Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, February 27
Colorado Springs, CO
6:30 PM MT
Colorado State
12-17,6-12Mount
44
at
49
Air Force
9-20,7-11Mounta
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado State
16
7
11
10
44
Air Force
15
8
11
15
49
Rams Drop Another Close Affair
2/27/2020 9:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CSU and Air Force will meet again in Mountain West tournament
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Ryun Williams has seen this movie before.
This isn't 'Dances With Wolves,' which is the one where when it comes on TBS at midnight, Williams just can't force himself to hit the power button on the remote. He has to see it again.
Thursday's trip to Air Force was a repeat of the flick he'd hoped to never see again. The 49-44 defeat at Clune Arena was the fourth time this year the Rams have allowed less than 50 points and lost, which is inconceivable to the veteran coach.
He also has to wonder what the effects are at this point of the campaign.
"I don't know. Why would you be confident when you miss every time? Your confidence is going to struggle," he said. "We're 2-of-15 from the 3, and kids are driving in there and not finishing well. Obviously their confidence is really shaken."
The loss makes CSU (12-17, 6-12 MW) the 10th seed in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament, where it will face Air Force (9-20, 7-11) for the second time in three days when they meet at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas at 5:30 p.m., MT on Sunday.
Williams is not alone when it comes to being perplexed.
"Most definitely. We've proven ourselves defensively over and over again, and it's just frustrating when the ball just doesn't go in the hoop," senior Makenzie Ellis said. "We have so much potential, and it's frustrating because now is the time of the year when I think we should be rolling and getting those wins."
Instead, the Rams will enter the bracket with three consecutive losses to end the regular season.
It doesn't take a deep dive into the game book to figure out what went awry. The Rams shot just 31 percent from the field in the game, just 50 percent from the free-throw line. Even when the numbers were good, they were uneven. They forced 21 turnovers, but only turned those into 11 points. The 11 offensive rebounds they collected as a team became just 11 points.
Andrea Brady was stellar while battling foul trouble. She scored 17 points and collected 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and 10th in her career. Part of her board work was collecting four on the offensive end, giving her 84 for the season, tied for the fifth-best mark in program history.
"I think you really see that senior step up, and it's really awesome to see, and I love it," Ellis said. "She is a beast. We tell her every day that no one can stop her."
The rest of the team had no flow, no consistency. Tori Williams and Ellis both finished with eight, as Ellis fought foul trouble until exiting in the fourth.
The game was tight throughout, as is the norm with this team. The second quarter was sloppy, as both teams fought the turnover bug the final seven minutes of the stanza. The fourth quarter started with the teams deadlocked at 34, but Air Force scored the first seven points.
Even still, the Rams crawled back in it, only to have Tori Williams jump into a lane to steal a ball, but her momentum was carrying her out of bounds, and her attempt to save it went to the Falcons, who hit free throws down the stretch.
Williams is not about to complain about the defensive performance of his team.
"It's a large enough sample size that we know it's just been a struggle," he said. "We have to correct that in the offseason, through development and recruiting. These kids are going to put themselves in a position to win, it's just we seem to do enough to shoot ourselves in the foot throughout the course of a basketball game which makes it really tough to get these wins in a close situation."
With another chance against the Falcons approaching in short order, all the Rams can really do is take their best shot. Regardless what the numbers tell them, Ellis is not giving up hope.
"I think we all have so much confidence in one another," she said. "The shots we missed, I've seen Jamie Bonnarens, I've seen Megan Jacobs hit those shots. I've seen Lore Devos hit those shots she missed tonight. I know they're going to come."
Of Note
This isn't 'Dances With Wolves,' which is the one where when it comes on TBS at midnight, Williams just can't force himself to hit the power button on the remote. He has to see it again.
Thursday's trip to Air Force was a repeat of the flick he'd hoped to never see again. The 49-44 defeat at Clune Arena was the fourth time this year the Rams have allowed less than 50 points and lost, which is inconceivable to the veteran coach.
He also has to wonder what the effects are at this point of the campaign.
"I don't know. Why would you be confident when you miss every time? Your confidence is going to struggle," he said. "We're 2-of-15 from the 3, and kids are driving in there and not finishing well. Obviously their confidence is really shaken."
The loss makes CSU (12-17, 6-12 MW) the 10th seed in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament, where it will face Air Force (9-20, 7-11) for the second time in three days when they meet at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas at 5:30 p.m., MT on Sunday.
Williams is not alone when it comes to being perplexed.
"Most definitely. We've proven ourselves defensively over and over again, and it's just frustrating when the ball just doesn't go in the hoop," senior Makenzie Ellis said. "We have so much potential, and it's frustrating because now is the time of the year when I think we should be rolling and getting those wins."
Instead, the Rams will enter the bracket with three consecutive losses to end the regular season.
It doesn't take a deep dive into the game book to figure out what went awry. The Rams shot just 31 percent from the field in the game, just 50 percent from the free-throw line. Even when the numbers were good, they were uneven. They forced 21 turnovers, but only turned those into 11 points. The 11 offensive rebounds they collected as a team became just 11 points.
Andrea Brady was stellar while battling foul trouble. She scored 17 points and collected 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and 10th in her career. Part of her board work was collecting four on the offensive end, giving her 84 for the season, tied for the fifth-best mark in program history.
"I think you really see that senior step up, and it's really awesome to see, and I love it," Ellis said. "She is a beast. We tell her every day that no one can stop her."
The rest of the team had no flow, no consistency. Tori Williams and Ellis both finished with eight, as Ellis fought foul trouble until exiting in the fourth.
The game was tight throughout, as is the norm with this team. The second quarter was sloppy, as both teams fought the turnover bug the final seven minutes of the stanza. The fourth quarter started with the teams deadlocked at 34, but Air Force scored the first seven points.
Even still, the Rams crawled back in it, only to have Tori Williams jump into a lane to steal a ball, but her momentum was carrying her out of bounds, and her attempt to save it went to the Falcons, who hit free throws down the stretch.
Williams is not about to complain about the defensive performance of his team.
"It's a large enough sample size that we know it's just been a struggle," he said. "We have to correct that in the offseason, through development and recruiting. These kids are going to put themselves in a position to win, it's just we seem to do enough to shoot ourselves in the foot throughout the course of a basketball game which makes it really tough to get these wins in a close situation."
With another chance against the Falcons approaching in short order, all the Rams can really do is take their best shot. Regardless what the numbers tell them, Ellis is not giving up hope.
"I think we all have so much confidence in one another," she said. "The shots we missed, I've seen Jamie Bonnarens, I've seen Megan Jacobs hit those shots. I've seen Lore Devos hit those shots she missed tonight. I know they're going to come."
Of Note
- This was the 16th game this season the Rams have held an opponent to fewer than 60 points
- The Rams are now 50-13 against Air Force, 23-8 on the road.
- CSU and Air Force have played three times on a neutral court, with the Falcons holding a 2-1 edge
- Brady raised her team-leading rebound total to 241. She is seven shy of tying for 10th on the program's all-time list.
- Brady is tied with Lindsay Thomas (2003-04)
- CSURams.com -
Team Stats
CSU
USAFA
FG%
.310
.405
3FG%
.133
.143
FT%
.500
.650
RB
31
38
TO
13
21
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
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