Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, December 13
Fort Collins, CO
12 PM MT
Colorado State
6-1,3-1Mountain
85
vs
62
Denver
2-3,0-0Summit L
1
2
3
4
F
Denver
10
15
16
21
62
Colorado State
19
24
24
18
85
Rams Cruise to Win Over Denver, 85-62
12/13/2020 3:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Colorado State has its best start in six seasons at 6-1
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Sometimes it was a steady pace, others a mini-sprint, throw in the occasional leap every now in then.
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The first half of Sunday's game with Denver, Ryun Williams was stalking the sidelines. Not out of control, mind you, just engaged. Barking at his Colorado State players, sometimes the refs. Sometimes the Rams' coach saw a travel by a Denver player an official missed. Or somebody wasn't sliding their feet on defense. A missed bunny in the paint, or another offensive rebound allowed. He'd even share his frustration with workers on the scorer's table, explaining what he was seeing.
Â
It frustrated him at times. And his team was up by as much as 20 points and they'd allowed a season-low 25 points to their foes in the first 20 minutes.
Â
"We've got a standard at which we want to compete at," Williams said. "We don't want to play the scoreboard. This is how we keep getting this team better, and I thought the kids stayed locked in. There's just more room to be a little antsy on the sideline with the bleachers pushed back."
Â
Coaches coach, and even when the game develops into a runaway as Sunday's 85-62 non-conference affair with the Pioneers became, he expects more. His team is good. He knows that. The Rams can score, they are deeper than they've been and the defense is coming.
Â
While they are now 6-1 in a pandemic-crazy year, bigger games are coming. So Williams stalks the sidelines, laments the miscues he feels his team should be past at this point. Or at least more consistent in their execution of aspects of the game. It will all mean so much more later than it did on this particular afternoon.
Â
So they need to get there, because there is a long break between games coming. CSU will face these same Pioneers on Friday in Denver, then they won't compete again until the Mountain West slate resumes Jan. 7 for a two-game set against UNLV in three days.
Â
There's so little time, so few competitive opportunities, to start getting things polished.
Â
Guard Tori Williams knows exactly what her coach is doing, and she appreciates the heck out of him for that reason.
Â
"He's definitely an entertaining person. I made fun of him on Twitter the other day, because any time anybody goes up for a layup, he's like jumping and stuff like that," Tori said. "He just wants us to make everything and do our best, so its' great having a coach always invested in the game like he is.
Â
"Any team we face, we know it' going to be a challenge. And him being that excited makes us and uplifting, and it makes us that excited to keep competing. I mean, it's Ryun Williams; he's always competitive."
Â
The Rams were, too, start to finish, even with a little shakeup. True freshman guard Ellie Boni was not available due to injury after starting the first six games. So Petra Farkas took her role with the toughest defensive assignment, which was to hawk Meghan Boyd. And she found out shortly before tipoff at the end of the team meeting.
Â
Boyd entered with a trio of 20-point efforts in the Pioneers past four games, but Farkas hounded her into a 13-point night on 4-of-19 shooting from the floor, just 2-of-10 behind the arc. She didn't hit a field goal until her 11th attempt of the contest.
Â
Coach Williams was impressed with the way Farkas handled the late call to duty, and he wasn't even considering her offensive performance, which couldn't be ignored.
Â
She scored 12 points, hitting 4-of-6 behind the arc.
Â
"Honestly, I was just focusing on the defense," Farkas said. "I believe if my defense is great and I'm focusing on it, my offense is going to come. I just had wide open 3s because of my teammates, so I just had to knock them down."
Â
The bench was really strong all game. Jamie Bonnarens led the team with 15 points in a reserve role, while Cali Clark had a stunning start to the second half, scoring six quick to finish with 10 on the night. The starters weren't bad, either, as Lore Devos registered her third successive double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Tori Williams added 14 by shooting 50 percent from the floor and behind the arc.
Â
The funniest thing about her coach, she said – he still insists he's a better shooter.
Â
"I don't think so," she said, and the argument will continue.
Â
But even her coach can't deny what she's bringing to the floor every night. She still played 33 minutes, because her game is more than just her shooting.
Â
"I'm extremely impressed with how Tori Williams is playing," he said. "Not just shooting, but competing, defending, leading our basketball team. The poise and composure she's bringing to the basketball court is what we expect of her."
Â
Colorado State pulled away in the second half, leading by as much as 30 points. Fourteen Rams saw the floor, and 11 of them scored. But the truth is, there is room for improvement. Denver outrebounded CSU 40-33, a figure inflated by the Pioneers' 17 offensive boards which resulted in 14 second-chance points.
Â
That has to change. And other assignments have to be tidied up. That's just the reality for the Rams and their coach, even if he felt Sunday was their best all-around performance.
Â
So Williams will continue to stalk the sidelines, regardless of the score. And really, that will likely never change, no matter how well his team plays.
Â
"We're going to keep coaching them hard, because we've got a hungry group," he said. "They want to be coached. They want the detail. They want the game film, and they want the extra shots. As a coach, you just don't want to shortchange them. I like how locked in our group is, especially during this crazy time when there's so much changing every single day. That's what I'm impressed with."
