Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 27
Fort Collins, CO
2 p.m. MT
Colorado State
14-7, 6-4MW
74
vs
71
New Mexico
16-6, 4-5MW
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
New Mexico
19
14
15
19
4
71
Colorado State
23
6
21
17
7
74
Photo by: Javon Harris
Tvrdy’s go-ahead three-pointer lifts Rams past New Mexico in overtime, 74-71
1/27/2018 6:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tvrdy’s three caps 7-0 run to end their first overtime contest of the season
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State senior guard Hannah Tvrdy buried the go-ahead three-point field goal in overtime to lift the Rams to a 74-71 victory over the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday afternoon from Moby Arena.
Tvrdy paced the Rams (14-7, 6-4 MW) with 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting and finished just one rebound shy of her fourth double-double of the season. Senior forward Veronika Mirkovic registered her first career double-double, pouring in a career-high 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting along with 10 boards. Each of Grace Colaivalu and Sofie Tryggedsson joined the two in double-figure scoring with 12 apiece. New Mexico was (16-6, 4-5 MW) led offensively by Cherise Beynon, who tallied a game-high 30 points with 13 rebounds.
The first two field goals of the overtime period were made by New Mexico, as the Lobos' Jaisa Nunn and Tesha Buck converted on layups to put the Rams down, 71-67, with 3:24 to go. The Rams responded with the final seven points of extra time, as Mirkovic answered with a jumper just 24 seconds later and Colaivalu added another to tie the game at 71 apiece with 1:02 to play. The final three points came on Tvrdy's eventual game-winner with 26 seconds remaining, as the Rams forced misses by Buck and N'Dea Flye on the other end to seal the win.
Colorado State trailed by eight points with 6:12 left in the third quarter, but went on a 12-2 run punctuated by a Tvrdy jumper to retake the lead. CSU lost that lead briefly, but a Mirkovic jumper put the Rams back up, 50-48, heading to the fourth. The Rams held that lead until the 1:07 mark in the final quarter, when Beynon sunk a three to give UNM a 65-64 edge.
With 48 seconds to go, Colaivalu converted on a layup-and-one, giving the Rams a 67-65 late advantage. It looked as if the Rams had gotten the final stop they needed on a missed three by UNM's Mykiel Burleson with six seconds remaining, but the Lobos' Nunn collected the board and laid the ball in to tie the game at 67 apiece and set up Saturday's overtime dramatics.
IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams
"That was a fun 'State Pride' game. Tons of respect for New Mexico. They put a lot of offensive punch on that floor and I thought that's just an outstanding win because that might be the most talented team in our league. So the fight that our kids showed…they just stayed the course, found enough plays. This team is proving to themselves that we're tough. So, hopefully, this can keep propelling us. But, again, ton of respect for New Mexico and this feels really, really good because of how good they are. This was just a good win in Moby."
On the crowd on Saturday:
"They showed up. They were loud right when we needed them. You know, we had some big moments throughout that basketball game. They were really good in the second quarter when we needed them, that fourth quarter. But that overtime was special. I think that's what playing at home is all about."
Senior forward Veronika Mirkovic
On the team's mindset in overtime:
"The crowd was definitely a huge part of [our momentum in overtime]. We didn't get discouraged when they scored, we just knew we needed to get a stop and score ourselves."
Senior guard Hannah Tvrdy
On her performances in the past few games::
"The last few games have been lot of fun. Like coach (Ryun Williams) said, our confidence level has gone up, our mindset has changed, we're being more aggressive and you see that with me, too. It's helped our scoring a ton."
NOTES
- With the win on Saturday, Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams is now tied with former head coach Tom Collen for the most wins in program history (129).
- Colorado State has won five consecutive games against New Mexico and eight in the past nine games played against the Lobos.
- CSU has won four of its last five home games.
- Colorado State played its first overtime game of the 2017-18 season on Saturday. The Rams move to 8-3 in overtime games under Ryun Williams.
