Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, October 30
Fort Collins, CO
7 PM MT
Colorado State
84
vs
44
CSU - Pueblo (Exh.)
Photo by: Nick Monaghan
Women Put Theory to the Test in Exhibition Win
10/30/2019 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Rams use runs to pull away from ThunderWolves
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – They just needed to see.
The entire offseason was spent working on theory and conjecture, running mostly against themselves, save for a three-game stint in Costa Rica. And even then, not all were present and accounted for around Colorado State's women's basketball team.
The Rams needed a field test, thus, Wednesday's exhibition game with CSU-Pueblo at Moby Arena. In the long run, the 84-44 victory wasn't as important as what hit, what missed.
"We tried a lot of different things tonight," CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. "I thought what was good too, was, not that we saw a lot of different defenses, but we got pressed early a little bit, we saw a 2-3 zone, we saw a 1-3-1, so we kind of had to adjust a little bit, and I thought the kids did a nice job."
Williams isn't shy about using different combinations, and when it came to the play at point guard, he used three – Tori Williams, Katia Stamatelopoulos and Megan Jacobs – who are all new to the team. And he used them together at different times, and at one point, all three shared the floor.
The coach wants versatility, and he feels he has it this season. It will depend on matchups, but now he understands a little clearer.
For Tori Williams, it was a reintroduction to the game, and while the Utah transfer wasn't at her smoothest, she needed the minutes, the flow and the action. While the Rams were working in the offseason, she was rehabbing a knee injury. Even when she was cleared, Williams and his staff used precautions.
"It was just nice to have this game to get a feel with playing with everybody, because I didn't get a chance to play in Costa Rica," she said. "I think bonding in Costa Rica definitely helped with the chemistry on the court tonight, so it was just fun to get back out there."
When she wasn't playing (her 10 points made her one of four Rams to reach double figures), she was on an exercise bike in the corner, trying to keep her left knee warm.
There were struggles, such as the start. The ThunderWolves hit some early 3s and led 8-1, which opened the door for the Rams to shine. They answered with a 14-1 run, came back with an 18-0 march later and put the game completely on ice with an 18-3 stretch.
All good stuff, as was the pace of play. The Rams pushed the ball on offense, and they dove for loose balls on defense. Ball pressure was good and it was tough for the guests in the paint, but the openings on the perimeter will need to get closed down.
"We're going to have to be a lot better defensively," Coach Williams said. "That was probably a 'C' performance, and we need an 'A-plus' to really go."
By the time the game ended, the Rams had 12 different players in the scorebook, the night completed with an Alexis Eberhardt free throw at the end. As much as the Rams are focused on all the new floating through the program, an old standby such as 2018-19 leading scorer Lore Devos still has her place.
She paced the effort with 19 points, with Liah Davis putting in 13, Jacobs 10. Being a returner in the new age of Rams' play is rather enticing, too.
"We just have way more energy," Devos said. "The good thing about this team is everybody can score it, so it doesn't always go down to one or two players."
The Rams will play for real Tuesday, when Chadron State visits town for the first part of a women's-men's hoops doubleheader, the women tipping off at 11 a.m. The time between will be devoted to shoring up the rotation, what combinations work best and closing down some gaps defensively.
At least now, they have results to build off of, and they feel they are better connected when the opponent is not them.
"Just the chemistry that we have. I think it's better than what we expected," Tori Williams said. "We knew we had to fix some kinks in practice, but we came out and we definitely had that chemistry."
The entire offseason was spent working on theory and conjecture, running mostly against themselves, save for a three-game stint in Costa Rica. And even then, not all were present and accounted for around Colorado State's women's basketball team.
The Rams needed a field test, thus, Wednesday's exhibition game with CSU-Pueblo at Moby Arena. In the long run, the 84-44 victory wasn't as important as what hit, what missed.
"We tried a lot of different things tonight," CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. "I thought what was good too, was, not that we saw a lot of different defenses, but we got pressed early a little bit, we saw a 2-3 zone, we saw a 1-3-1, so we kind of had to adjust a little bit, and I thought the kids did a nice job."
Williams isn't shy about using different combinations, and when it came to the play at point guard, he used three – Tori Williams, Katia Stamatelopoulos and Megan Jacobs – who are all new to the team. And he used them together at different times, and at one point, all three shared the floor.
The coach wants versatility, and he feels he has it this season. It will depend on matchups, but now he understands a little clearer.
For Tori Williams, it was a reintroduction to the game, and while the Utah transfer wasn't at her smoothest, she needed the minutes, the flow and the action. While the Rams were working in the offseason, she was rehabbing a knee injury. Even when she was cleared, Williams and his staff used precautions.
"It was just nice to have this game to get a feel with playing with everybody, because I didn't get a chance to play in Costa Rica," she said. "I think bonding in Costa Rica definitely helped with the chemistry on the court tonight, so it was just fun to get back out there."
When she wasn't playing (her 10 points made her one of four Rams to reach double figures), she was on an exercise bike in the corner, trying to keep her left knee warm.
There were struggles, such as the start. The ThunderWolves hit some early 3s and led 8-1, which opened the door for the Rams to shine. They answered with a 14-1 run, came back with an 18-0 march later and put the game completely on ice with an 18-3 stretch.
All good stuff, as was the pace of play. The Rams pushed the ball on offense, and they dove for loose balls on defense. Ball pressure was good and it was tough for the guests in the paint, but the openings on the perimeter will need to get closed down.
"We're going to have to be a lot better defensively," Coach Williams said. "That was probably a 'C' performance, and we need an 'A-plus' to really go."
By the time the game ended, the Rams had 12 different players in the scorebook, the night completed with an Alexis Eberhardt free throw at the end. As much as the Rams are focused on all the new floating through the program, an old standby such as 2018-19 leading scorer Lore Devos still has her place.
She paced the effort with 19 points, with Liah Davis putting in 13, Jacobs 10. Being a returner in the new age of Rams' play is rather enticing, too.
"We just have way more energy," Devos said. "The good thing about this team is everybody can score it, so it doesn't always go down to one or two players."
The Rams will play for real Tuesday, when Chadron State visits town for the first part of a women's-men's hoops doubleheader, the women tipping off at 11 a.m. The time between will be devoted to shoring up the rotation, what combinations work best and closing down some gaps defensively.
At least now, they have results to build off of, and they feel they are better connected when the opponent is not them.
"Just the chemistry that we have. I think it's better than what we expected," Tori Williams said. "We knew we had to fix some kinks in practice, but we came out and we definitely had that chemistry."
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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