Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, November 18
Denver, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
4-0,0-0Mountain West
67
at
43
Denver
1-3,0-0Summit League
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
19
14
22
12
67
Denver
10
15
8
10
43
Rams Batter Pioneers, 67-43
11/18/2021 9:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Huge Third Quarter Seals it for Colorado State at Denver
DENVER – A steady dose of prototypical Ram defense and McKenna Hofschild was the winning formula for Colorado State to power past Denver, 67-43, Thursday evening at the Hamilton Arena.
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Hofschild's night started from the tip when she scored nine in the first quarter and had 16 by half, which both marked the most by a Ram player in a single quarter and half, respectively, this season. The junior guard finished with a career-high 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting with four 3-pointers. Defensively, she held DU's senior guard Anna Jackson who averages over 11 points to just two points. Overall, the Rams improved to 4-0 for the second-straight season and have kept each opponent under 60 points.
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"The No. 1 key going into tonight was to limit [Meghan] Boyd and [Anna] Jackson," Williams said. "We held Boyd scoreless and allowed just two points to Jackson. McKenna, Upe [Atosu] and Petra [Farkas] drew those assignments and completed it well. Each game, we have increased assignments and each time the team steps up to the plate and delivers. Defensively, we continue to grow. This was a road game too against a team that was coming off a decent game at Wichita State, but we shut the door on them. I'm proud of the effort in our first road game."
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The third quarter was the difference maker as the Rams came out with 10 unanswered points and then after a DU bucket, they added another 7-0 run to follow. With that stretch, the Rams had broken the 20-point barrier in terms of a lead and did not look back. Back-to-back 3s from Kendyll Kinzer and Upe Atosu really tipped the scales at the end of that sequence. Atosu ended the night with nine points, while Kinzer followed with eight. Karly Murphy led the rebounding efforts with nine, finishing one off a double-double to go with her 12 points.
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"That felt great," Hofschild said. "My shot has been a little off, so to get it going tonight was a good sign. Tonight in general was just a great road win for this team. Our focus is to get stops on defense and let it transfer to our offense. When we have that going then it'll be a good night for us, which was the case tonight."
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Collectively, the Rams shot 41.9% from the floor and maintained the Pioneers to just 28.6%. The rebound battle went CSU's way to a tone of 43-30. Taking care of the ball was also critical for the Rams as they had seven turnovers and just one in the second half.
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"McKenna was brilliant tonight," Williams added. "In the last couple games, you could tell that she was close to being unleashed and tonight she did just that. She had her step back working and played with a great tempo and great burst when she decided to go to the basket, but the best thing was she didn't turn the ball over. It was one of the most complete games that we've ever had for a Ram in some time."
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The Rams return home to play Lipscomb on Sunday at Noon before a seven-day break.
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For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
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Hofschild's night started from the tip when she scored nine in the first quarter and had 16 by half, which both marked the most by a Ram player in a single quarter and half, respectively, this season. The junior guard finished with a career-high 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting with four 3-pointers. Defensively, she held DU's senior guard Anna Jackson who averages over 11 points to just two points. Overall, the Rams improved to 4-0 for the second-straight season and have kept each opponent under 60 points.
 Â
"The No. 1 key going into tonight was to limit [Meghan] Boyd and [Anna] Jackson," Williams said. "We held Boyd scoreless and allowed just two points to Jackson. McKenna, Upe [Atosu] and Petra [Farkas] drew those assignments and completed it well. Each game, we have increased assignments and each time the team steps up to the plate and delivers. Defensively, we continue to grow. This was a road game too against a team that was coming off a decent game at Wichita State, but we shut the door on them. I'm proud of the effort in our first road game."
Â
The third quarter was the difference maker as the Rams came out with 10 unanswered points and then after a DU bucket, they added another 7-0 run to follow. With that stretch, the Rams had broken the 20-point barrier in terms of a lead and did not look back. Back-to-back 3s from Kendyll Kinzer and Upe Atosu really tipped the scales at the end of that sequence. Atosu ended the night with nine points, while Kinzer followed with eight. Karly Murphy led the rebounding efforts with nine, finishing one off a double-double to go with her 12 points.
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"That felt great," Hofschild said. "My shot has been a little off, so to get it going tonight was a good sign. Tonight in general was just a great road win for this team. Our focus is to get stops on defense and let it transfer to our offense. When we have that going then it'll be a good night for us, which was the case tonight."
Â
Collectively, the Rams shot 41.9% from the floor and maintained the Pioneers to just 28.6%. The rebound battle went CSU's way to a tone of 43-30. Taking care of the ball was also critical for the Rams as they had seven turnovers and just one in the second half.
Â
"McKenna was brilliant tonight," Williams added. "In the last couple games, you could tell that she was close to being unleashed and tonight she did just that. She had her step back working and played with a great tempo and great burst when she decided to go to the basket, but the best thing was she didn't turn the ball over. It was one of the most complete games that we've ever had for a Ram in some time."
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The Rams return home to play Lipscomb on Sunday at Noon before a seven-day break.
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For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
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Team Stats
CSU
Denver
FG%
.419
.286
3FG%
.333
.240
FT%
.889
.833
RB
43
30
TO
7
10
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Women's BasketballF
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