Rams pair hot fourth-quarter shooting with solid defense for 55-44 win at Northern Colorado

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GREELEY, Colo. – After entering the fourth quarter with a two-point lead, the Colorado State women's basketball team paired solid defense down the stretch with hot shooting to pull away from the Northern Colorado Bears and pick up a 55-44 win at the Bank of Colorado Arena.

Colorado State (6-3) shot 66.7 percent (8-for-12) over the final quarter, as junior forward Annie Brady dropped 10 fourth-quarter points and shot 5-for-6 in the final period. Brady finished with a team-high 20 points on 10-for-14 shooting, and was joined in double figures by senior guard Hannah Tvrdy, who scored 12 points on 4-for-5 (2-for-2 three-pointers) shooting. Tvrdy added seven rebounds to her final line. Conversely, Northern Colorado (6-3) went just 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) as the Rams limited the Bears to 10 points in the fourth period.

The fourth quarter was the second period of the day in which the Rams held Northern Colorado (6-3) to 10 points or fewer, as the Bears were 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) from the floor and 0-for-7 from three-point range in a two-point second quarter. The Rams used that second-quarter defensive effort to pad a nine-point (27-18) lead at halftime. However, UNC bounced back offensively in the third quarter, and the CSU advantage narrowed to 36-34 heading to the fourth.

Northern Colorado was held to 3-for-21 (14.3 percent) shooting from three-point range for the game, but the Bears' Tiarna Clarke accounted for one of those threes at the 8:31 mark in the fourth quarter to close the Rams' lead to 38-37. That was as close as the Bears would get in the final period, as the Rams responded with a Tvrdy three just over one minute later and went on to score on their next five possessions. The Rams' lead grew to as large as 12 at 53-41, and never shrunk below nine points before the score went final at 55-44.

For the game, Colorado State outshot Northern Colorado, 50 percent (24-for-48) to 32.7 percent (18-for-55). CSU and UNC each made three three-point field goals, but the Rams needed only four attempts (75 percent) compared to the Bears' 21 (14.3 percent). The Rams gained an additional advantage on the boards, as they outrebounded the Bears, 37-25. In addition to the performances by Brady and Tvrdy, other notable efforts came from freshmen Grace Colaivalu and Liah Davis, who scored eight and six points, respectively.

IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams
"Our play in the pro post was outstanding, really by everybody. Annie (Brady) is going to get the praise, and she scored 20 points, but Liah (Davis) came in and was really outstanding. Lena (Svanholm) came in and showed she can really operate down there, Lore (Devos) had a really good finish in the latter couple minutes of that basketball game and Gracie's (Colaivalu) pretty good down there. It's just the way that we needed to play Northern Colorado. Our kids executed that well."

On the team's play on defense:
"We were really active (on defense). We played really hard, but also really smart. We anticipated really well, and were pretty aware and alert to what was going on around us. We did a great job of locating shooters. They attacked us well in the second half. They spread you out, and they have a really good passing team. What I was impressed with is how our kids went right from a zone to a man defense, and still executed our principles really, really well. The zone – we didn't foul in it – but it also shortens the game as well."

NOTES
- Colorado State has now won three consecutive games against Northern Colorado.
- CSU is 4-1 against Northern Colorado under sixth-year head coach Ryun Williams.
- With the win, the Rams have a 23-12 record in the all-time series against Northern Colorado.
- The Rams have won 12 of their past 14 games against in-state opponents.
- Sunday's win improves the Rams' record against in-state opponents to 23-7 in Williams' six-year tenure.
- The Rams have won both of their games on the road this season and are now 41-22 on the road under Williams.
- Annie Brady's 20 points against Northern Colorado are the most she has scored in a single game as a Ram. Her previous best was 11 points against Gonzaga on Nov. 13.
- Brady joins Lore Devos as the only players to score 20 points or more in a single game this season. Devos scored 25 points against Idaho on Nov. 10.

UP NEXT
The Colorado State women's basketball team has just over a week off before returning to Moby Arena on Monday, Dec. 18 for a home matchup with Prairie View A&M. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.

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