Hofschild Dealing With Physical Tactic

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Listed at a very generous 5-foot-5 on the roster, McKenna Hofschild is the little engine who does.

She pushes the pace for Colorado State's women's basketball team and energizes everything when she's on the floor. She may be small, but she's not afraid to venture into the paint, and she's keen enough to knock down an outside jumper.

It led to her being the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year in 2020-21, earning first-team all-conference accolades as she averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 assists per game, 2.6-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Derailing her is a step in the right direction to defending the Rams, and this year, opponents are trying to do just that. Literally. She's seemingly spent as much time picking herself up off the court this season as she has driving for a layup. It didn't take long for her teammates to notice, either.

"It was the second game. Anyone who watches scout, that's our main spot we can facilitate from and get good looks," post Karly Murphy said. "This year there's been a lot more physicality with Kenna, just because she proved herself last year with her IQ and her talent. It's what runs our team, and if they take that away, it will hurt us, but I think Kenna has done a real good job of remaining strong, battling that pressure and bouncing back every time."

In the Rams' past game, CSU Pueblo starting guard Jalen Long played seven minutes, picking up five fouls trying to hound Hofschild. After sitting much of the first half in foul trouble, Long picked up two quick infractions in the third quarter. She was whistled for her third, then got right back in Hofschild's face.

Hofschild just laughed.

"She didn't say anything. She just followed me, and when I turned around, she was in my face," Hofschild said. "I thought it was pretty funny. I'm never going to be the type of player to put myself in position to get in trouble, so I kind of laughed about it. I was like, 'girl, this really isn't something that needs to be happening.'"

This isn't a complete surprise. Not to her, not the coaching staff. There were signs at the tail end of the past seasons teams were not only going to consider the approach, but put it into action. In the offseason, she had discussions with assistant coach Rico Burkett about what was going to happen and how to combat it, and they weren't just about the physical part, either.

Team will get physical with her as she drives the lane, even when she goes to finish at the glass. They are also doing at the top of the key, on the wing and just about every other spot on the floor. There's grimaced a few times, felt it in her ribs a few others, but so far – "fingers crossed," she said – there hasn't been a show stopper.

They do hurt a bit afterward, however.

What she's done every time so far is get back up off the deck and go to work. Against CSU Pueblo, she posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

"Kenna had a tough fight," Williams said of the game. "That's where they put the heat, and they were going to disrupt that. She had 10 points and 11 assists, so that was a good double-double with how they were playing her.

"That's what people are doing. They are really physical there. Whether she's finishing at the basket or driving the lane, that's their plan. For her to not get overly frustrated, we've seen the growth there. And we'll continue to challenge her in that area. The more composed she played, the more she plays with a toughness, a balance and a strength, the better off we are."

So far, there's nothing in her numbers which suggests it is going to work. She's averaging 13.4 points per game, and her assists are at 5.6 a night. Even her rebounding is up.

If this was hockey, the Rams would assign an enforcer to protect her, but such a tactic would be frowned upon on the hardwood.

"We need somebody out there checking people," Murphy said. "I'd love that job if it was OK, but I'd get five pretty quick."

Expecting it and playing through it are two different things, and Hofschild said her reaction is still a work in progress. She's handled it well so far. Her moments of frustration have been few and far in between, but her goal is to let it roll off her like it's nothing at all.

Besides, she doesn't think anybody is actually trying to hurt her, just frustrate her and get her off her game.

"I think most teams this year, their game plan is to try to get to me mentally, just because it's a lot easier to stop me if I'm stopping myself," she said. "That's something I'm working on and getting better at. If I can stay mentally strong, mentally in it, then I think we're in a very good position to win.

"Obviously my stature is an easy target to pick on me, and I've had to do it my whole life, so it's something I've gotten used to."

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