Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Las Vegas, NV
TBA
Colorado State
12-18,6-12Mount
48
vs
60
Air Force
10-20,7-11Mount
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado State
8
7
20
13
48
Air Force
21
10
16
13
60
Season Ends with 60-48 Loss to Falcons at Air Force Reserve Mountain West Championships
3/1/2020 9:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
No. 10 Colorado State Fell 60-48 to No. 7 Air Force Sunday in the Mountain West Tournament
LAS VEGAS, Nev. –Game plans are put in place for a reason.
For instance, Colorado State's women's basketball team was content to allow Air Force shoot behind the arc in Sunday's opening game of the Air Force Reserve Mountain West Tournament, because the Falcons shoot just 27.9 percent behind the arc.
So the Falcons came out and hit four in the first quarter at the Thomas & Mack Center, the first two from a Briana Autrey-Thompson, who shoots 18 percent from deep. Cierra Winters hit one, too, banking in the shot.
Stunning. And a stunning affect.
"It allowed them to have a strong start to the game, and it was hard to come back from that, a 16-point deficit we had at half," Annie Brady said.
The uncommon run of outside baskets merged into a perfect storm against the Rams, who, despite getting the ball inside – as planned – they could not convert, shooting just 27.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. Before long, Air Force had built a 19-point lead and continued through the final 20 minutes to post a 60-48 victory to bring an end to the Rams' season at 12-18.
What Air Force did early was uncommon. So was a lot of what Colorado State did throughout the game, and that's what cost it most.
"I think the two things there in that first half were the offensive rebounds absolutely were crucial; they just crashed and we did not answer that," CSU coach Ryun Williams said. "And the turnovers. I think we had nine first-half turnovers. You give them so many extra possessions and they converted a fair amount of those, and thus the big lead there at halftime."
The Falcons only had one other 3-pointer, and came in the fourth quarter from Kaelin Immell. Naturally, it was an off-balance shot, at the end of the shot clock, which banked off the glass.
From the start, Colorado State didn't do much to counter any of their problems. When the Falcons missed shots, they were there to collect the deflection, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, 18 by the end of the night. A team which prides itself on taking care of the ball, the Rams turned it over nine times in the opening half, and in the fourth quarter, three more put the final total at 15 and led to Falcons' fast-break points.
Unfortunately for the Rams, what has been common for them is a sluggish offense, and they did little outside of Makenzie Ellis to alter the course. The graduate-transfer senior gathered the team at halftime, determined not to go down without a fight.
"I know I got together with the team and said we have to play together," she said. "I think the first half, we played very separate and very individualized, so playing together, that's what got us those really good shots, and that's what pushed us to start to come back."
In the third quarter alone, Ellis had 10 of her team-best 19 points, hitting 3-pointers and old fashioned three-point plays. She led a charge which led the Rams to trim the lead to single digits on two occasions, only to still trail by 12 heading into the final frame.
She also blocked three shots on the night, but the Falcons found ways to score and turn away every Rams' charge.
Ellis had just one year with the team, but Williams noted the third quarter epitomized what she brought to the roster.
"Makenzie has been just so good for us in a lot of different ways. You can see she's just a special young lady and brought great maturity to our roster, and obviously very competitive," Williams said. "It doesn't surprise me she was going to go out guns-a-blazing, and she had a really good third quarter.
"I'm proud of our seniors. They can walk away with their heads held high. They gave great try. They gave us their very best. Yeah, you always want more, but they gave us their best, and it was nice to have Makenzie here for one year."
Brady finished with five rebounds, two on the offensive end, which pushed her to fifth by herself on the program's single-season list with 86 total. She pitched in eight points after starting cold, but she was not alone in that regard. The Rams' only other outlier was Liah Davis, who scored eight off the bench and didn't miss a shot from the field (two attempts) or any of her four charity tosses.
There were very few nights like that for Brady, who earned Williams' unending respect for the way she battled back from a knee injury to be on the floor, then played most of the season on a sore knee when it was reinjured.
What wasn't so surprising about the outcome was Air Force entered the tournament as the hot team, including a win this past Thursday over Colorado State. The Rams, their offensive struggles only magnified as the season played out, making it extremely difficult for them to rattle off big runs.
The way Sunday started, they were going to need what they just haven't been able to deliver.
"We lost a lot of games within two-to-five points, and it's hard to come back and keep competing, but this group did that every night," Brady said. "It was a tough year, but it was a fun year."