- Veronika Mirkovic broke her career high in scoring for the second consecutive game, as her previous best was 12 points against San Diego State on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
The Colorado State women's basketball team returns to the road on Wednesday for the second half of the Border War against Wyoming. Opening tip from Arena Auditorium is slated for 6:30 p.m. MT.
Tvrdy paced the Rams (14-7, 6-4 MW) with 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting and finished just one rebound shy of her fourth double-double of the season. Senior forward Veronika Mirkovic registered her first career double-double, pouring in a career-high 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting along with 10 boards. Each of Grace Colaivalu and Sofie Tryggedsson joined the two in double-figure scoring with 12 apiece. New Mexico was (16-6, 4-5 MW) led offensively by Cherise Beynon, who tallied a game-high 30 points with 13 rebounds.
The first two field goals of the overtime period were made by New Mexico, as the Lobos' Jaisa Nunn and Tesha Buck converted on layups to put the Rams down, 71-67, with 3:24 to go. The Rams responded with the final seven points of extra time, as Mirkovic answered with a jumper just 24 seconds later and Colaivalu added another to tie the game at 71 apiece with 1:02 to play. The final three points came on Tvrdy's eventual game-winner with 26 seconds remaining, as the Rams forced misses by Buck and N'Dea Flye on the other end to seal the win.
Colorado State trailed by eight points with 6:12 left in the third quarter, but went on a 12-2 run punctuated by a Tvrdy jumper to retake the lead. CSU lost that lead briefly, but a Mirkovic jumper put the Rams back up, 50-48, heading to the fourth. The Rams held that lead until the 1:07 mark in the final quarter, when Beynon sunk a three to give UNM a 65-64 edge.
With 48 seconds to go, Colaivalu converted on a layup-and-one, giving the Rams a 67-65 late advantage. It looked as if the Rams had gotten the final stop they needed on a missed three by UNM's Mykiel Burleson with six seconds remaining, but the Lobos' Nunn collected the board and laid the ball in to tie the game at 67 apiece and set up Saturday's overtime dramatics.
IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams
"That was a fun 'State Pride' game. Tons of respect for New Mexico. They put a lot of offensive punch on that floor and I thought that's just an outstanding win because that might be the most talented team in our league. So the fight that our kids showed…they just stayed the course, found enough plays. This team is proving to themselves that we're tough. So, hopefully, this can keep propelling us. But, again, ton of respect for New Mexico and this feels really, really good because of how good they are. This was just a good win in Moby."
On the crowd on Saturday:
"They showed up. They were loud right when we needed them. You know, we had some big moments throughout that basketball game. They were really good in the second quarter when we needed them, that fourth quarter. But that overtime was special. I think that's what playing at home is all about."
Senior forward Veronika Mirkovic
On the team's mindset in overtime:
"The crowd was definitely a huge part of [our momentum in overtime]. We didn't get discouraged when they scored, we just knew we needed to get a stop and score ourselves."
Senior guard Hannah Tvrdy
On her performances in the past few games::
"The last few games have been lot of fun. Like coach (Ryun Williams) said, our confidence level has gone up, our mindset has changed, we're being more aggressive and you see that with me, too. It's helped our scoring a ton."
NOTES
- With the win on Saturday, Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams is now tied with former head coach Tom Collen for the most wins in program history (129).
- Colorado State has won five consecutive games against New Mexico and eight in the past nine games played against the Lobos.
- CSU has won four of its last five home games.
- Colorado State played its first overtime game of the 2017-18 season on Saturday. The Rams move to 8-3 in overtime games under Ryun Williams.
- Veronika Mirkovic broke her career high in scoring for the second consecutive game, as her previous best was 12 points against San Diego State on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
The Colorado State women's basketball team returns to the road on Wednesday for the second half of the Border War against Wyoming. Opening tip from Arena Auditorium is slated for 6:30 p.m. MT.
Team Stats
NM
CSU
FG%
.333
.429
3FG%
.240
.375
FT%
.833
.556
RB
48
41
TO
12
13
STL
3
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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