second-quarter points from freshman guard Lore Devos, CSU went on a 9-0 run to take a 24-17 lead at an SDSU timeout at the 5:51 mark. The Aztecs cut the Rams' lead to as close as one point at 24-23 at the 4:31 mark in the second, but never took the lead back from the Rams. Colorado State built a 35-29 lead at halftime, and then scored 21 of the next 24 points en route to outscoring the Aztecs 37-12 in a dominant second half.

IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams
"That was a really good win by our basketball team. They just freed up and played. I think that first five or six minutes, we were really tentative and a little sloppy. We got that ugliness out of us. I thought that was a tremendous display of basketball. I liked it. This group needed that. Our team needed that. So, hopefully this can propel us and we can keep getting better."

On the team working well on both ends of the court:
"Defensively, that's obviously the end where we have excelled. But, offensively, we just keep pointing out the opportunities. Tonight, we converted the opportunities."

Senior forward Veronika Mirkovic
On Hannah Tvrdy's performance:
"She was great. I think it started before the game. She talked to Stine and I and was like, 'We only have this many games left. Let's make the most of it.' She led this team really well today."

Senior guard Hannah Tvrdy
On her 28-point showing on Wednesday:
"Before the national anthem, I looked to Stine and said 'I have a really good feeling about this game.' I just think, you know, we don't have many opportunities left. As seniors, we only have limited games left. So, I think we're just thinking 'let's make the most of it.'"

On how a win like Wednesday's help CSU moving forward:
"I think it's going to propel us forward. It shows us how we can play and that we can compete with anyone in the league if we just have the right mindset: aggressiveness. We know our defense is always there. Just, offensively, keep going in and taking it to them every game."

NOTES
- Colorado State picked up its 11th consecutive win against San Diego State. The Rams are now 29-27 all-time against the Aztecs.
- CSU wins its fifth-straight at home against SDSU as well as its seventh of the past eight games played against the Aztecs at Moby Arena.
- CSU has won 14 straight games played at Moby Arena against Mountain West teams from the state of California.
- CSU has won three of its last four home games.
- Prior to her 28-point outburst on Wednesday night, Hannah Tvrdy's previous career high was 17 points against Nebraska on Nov. 17, 2016, as well as on Dec. 11, 2016 against New Mexico Highlands.
- Veronika Mirkovic's previous career best before her 12 points on Wednesday was nine against North Carolina Central on Nov. 25, 2017.

UP NEXT
The Colorado State women's basketball team returns to Moby Arena on Saturday for a 2 p.m. MT home contest against the New Mexico Lobos. Notably, Saturday's game marks the debut for Colorado State's State Pride basketball uniforms.

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