Rams Rise to Occasion to Sweep Wyoming in UCHealth Game

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FORT COLLINS – The Rams were back at Moby Arena on Saturday to play their second game against the Cowgirls, but this Border War game was more than just a matchup against a rival, it was an homage to cancer patients at UCHealth.

Every cancer game Colorado State plays is always powerful and emotional, but this year, there was even more reason to secure a win. In late 2020, assistant director of communications Mike Brohard lost his wife to cancer, and the team sported the Brohard name proudly on the back of their warm-up jerseys.

In addition to the warm-up jerseys, each player forfeited their own name to represent and pay respect to someone who was fighting or had lost their battle with cancer, raising the stakes of this game even higher than they already were.

During the last outing against the Cowgirls on Thursday, Colorado State won 69-61. Last year, the two teams split the series, and this year the Rams were geared toward a sweep of their rival.

It was a nail-biter to the end. In the last 10 seconds of the game, several free throws narrowed the gap between the two teams before the Rams finished it off 68-65.

McKenna Hofschild and Jamie Bonnarens both held down the court at Moby. Bonnarens went 5-for-9 on field goals and racked up 12 points for the team. Hofschild had a delayed production, only scoring three points in the first quarter, and then exploded in the second half of the game. She scored 19 points, 11 of which were in the fourth quarter alone.

The Rams called a timeout around the 3:30 mark which encouraged the girls to pick it up, not only for themselves, but for those they were representing.

"Coach said it was go time and I just wanted to help my team in every possible way to get this win," Hofschild said. "I know it's a really important game for all of us to play not only for us, but for all of the fighters and everyone on the back of our jerseys. I just really wanted to help this team get this win because it was a really big game for all of us."

Karly Murphy has been consistent for the Rams this season, and especially this series. She supported both Hofschild and Bonnarens by scoring 17 points of her own and 12 on Thursday.

Coach Ryun Williams was more than proud of how the team played. Each game a different player shines on the court, and he is most encouraged by how much the team grinded out this win.

"That was a good one," Williams said. "I'm really proud of the way we closed that game out in the last three minutes. I don't think they had a field goal in the last three minutes. That was a great defensive performance down the stretch. I'm really proud of the winning plays that McKenna Hofschild made late, but let's be honest. This is a game against Wyoming. It's always going to be a grinder. To get 68 was a really nice offensive performance by our kids tonight. It took a lot of courageous plays and on a night where we were representing courage on the back of our jerseys, fighters, warriors, that was the only way that game should've been played tonight and the fact that we came out on top, that's special."

The Rams are now 10-2 in conference and seated at the No. 1 spot in the Mountain West. With the Border War out of the way, the Rams are up next facing second-place New Mexico while riding in on a seven-game winning streak.

Last season, the Rams lost to New Mexico 62-73, but it is clear the 2020-2021 season is the season full of comebacks.

"I think this really showed us how tough we are," Bonnarens said. "Even with adversity, we can come together and get the job done. We're going to enjoy this, and when it's time to prepare, we're going to focus and get ready."

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

- CSURams.com -

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