Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 25
Fort Collins, CO
2 PM MT
Colorado State
10-10,4-5Mounta
56
vs
55
Utah State
6-14,1-8Mountai
1
2
3
4
F
Utah St.
7
25
11
12
55
Colorado State
12
16
17
11
56
Rams Stave Off Aggies in Final Possession, 56-55
1/25/2020 4:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Sometimes a win is a desire, other times it's a need.
After a buzzer-beating loss to Fresno State on Wednesday, Colorado State women's basketball needed a win – head coach Ryun Williams even said as much. When so many things seemed to be going wrong for the Rams as the game wore on, the pillars of his system played the biggest role in their 56-55 win at Moby Arena over Utah State on Saturday.
The days leading up to the matchup for Williams were spent injecting confidence back into his team, which fought so hard for an upset earlier in the week and failed.
"We just needed this thing after that tough loss at Fresno," Williams said. "Our kids, we just tried to put our arms around them these last couple of days. We know we can do this. I'm just proud they came out with great energy, great fight and a great intent to get a victory."
Several games have been close for the Rams this year. In eight of their ten losses, they've fallen by merely single digits – something that can take a toll on a roster.
The true traits of Williams' year-to-year squads are defense and refusing to give up free possessions with turnovers. Their opponent's scoring has been the lowest in the conference. They've turned the ball over fewer times than every team in the nation outside of the five teams above them.
In the fourth quarter, when their offense went silent for the final four minutes, the defense stepped to the forefront once again.
"This is the time of year when you get into conference play that everybody knows everybody's tendencies," Williams said. "It's going to be a struggle, that's just how this game is."
The one-point margin of victory would've disappeared with even "two more turnovers". The Rams' ability to force 20 giveaways and have only seven themselves was the elixir to offensive and rebounding woes. They scored 21 points off of those turnovers, accounting for more than a third of their scoring coming courtesy of their defense.
"With maturity comes knowing what you need to do and what you need to get done," Jamie Bonnarens said after producing four steals. "You can't let pressure situations get to you. You just have to play your game and trust that your practice and your teammates will back you up."
On the game's final play, Utah State went to their most experienced player as well in Hailey Bassett. The Rams knew it was coming – their plan was to force the Aggies to start far away from the basket and foul when needed. Instead, they forced an outside shot from Bassett, something they also chalk up to knowing the situation.
"We had a foul to give and we wanted to use it," said Makenzie Ellis, who led the offense with 13 points. "But, by the time Bassett caught the ball, the clock's ticking down and we (knew) not to foul on the shot. At that point, it was just about locking down and playing good defense."
Nearly every game is going to be close as the Rams head into the final games of their conference slate.
Keeping the ball away from the other team while locking them down when it does escape has always been their plan. It's about executing it, even when the clock dwindles.
Postgame Notes
- In the first quarter, the Rams held the Aggies to seven points, marking the 14th time the defense has held an opponent to less than 10 points in a frame.
- The MW's best scoring defense, CSU, kept its third-straight opponent under 60 points, which makes 11 opponents under that barrier this season.
- Andrea Brady scored 11 points for her 13th double-digit scoring game of the season.
- Makenzie Ellis had a team-high 13 points for her 12th double-digit game of the season and third in a row.
- The Rams forced 20 turnovers and only committed seven themselves for a +13 margin. Entering the game, CSU was third in the MW in TO margin at +3.9.
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
After a buzzer-beating loss to Fresno State on Wednesday, Colorado State women's basketball needed a win – head coach Ryun Williams even said as much. When so many things seemed to be going wrong for the Rams as the game wore on, the pillars of his system played the biggest role in their 56-55 win at Moby Arena over Utah State on Saturday.
The days leading up to the matchup for Williams were spent injecting confidence back into his team, which fought so hard for an upset earlier in the week and failed.
"We just needed this thing after that tough loss at Fresno," Williams said. "Our kids, we just tried to put our arms around them these last couple of days. We know we can do this. I'm just proud they came out with great energy, great fight and a great intent to get a victory."
Several games have been close for the Rams this year. In eight of their ten losses, they've fallen by merely single digits – something that can take a toll on a roster.
The true traits of Williams' year-to-year squads are defense and refusing to give up free possessions with turnovers. Their opponent's scoring has been the lowest in the conference. They've turned the ball over fewer times than every team in the nation outside of the five teams above them.
In the fourth quarter, when their offense went silent for the final four minutes, the defense stepped to the forefront once again.
"This is the time of year when you get into conference play that everybody knows everybody's tendencies," Williams said. "It's going to be a struggle, that's just how this game is."
The one-point margin of victory would've disappeared with even "two more turnovers". The Rams' ability to force 20 giveaways and have only seven themselves was the elixir to offensive and rebounding woes. They scored 21 points off of those turnovers, accounting for more than a third of their scoring coming courtesy of their defense.
"With maturity comes knowing what you need to do and what you need to get done," Jamie Bonnarens said after producing four steals. "You can't let pressure situations get to you. You just have to play your game and trust that your practice and your teammates will back you up."
On the game's final play, Utah State went to their most experienced player as well in Hailey Bassett. The Rams knew it was coming – their plan was to force the Aggies to start far away from the basket and foul when needed. Instead, they forced an outside shot from Bassett, something they also chalk up to knowing the situation.
"We had a foul to give and we wanted to use it," said Makenzie Ellis, who led the offense with 13 points. "But, by the time Bassett caught the ball, the clock's ticking down and we (knew) not to foul on the shot. At that point, it was just about locking down and playing good defense."
Nearly every game is going to be close as the Rams head into the final games of their conference slate.
Keeping the ball away from the other team while locking them down when it does escape has always been their plan. It's about executing it, even when the clock dwindles.
Postgame Notes
- In the first quarter, the Rams held the Aggies to seven points, marking the 14th time the defense has held an opponent to less than 10 points in a frame.
- The MW's best scoring defense, CSU, kept its third-straight opponent under 60 points, which makes 11 opponents under that barrier this season.
- Andrea Brady scored 11 points for her 13th double-digit scoring game of the season.
- Makenzie Ellis had a team-high 13 points for her 12th double-digit game of the season and third in a row.
- The Rams forced 20 turnovers and only committed seven themselves for a +13 margin. Entering the game, CSU was third in the MW in TO margin at +3.9.
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
Team Stats
USU
CSU
FG%
.465
.411
3FG%
.286
.286
FT%
.733
.667
RB
35
19
TO
20
7
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
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