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
For instance, Colorado State's women's basketball team was content to allow Air Force shoot behind the arc in Sunday's opening game of the Air Force Reserve Mountain West Tournament, because the Falcons shoot just 27.9 percent behind the arc.
So the Falcons came out and hit four in the first quarter at the Thomas & Mack Center, the first two from a Briana Autrey-Thompson, who shoots 18 percent from deep. Cierra Winters hit one, too, banking in the shot.
Stunning. And a stunning affect.
"It allowed them to have a strong start to the game, and it was hard to come back from that, a 16-point deficit we had at half," Annie Brady said.
The uncommon run of outside baskets merged into a perfect storm against the Rams, who, despite getting the ball inside – as planned – they could not convert, shooting just 27.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. Before long, Air Force had built a 19-point lead and continued through the final 20 minutes to post a 60-48 victory to bring an end to the Rams' season at 12-18.
What Air Force did early was uncommon. So was a lot of what Colorado State did throughout the game, and that's what cost it most.
"I think the two things there in that first half were the offensive rebounds absolutely were crucial; they just crashed and we did not answer that," CSU coach Ryun Williams said. "And the turnovers. I think we had nine first-half turnovers. You give them so many extra possessions and they converted a fair amount of those, and thus the big lead there at halftime."
The Falcons only had one other 3-pointer, and came in the fourth quarter from Kaelin Immell. Naturally, it was an off-balance shot, at the end of the shot clock, which banked off the glass.
From the start, Colorado State didn't do much to counter any of their problems. When the Falcons missed shots, they were there to collect the deflection, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, 18 by the end of the night. A team which prides itself on taking care of the ball, the Rams turned it over nine times in the opening half, and in the fourth quarter, three more put the final total at 15 and led to Falcons' fast-break points.
Unfortunately for the Rams, what has been common for them is a sluggish offense, and they did little outside of Makenzie Ellis to alter the course. The graduate-transfer senior gathered the team at halftime, determined not to go down without a fight.
"I know I got together with the team and said we have to play together," she said. "I think the first half, we played very separate and very individualized, so playing together, that's what got us those really good shots, and that's what pushed us to start to come back."
In the third quarter alone, Ellis had 10 of her team-best 19 points, hitting 3-pointers and old fashioned three-point plays. She led a charge which led the Rams to trim the lead to single digits on two occasions, only to still trail by 12 heading into the final frame.
She also blocked three shots on the night, but the Falcons found ways to score and turn away every Rams' charge.
Ellis had just one year with the team, but Williams noted the third quarter epitomized what she brought to the roster.
"Makenzie has been just so good for us in a lot of different ways. You can see she's just a special young lady and brought great maturity to our roster, and obviously very competitive," Williams said. "It doesn't surprise me she was going to go out guns-a-blazing, and she had a really good third quarter.
"I'm proud of our seniors. They can walk away with their heads held high. They gave great try. They gave us their very best. Yeah, you always want more, but they gave us their best, and it was nice to have Makenzie here for one year."
Brady finished with five rebounds, two on the offensive end, which pushed her to fifth by herself on the program's single-season list with 86 total. She pitched in eight points after starting cold, but she was not alone in that regard. The Rams' only other outlier was Liah Davis, who scored eight off the bench and didn't miss a shot from the field (two attempts) or any of her four charity tosses.
There were very few nights like that for Brady, who earned Williams' unending respect for the way she battled back from a knee injury to be on the floor, then played most of the season on a sore knee when it was reinjured.
What wasn't so surprising about the outcome was Air Force entered the tournament as the hot team, including a win this past Thursday over Colorado State. The Rams, their offensive struggles only magnified as the season played out, making it extremely difficult for them to rattle off big runs.
The way Sunday started, they were going to need what they just haven't been able to deliver.
"We lost a lot of games within two-to-five points, and it's hard to come back and keep competing, but this group did that every night," Brady said. "It was a tough year, but it was a fun year."
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
- CSURams.com -
Team Stats
CSU
USAFA
FG%
.349
.369
3FG%
.167
.278
FT%
.842
.583
RB
31
43
TO
15
8
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballCSU Basketball (W) - Behind the Whiteboard with GA Sam Wall
Saturday, October 25
CSU Basketball (W) - 94 Feet with Allie Roden
Thursday, October 16
CSU Basketball (W) - Behind the Whiteboard with Coach Erickson
Friday, October 10
CSU Basketball (W) - 94 Feet with Madelyn Bragg
Wednesday, October 08