Rams Host Aggies in Moby Arena Return

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the second time this season, the Rams will return to the court after a layoff of at least 10 games when they tip off against the Utah State Aggies on Wednesday inside of Moby Arena.

Due to last week's postponement of the San Jose State series, Colorado State (4-2 MW) has not played since its win at UNLV on Jan. 9. At 8-2 overall, the Rams are enjoying their best 10-game start since 2015-16 when the Rams went 31-2 overall and swept the Mountain West at 18-0.

The Aggies (4-5, 2-2 MW) have not been clean either on the COVID-19 front as three of their past four games have been postponed, putting their number of postponed games to four – all within the conference. Utah State's last scheduled contest with San Diego State was postponed due to a non-player case within the Utah State bubble.

Game one on Wednesday is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. MT, while Friday's matinee game two will start at 1 p.m. MT. Both contests will be streamed on Mountain West Network.

"This year it is important to be very flexible and to control what you can control, which is what our team is focused on," head coach Ryun Williams said. "It was unfortunate we could not play San Jose State, but the team had a really positive week of practice with good energy and competition. The layoff also allowed time for our bodies to heal a bit in addition to their minds with school about to start back up."

The last time out, the Rams defeated the UNLV Lady Rebels to get a series split in Las Vegas. Sophomore guard McKenna Hofschild recorded back-to-back 20-plus scoring efforts to earn Mountain West Player of the Week. In game two, she dropped 24 points including a career-best six 3s.

The Aggies (4-5, 2-2 MW), led by first-time head coach Kayla Ard, were picked to finish last in the Mountain West with only two returning starters. Graduate transfer Jessica Chatman leads USU in scoring (13 ppg) and rebounding (8 rpg).

"Utah State is a team that will play deep into their depth. They have different athletes that can step up on different nights, so we will have to be prepared up-and-down the scouting report. They like to play fast, making our transition defense critical."

Last year, the Rams swept the Utah State series using a defensive stand to take a one-point win at home and then drained a season-high 15 3s at Logan.

RAMS NOTEBOOK (Full Game Notes Attached)

On Pace
• Pace and scoring is the biggest change for these Rams as they have scored over 70 points in nine of 10 games, surpassing last year's six. The last time CSU started a season with its first nine games over 70 points was 1998-99 - the second-highest scoring team (79.22 ppg) in CSU history. That team had 816 points through 10 games, while the current Rams are at 847.

Yin & Yang
• That's what Tori Williams and McKenna Hofschild call each other. The seemingly opposite playing styles are meshing well in the Rams' backcourt. Hofschild eclipsed the 20-point barrier for the first time in her career at UNLV and she did so twice while also still facilitating with her MW-best assist total, resulting in being named Mountain West's Player of the Week. Williams has reached double-digit scoring in all but one game. In that one game, she tallied nine points, career-best six steals and season-high six assists.

What to Watch For?
• CSU Scoring Offense (#2 in MW) vs. USU Scoring Defense (#10 in MW)
• CSU FG Percentage (#1 in MW) vs. USU FG Percentage Defense (#2 in MW)
• CSU 3FG Percentage (#1 in MW) vs. USU 3FG Percentage Defense (#6 in MW)
• CSU front court Murphy/Clark/Devos vs. USU Jessica Chatman (Top 5 in Reb & Top 20 in Pts MW)

How We Stack Up
• Teamwise, the Rams lead the MW in eight statistical categories and are in the top-10 nationally in four. Tori Williams is scoring at will thanks to her MW-best 3-ball total of 33 that is 13th in the nation. McKenna Hofschild has scored double digits seven times, but her best asset is her assists, averaging 6.1 a game - the 14th best mark in the nation. Lore Devos has tallied a MW-best five double-doubles after entering the season with one in her career.

Sharing the Rock
• The Rams are second in the nation in asst/turnover ratio (1.67), while leading the MW in assists (170), and apg (17.0). McKenna Hofschild's 10 assists in the season opener is four off the national game high. Her 61 total assists, 6.1 apg and 4.1 asst/to ratio rank No. 1 in the MW and top-20 nationally. The Rams have tied or outassisted all of their opponents. The Rams tallied a season-high 24 assists against Denver at home.

More of the Aggies
• For the third time (DU, UNLV), CSU will face a first-year head coach in Kayla Ard who entered the 2020-21 season with just two returning starters that averaged less than five points a game last season. Three of the past four scheduled games for the Aggies have gone unplayed due to COVID-19. Last time out on Jan. 14th, USU was held to a season-low 60 points in a loss to San Diego State.

Series History: Colorado State – Utah State
Overall: CSU leads, 20-13
In Fort Collins: 10-5
In Logan: 6-6
Neutral Sites: 4-2
Current Streak: CSU, 2
Last Meeting: CSU 67, USU 61 in Logan (2/12/20)
Largest Margin of Victory: 31; USU 43, CSU 74 in FC (1/21/17)
Largest Defeat: 40; CSU 59, USU 99 in Logan (2/23/79)

A Colorado State Wednesday Win Would Mean…
• A three-game win streak against the Aggies and a tie of five conference wins with Boise State.

A Colorado State Wednesday & Friday Win Would Mean…
• The third two-game series sweep of an opponent this season and second-straight season series sweep of Utah State.

How to Follow Along
Attached: Game Notes.
Live Stats: http://csuram.ms/WBBStats
Live Stream: http://csura.ms/Watch
Radio: KARS 102.9 FM | https://csura.ms/Listen

For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball

- CSURams.com -

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Lore Devos

McKenna Hofschild

Tori Williams

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