Colorado State University Athletics
Monday, February 24
Fort Collins, CO
7 PM MT
Colorado State
61
vs
64
San Diego State
Senior Night Bittersweet with Overtime Loss to Aztecs, 64-61
2/24/2020 10:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Colorado State Suffers from Cold Shooting Down Stretch to Drop Overtime Contest.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Some losses sting more than others. Some even bring tears to the eyes of the fallen team. There's a different kind of loss though – one which won't allow a team to sleep at night.
Ryun Williams expects Monday's 64-61 overtime loss to San Diego State will be one of the rare instances which keep players up at night. The festivities of Senior Night add salt to the wound. The Rams dropped to 12-16 overall with a 6-11 Mountain West mark, while SDSU improved to 13-16 overall and 8-9 in the conference.
"We made some plays, but we've just got to have those dagger plays," Williams said. "We just let teams hang around. That's our season in one game."
For the first three quarters, all of the built-up frustration of the season appeared to have slipped away. The Rams scored 50 points before the final stanza even began. Offensively, they'd finally found the form which has evaded them much of the year.
When the game was teetering, the Rams went cold. In the final 15 minutes, including overtime, they went 2-for-21 from the field. Even with their struggles, a Jamie Bonnarens' forced turnover with 11 seconds left put the final onus on the hosts.
The final play was drawn up for Tori Williams to crash to the rim. When she did, a whistle blew. The perceived foul call appeared to be the first break for the Rams in what felt like weeks.
After review, the play was overturned.
"It's gut punch after gut punch," Ryun Williams said. "For these kids to just keep coming out and putting themselves in position (to win), that's impressive. Jamie made a great play to get us the ball back. We just didn't find enough plays to (win)."
Even in overtime, Annie Brady, who is set to graduate and led a foursome into double figures with a game-high 20 points, had a chance with 6 seconds left to tie it up.
"(The play) was for me to get a 3-pointer on the wing," Brady said. "We expected her to sink in a little bit more and she stayed on me. It was a tough shot."
Both instances have been like a reoccurring nightmare for the Rams this year. They've played well enough to boast a higher win total, but have lost by single digits 11 times, including Monday.
A couple more games turn from losses to wins and the Rams are looking at a first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament. The coach knows what-ifs don't mean much.
"This is what we are," he said. "I'm beyond perplexed and beyond frustrated, and so are our kids. That's what's so impressive about them – they handle this frustration the right way. They just come back and (say), 'OK, how do we put ourselves in position to win this next game?' You can see the intent behind what they're doing is really good.
"These kids just need a break. I thought we were going to get it to close the game."
Brady, Myanne Hamm, Makenzie Ellis and Roichelle Marble were celebrated. The posters and applause before the game were part of it. The play of the non-graduating classes showed a win meant a lot to them – they wanted to send the senior class out the right way.
"Our goal going in was to play for the seniors, they put in a lot of work here," Bonnarens said. "The underclassmen bought in together. We really didn't even have to say it, we just knew to play for the seniors."
Bonnarens finished with 10 points. Lore Devos scored 12, Tori Williams 11.
Those same seniors, as well as the rest of the Rams will head to Clune Arena to take on Air Force in their season finale before heading to Las Vegas.
As for their final loss at home, the coach went home, left scratching his head.
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
Ryun Williams expects Monday's 64-61 overtime loss to San Diego State will be one of the rare instances which keep players up at night. The festivities of Senior Night add salt to the wound. The Rams dropped to 12-16 overall with a 6-11 Mountain West mark, while SDSU improved to 13-16 overall and 8-9 in the conference.
"We made some plays, but we've just got to have those dagger plays," Williams said. "We just let teams hang around. That's our season in one game."
For the first three quarters, all of the built-up frustration of the season appeared to have slipped away. The Rams scored 50 points before the final stanza even began. Offensively, they'd finally found the form which has evaded them much of the year.
When the game was teetering, the Rams went cold. In the final 15 minutes, including overtime, they went 2-for-21 from the field. Even with their struggles, a Jamie Bonnarens' forced turnover with 11 seconds left put the final onus on the hosts.
The final play was drawn up for Tori Williams to crash to the rim. When she did, a whistle blew. The perceived foul call appeared to be the first break for the Rams in what felt like weeks.
After review, the play was overturned.
"It's gut punch after gut punch," Ryun Williams said. "For these kids to just keep coming out and putting themselves in position (to win), that's impressive. Jamie made a great play to get us the ball back. We just didn't find enough plays to (win)."
Even in overtime, Annie Brady, who is set to graduate and led a foursome into double figures with a game-high 20 points, had a chance with 6 seconds left to tie it up.
"(The play) was for me to get a 3-pointer on the wing," Brady said. "We expected her to sink in a little bit more and she stayed on me. It was a tough shot."
Both instances have been like a reoccurring nightmare for the Rams this year. They've played well enough to boast a higher win total, but have lost by single digits 11 times, including Monday.
A couple more games turn from losses to wins and the Rams are looking at a first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament. The coach knows what-ifs don't mean much.
"This is what we are," he said. "I'm beyond perplexed and beyond frustrated, and so are our kids. That's what's so impressive about them – they handle this frustration the right way. They just come back and (say), 'OK, how do we put ourselves in position to win this next game?' You can see the intent behind what they're doing is really good.
"These kids just need a break. I thought we were going to get it to close the game."
Brady, Myanne Hamm, Makenzie Ellis and Roichelle Marble were celebrated. The posters and applause before the game were part of it. The play of the non-graduating classes showed a win meant a lot to them – they wanted to send the senior class out the right way.
"Our goal going in was to play for the seniors, they put in a lot of work here," Bonnarens said. "The underclassmen bought in together. We really didn't even have to say it, we just knew to play for the seniors."
Bonnarens finished with 10 points. Lore Devos scored 12, Tori Williams 11.
Those same seniors, as well as the rest of the Rams will head to Clune Arena to take on Air Force in their season finale before heading to Las Vegas.
As for their final loss at home, the coach went home, left scratching his head.
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
- CSURams.com -
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballCSU Basketball (W) - 94 Feet with Madelyn Bragg
Wednesday, October 08
CSU Basketball (W) - 94 Feet with Jadyn Fife
Saturday, October 04
CSU Basketball (WBB) - Behind the Whiteboard with Coach Brady
Monday, September 29
CSU Basketball (W) - 94 Feet with Marta Leimane
Wednesday, September 24