Â
The Rams will head down to Denver Friday to battle the Pioneers on their court with a 6 p.m. tip time.
Â
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
Â
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The first half of Sunday's game with Denver, Ryun Williams was stalking the sidelines. Not out of control, mind you, just engaged. Barking at his Colorado State players, sometimes the refs. Sometimes the Rams' coach saw a travel by a Denver player an official missed. Or somebody wasn't sliding their feet on defense. A missed bunny in the paint, or another offensive rebound allowed. He'd even share his frustration with workers on the scorer's table, explaining what he was seeing.
Â
It frustrated him at times. And his team was up by as much as 20 points and they'd allowed a season-low 25 points to their foes in the first 20 minutes.
Â
"We've got a standard at which we want to compete at," Williams said. "We don't want to play the scoreboard. This is how we keep getting this team better, and I thought the kids stayed locked in. There's just more room to be a little antsy on the sideline with the bleachers pushed back."
Â
Coaches coach, and even when the game develops into a runaway as Sunday's 85-62 non-conference affair with the Pioneers became, he expects more. His team is good. He knows that. The Rams can score, they are deeper than they've been and the defense is coming.
Â
While they are now 6-1 in a pandemic-crazy year, bigger games are coming. So Williams stalks the sidelines, laments the miscues he feels his team should be past at this point. Or at least more consistent in their execution of aspects of the game. It will all mean so much more later than it did on this particular afternoon.
Â
So they need to get there, because there is a long break between games coming. CSU will face these same Pioneers on Friday in Denver, then they won't compete again until the Mountain West slate resumes Jan. 7 for a two-game set against UNLV in three days.
Â
There's so little time, so few competitive opportunities, to start getting things polished.
Â
Guard Tori Williams knows exactly what her coach is doing, and she appreciates the heck out of him for that reason.
Â
"He's definitely an entertaining person. I made fun of him on Twitter the other day, because any time anybody goes up for a layup, he's like jumping and stuff like that," Tori said. "He just wants us to make everything and do our best, so its' great having a coach always invested in the game like he is.
Â
"Any team we face, we know it' going to be a challenge. And him being that excited makes us and uplifting, and it makes us that excited to keep competing. I mean, it's Ryun Williams; he's always competitive."
Â
The Rams were, too, start to finish, even with a little shakeup. True freshman guard Ellie Boni was not available due to injury after starting the first six games. So Petra Farkas took her role with the toughest defensive assignment, which was to hawk Meghan Boyd. And she found out shortly before tipoff at the end of the team meeting.
Â
Boyd entered with a trio of 20-point efforts in the Pioneers past four games, but Farkas hounded her into a 13-point night on 4-of-19 shooting from the floor, just 2-of-10 behind the arc. She didn't hit a field goal until her 11th attempt of the contest.
Â
Coach Williams was impressed with the way Farkas handled the late call to duty, and he wasn't even considering her offensive performance, which couldn't be ignored.
Â
She scored 12 points, hitting 4-of-6 behind the arc.
Â
"Honestly, I was just focusing on the defense," Farkas said. "I believe if my defense is great and I'm focusing on it, my offense is going to come. I just had wide open 3s because of my teammates, so I just had to knock them down."
Â
The bench was really strong all game. Jamie Bonnarens led the team with 15 points in a reserve role, while Cali Clark had a stunning start to the second half, scoring six quick to finish with 10 on the night. The starters weren't bad, either, as Lore Devos registered her third successive double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Tori Williams added 14 by shooting 50 percent from the floor and behind the arc.
Â
The funniest thing about her coach, she said – he still insists he's a better shooter.
Â
"I don't think so," she said, and the argument will continue.
Â
But even her coach can't deny what she's bringing to the floor every night. She still played 33 minutes, because her game is more than just her shooting.
Â
"I'm extremely impressed with how Tori Williams is playing," he said. "Not just shooting, but competing, defending, leading our basketball team. The poise and composure she's bringing to the basketball court is what we expect of her."
Â
Colorado State pulled away in the second half, leading by as much as 30 points. Fourteen Rams saw the floor, and 11 of them scored. But the truth is, there is room for improvement. Denver outrebounded CSU 40-33, a figure inflated by the Pioneers' 17 offensive boards which resulted in 14 second-chance points.
Â
That has to change. And other assignments have to be tidied up. That's just the reality for the Rams and their coach, even if he felt Sunday was their best all-around performance.
Â
So Williams will continue to stalk the sidelines, regardless of the score. And really, that will likely never change, no matter how well his team plays.
Â
"We're going to keep coaching them hard, because we've got a hungry group," he said. "They want to be coached. They want the detail. They want the game film, and they want the extra shots. As a coach, you just don't want to shortchange them. I like how locked in our group is, especially during this crazy time when there's so much changing every single day. That's what I'm impressed with."
Â
The Rams will head down to Denver Friday to battle the Pioneers on their court with a 6 p.m. tip time.
Â
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
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- CSURams.com -
Team Stats
DENVER
CSU
FG%
.348
.559
3FG%
.250
.458
FT%
.818
.727
RB
40
33
TO
18
14
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
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