Rams fall to Boise State, 76-51, in Mountain West semifinals

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LAS VEGAS – The No. 5-seeded Colorado State women's basketball team fell to the top-seeded Boise State Broncos, 76-51, at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday in the semifinals of the 2018 Mountain West Women's Basketball Championships.

Colorado State (20-11) was paced offensively by senior guard Hannah Tvrdy, who tallied a team-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor and 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range. The Seward, Neb., native was the only player in double-digit scoring for CSU, which shot 34.5 percent (20-for-58) for the game. The Rams did not exceed 36.4 percent in any of the four quarters, and did not score more than 13 points in any quarter.

Conversely, Boise State (22-9) shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) for the game, and had Braydey Hodgins (25 points), Marta Hermida (14 points) and Riley Lupfer (12 points) in double-figure scoring. The only quarter in which Boise State did not shoot above 50 percent was the first, as the Rams held the Broncos to 18.8 percent en route to a 12-8 lead heading to the second. CSU boosted that lead to seven on a Tvrdy three to open the quarter, and went on to hold the advantage past the midway point of the second and for 14:32 overall in the first half.

However, Boise State shot 73.3 percent (11-for-15) in the second quarter and whittled the Rams' lead away until taking it on a layup by the Broncos' Tess Amundsen at the 4:20 mark. The Broncos closed the quarter on 9-for-11 shooting, building their lead to 10 by the 2:32 mark before heading to halftime with a 35-25 lead.

Colorado State got a pair of jumpers from freshman guard Lore Devos to cut the deficit to six at the beginning of the third quarter, but the Rams were unable to draw any closer. CSU was within 39-32 at the 6:22 mark in the third, but was caught in another Boise State run, as the Broncos scored the next nine points over the next three minutes to extend their lead to 48-32. Boise State finished that third quarter shooting 61.5 percent (8-for-13) and followed it with a 56.3 percent (9-for-16) fourth quarter. The Broncos went up by 20 on a layup on their first possession, and never led by fewer than that before the final 76-51 score.

IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams
"Boise was tremendous. We picked a tough night to have a tough night. But Boise had a lot to do with that. And so they're playing well. Boise was great tonight."

On what his message is to his three seniors:
"Well, we just thank you. Thank you. You can see what wonderful young ladies they are. You mention the no regrets, those kids came every day to work and to get better. And, I don't know, I think the compliment I give them is that they're leaving here, a kid like Stine, a kid like Tvrdy, a kid like Veronika, they took no shortcuts. It's human nature to take shortcuts. They put in effort every single day. They committed to our program, they gave us everything that they could. And we just thank you, thank you, thank you. Those are tremendous young ladies who helped carry on our culture. We've established something special at Colorado State. And it was very evident in that locker room after the game. Yeah, it hurts, but that's part of sports."

Senior guard Stine Austgulen
On effort plays that younger CSU players made on Wednesday:
"It means a lot. They're going to do the very best to help the team out. They're going to keep fighting. And I think that's important for going onward to next year. It tells you what kind of players we have here at CSU, and just their fight is amazing."

Senior guard Hannah Tvrdy
On her reflection on the season:
"I don't think we didn't have success this year. I think people look at (the fact that) you didn't make the championship game. I think, honestly, this season taught me the most…there's a lot of ups and downs this year. But it taught me the most as a person."

NOTES
- Senior guard Hannah Tvrdy scored in double digits for the 11th time in the past 12 games.
- Colorado State used the same starting lineup combination for each game of the 2018 Mountain West Women's Basketball Championships: Stine Austgulen, Annie Brady, Lore Devos, Sofie Tryggedsson and Hannah Tvrdy.

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