Rams Head to Las Vegas for UNLV Series

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After a 19-day break for the holidays, the Colorado State women's basketball team will be back in action Thursday to start the two-game series with UNLV at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

"We are anxious to see how the team comes back after that abnormally long, but needed break," head coach Ryun Williams said. "We realize there may be some rust to shake off but are excited nonetheless to be back out there competing. UNLV has been playing good basketball as of late with a big win over Loyola Marymount right before Christmas, scoring over 90 points with a bunch of 3s. We will have to be ready to go. It's an athletic bunch that has good post play, so we'll be tested out of the gate here in the New Year."

The last time out, the Rams completed the sweep of the Denver Pioneers with a 79-61 win at the Hamilton Gymnasium. Colorado State's second sweep improved the Rams to 7-1 overall, marking the best start since 2015-16 when the Rams went 31-2 overall and undefeated in the MW at 18-0.

Prior to the two-game series with DU, the Rams went 3-1 against Fresno State and San Diego State to start conference play. Taking 3-of-4 from two top-4 projected Mountain West teams, including the reigning champion Bulldogs, gained the league's attention. The 3-1 Mountain West start is the best since the 2016-17 season for the Rams.

The Lady Rebels (3-4, 1-1), led by first-time head coach Lindy La Rocque, were picked to finish ninth in the Mountain West with only one returning starter, Bailey Thomas. For UNLV, it will have been a 16-day break by the time of Thursday's tip since their New Year's series with San Diego State was postponed due to positive COVID-19 results on the Aztecs' roster. The Lady Rebels split their opening conference series with Wyoming at the beginning of December.

Last year, the Rams and the Lady Rebels split the series with each obtaining four-point wins on their home floor. Only three players on each team played in game one of that series as both teams have revamped their rosters.

The tip time for game one is 6 p.m. MT, while Saturday's game two starts at 1 p.m. MT. Both contests will be streamed on Mountain West Network.

RAMS NOTEBOOK (Full Game Notes Attached)

On Pace
• Pace and scoring are the biggest change for these Rams as they have scored over 70 points in all eight games, surpassing last year's six. The last time CSU started a season with eight games over 70 points was 2001-02 - the seventh-highest scoring team in CSU history. That team had 664 points through seven games, while the current Rams are at 704. The last Ram team to eclipse 70 points in their first 10 contests is the 1998-99 squad - also the program's top total offense.

How We Stack Up
• Teamwise, the Rams lead the MW in 10 statistical categories and are in the top-5 nationally in three. Tori Williams is in the midst of a career-best streak of eight double-digit scoring games thanks largely to her MW-best 3-ball total. McKenna Hofschild has scored double digits five times, but her best asset is her assists, averaging 6.4 a game - the 10th best mark in the nation. Lore Devos has tallied five double-doubles after entering the season with one in her career.

Second Quarter Surge
• Early on, the Rams are showing their quarter of separation is the second quarter. In the opener, CSU outscored Regis 31-13 and in game two against Colorado Christian it was 30-6 for a combined total of 61-19. Colorado State outscored Fresno State in both second quarters. In all, the Rams have bested their opponents 168-118 in the second frame. In five of the eight second quarters thus far, CSU has scored 20+ points.

Sharing the Rock
• The Rams are second in the nation in asst/turnover ratio (1.73), while leading the MW in assists (140), and apg (17.5). McKenna Hofschild's 10 assists in the season opener is four off the national game high. Her 51 total assists, 6.4 apg and 5.1 asst/to ratio rank No. 1 in the MW and top-10 nationally. The Rams have tied or outassisted all their opponents. The Rams tallied a season-high 24 assists against Denver at home.

Block Party
• The Rams are fifth in the NCAA in blocked shots (51) and their 6.4 bpg ranks 11th. In the MW, the next closest team has 25 and 5.25, respectively. As a team, the Rams have the top two block totals for a game in the conference at 12 and nine. Off redshirt and showing a prowess in swatting is Sydney Mech who has a league-high 16 with Lore Devos (13) is second, having passed her total blocks from last season.

More of the Lady Rebels
• Last season, UNLV finished 13-17 and 9-9 in Mountain West play, but only return one starter and four total letterwinners from that roster.
• La Rocque, the second-youngest women's basketball coach (Division I) in the nation after spending five years as assistant coaches on first the Belmont staff (2015-17) before returning to her alma mater to help the Stanford Cardinal (2017-20) claim two Sweet 16s, and Elite Eight and a Pac-12 Championship title.
• The Lady Rebels lost to No. 2 Stanford, 101-54, on Dec. 5th after both of their original opponents cancelled.
• Redshirt senior Bailey Thomas and freshman Jade Thomas are sisters.

Series History: Colorado State – UNLV
Overall: CSU leads, 31-19
In Fort Collins: 18-5
In Las Vegas: 13-14
Neutral Sites: -
Current Streak: CSU, 1
Last Meeting: UNLV 56, CSU 60 in Fort Collins (2/19/20)
Largest Margin of Victory: 40; UNLV 50, CSU 90 in FC (1/3/98)
Largest Defeat: 19; UNLV 90, CSU 71 in LV (2/8/03)

A Colorado State Thursday Win Would Mean…
• The Rams' first five-game win streak since the 2017-18 season.

A Colorado State Thursday & Saturday Win Would Mean…
• Three sweeps on the season, joining San Diego State and Denver.

How to Follow Along
Attached: Game Notes.
Live Stats: http://csura.ms/2LetTxT
Live Stream: http://csura.ms/3of0aDH
Radio: The X 94.3 FM | https://csura.ms/Listen

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

- CSURams.com -

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lore Devos

McKenna Hofschild

Sydney Mech

Tori Williams

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Colorado State University Athletics