Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 15
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
11-4,2-3Mountain West
74
vs
85
New Mexico
15-4,6-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
New Mexico
19
24
19
23
85
Colorado St.
16
19
27
12
74
Flurry of 3s Knocks Down Colorado State
1/15/2022 3:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Third-quarter surge doesn't hold for Rams
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – As talented as New Mexico is offensively, Ryun Williams went by the numbers.
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The Colorado State women's basketball coach scoured the analytics and had his team play the percentages. With four starters for the Lobos averaging doubles figures – and the fifth just a shade outside – he felt the best course of action was to make the Mountain West conference leaders beat them from outside, not inside.
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He didn't want the Duff sisters driving the lane, or Jaedyn de la Cerda, for that matter. He also didn't want them beating the Rams from outside, but the numbers told him the best option was to let their bigs shoot the 3s Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena for the Bigger Than Basketball game.
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"It was just those certain kids. Maybe their percentages are not great," Williams said. "LaTascya Duff is a 49 percent shooter (from 3) going into this weekend. You play the analytics and he percentages there. Yeah, we were going to make those kids cast it, not let their guards get stuff to the basket."
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All New Mexico did was defy those numbers in an 85-74 victory which keeps them unbeaten (6-0) in conference play. The Lobos (15-4 overall) shot 52 3s in the game – the second most in the NCAA this year – and made 19, which isn't even their season high after hitting 21 earlier against Utah State.
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Of those attempts, 38 were taken by the players the Rams (11-4, 2-3 MW) wanted to shoot them – Shaiquel McGruder, Paula Reus and Antonia Anderson. McGruder had never taken more than four in a game, but she attempted eight, making two. Reus, coming off the bench, had never taken more than four or made more than two; she took 10 and hit four.
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Anderson was the real sniper, however. Having never attempted more than four in a game, she shot 20 – the second most by a Division I player this year – and drilled eight on her way to a career-best 30 points.
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"I don't think I've ever seen that," Williams said. "Their guards are so gifted; I don't think our fans saw how talented those guards are because of how we guarded them. We didn't give them many easy opportunities, and that's why Reus, McGruder and Anderson had to beat us, and they did."
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Anderson hit 4-of-10 alone in the third quarter, helping New Mexico build a 17-point lead with 6:30 still to play in the frame, but just as it appeared they were running away, Colorado State charged back.
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It was a contest played with the pedal to the floor all night on both sides, the only differential being the Lobos were hitting a better percentage of their shots than did the Rams. But for those final minutes of the third, Colorado State was spot on, found the mark from deep and had the game tied at 62 when the horn sounded.
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The run started with a Cali Clark 3 and ended when the Rams made three consecutive treys to end the quarter, two of them by Kendyll Kinzer, the tying shot by Petra Farkas.
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"It was a very emotional game. It was high intensity, high energy from the tip," said McKenna Hofschild, who recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists, adding eight rebounds. "We knew that about this team, and we also knew we were playing for something bigger than just the game. We were playing for something more important than basketball. The emotions were definitely there. Wish we could have gotten the win."
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New Mexico opened up a small advantage at the start of the fourth, but used a 12-2 run down the stretch to salt away the victory.
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It was the second loss in a row for Colorado State, but unlike the game earlier this week against Air Force, the Rams can see a few more positives. Williams noted the fight and courage his team showed, but in the end, they just weren't able to keep up the offensive pace with New Mexico.
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Kinzer, Murphy and Upe Atosu all finished with 14 points, and Clark finished with a career-best 13 rebounds. But in the final 10 minutes, Colorado State didn't finish the good looks it had at the basket, shooting just 27.8 percent.
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"For the fact that we came all out, and we down with a high margin and we came out to play, I think that's the energy that we needed that first game," Atosu said. "Sometimes we just lagged. We had so many positive things we're going to take from this game, and trust me, our next game is going to be so much bigger."
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The Colorado State women's basketball coach scoured the analytics and had his team play the percentages. With four starters for the Lobos averaging doubles figures – and the fifth just a shade outside – he felt the best course of action was to make the Mountain West conference leaders beat them from outside, not inside.
Â
He didn't want the Duff sisters driving the lane, or Jaedyn de la Cerda, for that matter. He also didn't want them beating the Rams from outside, but the numbers told him the best option was to let their bigs shoot the 3s Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena for the Bigger Than Basketball game.
Â
"It was just those certain kids. Maybe their percentages are not great," Williams said. "LaTascya Duff is a 49 percent shooter (from 3) going into this weekend. You play the analytics and he percentages there. Yeah, we were going to make those kids cast it, not let their guards get stuff to the basket."
Â
All New Mexico did was defy those numbers in an 85-74 victory which keeps them unbeaten (6-0) in conference play. The Lobos (15-4 overall) shot 52 3s in the game – the second most in the NCAA this year – and made 19, which isn't even their season high after hitting 21 earlier against Utah State.
Â
Of those attempts, 38 were taken by the players the Rams (11-4, 2-3 MW) wanted to shoot them – Shaiquel McGruder, Paula Reus and Antonia Anderson. McGruder had never taken more than four in a game, but she attempted eight, making two. Reus, coming off the bench, had never taken more than four or made more than two; she took 10 and hit four.
Â
Anderson was the real sniper, however. Having never attempted more than four in a game, she shot 20 – the second most by a Division I player this year – and drilled eight on her way to a career-best 30 points.
Â
"I don't think I've ever seen that," Williams said. "Their guards are so gifted; I don't think our fans saw how talented those guards are because of how we guarded them. We didn't give them many easy opportunities, and that's why Reus, McGruder and Anderson had to beat us, and they did."
Â
Anderson hit 4-of-10 alone in the third quarter, helping New Mexico build a 17-point lead with 6:30 still to play in the frame, but just as it appeared they were running away, Colorado State charged back.
Â
It was a contest played with the pedal to the floor all night on both sides, the only differential being the Lobos were hitting a better percentage of their shots than did the Rams. But for those final minutes of the third, Colorado State was spot on, found the mark from deep and had the game tied at 62 when the horn sounded.
Â
The run started with a Cali Clark 3 and ended when the Rams made three consecutive treys to end the quarter, two of them by Kendyll Kinzer, the tying shot by Petra Farkas.
Â
"It was a very emotional game. It was high intensity, high energy from the tip," said McKenna Hofschild, who recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists, adding eight rebounds. "We knew that about this team, and we also knew we were playing for something bigger than just the game. We were playing for something more important than basketball. The emotions were definitely there. Wish we could have gotten the win."
Â
New Mexico opened up a small advantage at the start of the fourth, but used a 12-2 run down the stretch to salt away the victory.
Â
It was the second loss in a row for Colorado State, but unlike the game earlier this week against Air Force, the Rams can see a few more positives. Williams noted the fight and courage his team showed, but in the end, they just weren't able to keep up the offensive pace with New Mexico.
Â
Kinzer, Murphy and Upe Atosu all finished with 14 points, and Clark finished with a career-best 13 rebounds. But in the final 10 minutes, Colorado State didn't finish the good looks it had at the basket, shooting just 27.8 percent.
Â
"For the fact that we came all out, and we down with a high margin and we came out to play, I think that's the energy that we needed that first game," Atosu said. "Sometimes we just lagged. We had so many positive things we're going to take from this game, and trust me, our next game is going to be so much bigger."
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Team Stats
UNM
CSU
FG%
.410
.389
3FG%
.365
.375
FT%
.500
.750
RB
48
44
TO
6
4
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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