Top-Two Mountain West Teams Square Off in Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In the driver's seat is where the Rams reside in the Mountain West women's basketball standings, but in the rear view is New Mexico who come to Moby Arena this week for a two-game series.

For the first time since early December, the Rams will play back-to-back games with this two-game set going Friday and Saturday – both 1 p.m. tips.

Big implications surround this matchup with New Mexico behind the Rams in the Mountain West Standings at 6-2 despite playing four less MW games. The Lobos' two losses mirror CSU's with one each against Fresno State and UNLV. NM is coming off a sweep of San Diego State in which the Aztecs did not eclipse 50 points in either game. The matchup this weekend is of the top-2 Mountain West offenses with NM putting up 83.45 points per game to CSU's 81.75 average.

"Everyone needs to take a long lunch break on Friday to tune in to game one of this important series," head coach Ryun Williams said. "New Mexico is a very talented team, so we will have our work cut out for us. They play five-out and will shoot a ton of 3s. They are athletic at every spot, which makes them want to play super-fast. That puts a lot of pressure on the get-back defense. We have not played a team like this all year, so it will be a competitive series and we are excited for the challenge. We are going to have to play our best two games of the year to put ourselves in the position to beat New Mexico twice."

Originally, this series was supposed to be played at West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas where New Mexico must play its "home" games by order of the Governor. However, with all the sports overlapping it created a facility conflict and the series was moved up to Fort Collins.

"Their student-athletes have faced a lot of adversity this season off the court with COVID-19 scheduling, which makes their on-court success even more impressive," Williams praised. "Mike [Bradbury, NM head coach] called me and we made it work for both teams. We are lucky to host them."

RAMS NOTEBOOK (Full Game Notes Attached)

Last Time Out
• Last time out, the Rams swept their fifth opponent and fourth MW team with two rivalry wins over Wyoming to now lead that all-time series 53-51. In game one, Lore Devos notched 21 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Gaining the sweep was not easy as the Cowgirls led with just under three minutes left in the contest, but the Rams went on an 8-1 run to seal it. McKenna Hofschild had 21 points in the game with 19 in the second half.

Busy Brooms
• The Rams have swept San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State and Wyoming in the same season - a feat last done in 2015-16 when CSU went 31-2 overall and 18-0 in conference play. That year, Ryun Williams' Rams won the MW regular-season title and the MW tournament before advancing to the NCAA tournament. The 10-2 Mountain West start is the best since the 2016-17 season for the Rams, which was CSU's last MW regular-season championship.

More on the Lobos
• The Lobos were picked to finish sixth - two spots ahead of CSU- in the MW preseason coaches' poll. LaTascya Duff was named MW Preseason Newcomer of the Year and thus far she is averaging 13.2 points per game coming off the bench.
• At one point this season due to COVID-19, the Lobos spent 51-straight days away from their Albuquerque campus.

Keep Up
• Pace and scoring is the biggest change for these Rams as they have scored over 70 points in 13 of 16 games, easily surpassing last year's six. The last time CSU started a season with 13 of 16 games over 70 points was 2001-02 - the ninth-highest scoring team (71.69 ppg) in CSU history. The current Rams are averaging 81.8 points per game for second in the MW and 13th in the nation. The 1998-99 team holds the scoring offense record at 80.87 ppg.

Under the Radar Defense
• The offense is getting a lot of attention, but Ryun WIlliams' staple defense is performing as well. The Rams' defense held the Broncos to eight CSU opponent-lows including total points and field goal percentage.
• The defense has kept its opponent under .400 shooting in nine games and under .400 3FG shooting in 14 games.

Yin & Yang
• Yin & Yang is what Tori Williams and McKenna Hofschild call each other. The opposite styles are meshing well in the backcourt. Hofschild leads the MW in assist-turnover ratio, assists and apg, while Williams leads 3FGA, 3FGM, 3FG/G.
• McKenna Hofschild's 10 assists in the season opener was the most by a Ram since Grace Colaivalu in 2018. WIthin her 19 second-half points in game two of Wyoming, she scored 11 in the fourth quarter.
• Tori Williams has set new single-game career bests in points, rebounds, steals and minutes this season. Including her time at Utah, she has 158 total 3FGM, which would be eighth on CSU's all-time if all as a Ram.

Balance All Around
• The Rams join Fresno State, New Mexico and UNLV as the only teams with three players in the MW top-20 scorers.
• In game two against Utah State, six Rams scored in double digits, marking the first time that has occurred since Nov. 28, 2015 (Nystrom, Wharry, Arias, Austgulen, Patrick, Gustavsson).
• In game two against Boise State, CSU went +14 on the rebound margin with four Rams grabbing nine each.

Sharing the Rock
• The Rams are fifth in the nation in asst/turnover ratio (1.47), while leading the MW in the category. CSU's 241 assists and 15.1 apg are second and third in the MW, respectively. CSU has tied or outassisted all but two of their opponents. The Rams tallied a season-high 24 assists against Denver at home.

What to Watch For?
• CSU Scoring Offense (#2 in MW) vs. NM Scoring Defense (#9 in MW)
• CSU Scoring Defense (#6 in MW) vs. NM Scoring Offense (#1 in MW)
• CSU FG Percentage (#1 in MW) vs. NM FG Percentage Defense (#9 in MW)
• CSU FG Percentage Defense (#1 in MW) vs. NM FG Percentage (#3 in MW)

Series History: Colorado State – New Mexico
Overall: CSU trails, 38-44
In Fort Collins: 23-12
In Albuquerque: 13-26
Neutral Sites: 2-6
Current Streak: NM, 4
Last Meeting: CSU 62, NM 73 in Albuquerque (1/15/20)
Largest Margin of Victory: 41; CSU 93, NM 52 in FC (2/22/92)
Largest Defeat: 35; CSU 50, NM 85 in FC (2/7/78)

A Colorado State Friday Win Would Mean…
• Ryun Williams' 100th conference victory in the Mountain West, joining a group of six head coaches. (See page 6 on game notes)

A Colorado State Friday & Saturday Win Would Mean…
• The fifth MW sweep of the season for the Rams and first against the Lobos since 2016-17.
• Colorado State's ninth win in a row for its longest win streak since 2016-17.
How to Follow Along
Attached: Game Notes.
Live Stats: http://csura.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

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