Rams Open Conference Holding Off Boise State

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Nothing about the set up was ideal, which explained the extra layer of worry for Ryun Williams on Tuesday night.

On a good day, the Colorado State women's basketball coach normally looks harder at the matchup hardships than he does the positive. It works for him, but with Mountain West play starting at Moby Arena with Boise State in town, his layer of woe was stacked pretty good.

The Rams had not played game for 16 days, thanks to COVID concerns wiping out a road game at Northern Illinois a week earlier. On top of that, his 9-1 team was going to roll with eight players due to protocols and an injury to starter Sydney Mech. Starting post Karly Murphy and her 10.8 points and 8.6 rebounds were sidelined, too.

On this night, he could fret with validity, and it only became worse when Cali Clark, fighting for a rebound, hit the floor hard and never returned, leaving the Rams with no experience at the post against one of the bigger lineups in the league.

None of it mattered, because the Rams were loaded in two areas – grit and emotion – and it spilled over into an 81-77 victory.

"I felt a lot of emotions tonight. I think I always feel emotional during games because I love to win," Petra Farkas said. "I just love when our team is doing the same as I do, celebrating each other."

Some of that emotion was just pent up, having not played in a while. Coupled with the start of conference play, the Rams (10-1, 1-0 MW) were definitely eager. The first quarter wasn't great, and the start of the second was a continuation, but it didn't take long for McKenna Hofschild to find out she had a clear path to the basket, and it helped open up her teammates, too.

It wasn't part of the scouting report, Hofschild said, but when you recognize something so inviting, you jump at the chance.

"No, but last year we did a lot of ball screens with them, and I wasn't able to kind of get into my game," Hofschild said. "The last couple of days during practice, we made sure I was prepared to read those screens, read what I was going for and then tonight it was just very open. If I had it, I had it, or I was looking to kick out.

"Boise last year played me really well, and this year it felt a little bit easier. Mary Kay Naro is a very good defender – physical and long – and she did a great job, but I just found my openings when I could."

She drove a handful of times with no resistance once she beat her defender, leading to a career-best 32 points, making 9-of-19 shots (1-of-2 from deep) and getting to the free-throw line a record number of times. Her 20 attempts tied a school record for a game. She made 13, which didn't make her happy, but she made enough of them down the stretch to hold the Broncos at bay.

It was that kind of night for the Rams, who found ways to drive to the basket. They only had eight assists (Hofschild had four), but Upe Atosu had success, finishing with 19 points after going 9-of-11 from the line. She had a key run to help the Rams finish tied at halftime, making three consecutive baskets down the stretch.

Petra Farkas did some of that, too, as she finished with a career-best 16, hitting a pair of 3s.

With Mech out – and likely for a lengthy spell, according to Williams – Farkas moves from key piece off the bench to a starting role. She's come to expect more of herself, and the result has been 31 points in the past two contests.

"It definitely is intentional. I just felt that because I'm starting right now I have a bigger role and bigger shoes to fill after Sydney," she said. "On offense, I don't feel pressure, I feel free and I can do what I can do."

She could at least prepare for her role. True freshman Clara Gomez didn't have that luxury, but when Clark went down, she was the last post standing for the Rams. She stood tall, too, helping Colorado State combat the Broncos' advantage inside.

Kendyll Kinzer did her part, pulling down a career-best 11 rebounds as the Rams held their own against the team with the second best rebounding margin in the conference (the Broncos held a 41-38 advantage at the end). Gomez helped, pulling down four rebounds, but she also scored the first six points of her career, defended well and moved with confidence. She did it all in 29 minutes, having played 30 minutes all season in six appearances.

Hofschild said it wasn't surprising, because they see it in practice, but it was, because of the moment and what it represented.

For Williams, her performance is the epitome of always being ready.

"It was so, so important, and I'm so happy … Her mom and dad and family are here from Spain, so to throw her into the fire tonight, and for her to play so well, she played with a really good poise. She played with a toughness, she played with a confidence and she gives you a little mismatch out there, because she drives the ball really well, and she's a good passer.

"That's just a kid who's ready. She hasn't played hardly at all. That's what an athlete is supposed to do. She doesn't have to like it, but she's always ready to go. When the moment came, you saw her perform really well. If she would have had a poor attitude leading into this game, she doesn't play this good. You saw a young lady who is a freshman who has a mature team mentality, team attitude, and that's why she played well tonight."

The game did come with some drama, and not from a likely source. With the Rams leading 73-66 with 1:06 remaining, Boise State (4-8, 0-1) started fouling. For a team ranked third in the nation making 81 percent of their attempts, the Rams were in a good spot.

But in those final 66 seconds, they shot 14 free throws, making nine, with Hofschild 6-of-10.

"I'll be shooting free throws tomorrow," she said.

It allowed the Broncos to edge into the lead, but CSU's defense – they forced two BSU turnovers in the final three possessions – made it just enough.

"It was not the easiest tonight to step up to that line, but it was good to win that game and have some pressure free throws," he said. "I think next time we're in that situation we'll perform quite a bit better."

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