Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 8
Fort Collins, CO
6:00 PM
Colorado State
1-0,0-0Mountain West
82
vs
62
BYU
0-1,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
BYU
18
21
13
10
62
Colorado St.
17
18
28
19
82
Rams Roll To Season-Opening Victory
11/8/2022 9:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bench nearly matches starters in win over BYU
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Becoming more athletic was a goal, setting a recruiting plan in motion.
Â
The secondary gain from the players Colorado State's women's basketball program added was the waves of talent it could now bring to the floor. They used to play fast, now they could play faster. And they could do it longer, because there were more of them able to keep up the pace.
Â
When a coach talks about a full team effort, Tuesday night's 82-62 victory at Moby Arena to open the season is a prime example.
Â
For the majority of the evening, it was Colorado State's bench which was leading the scoring effort until a late push from the starters made it nearly an even clip. The first five put 42 on the board, the next four 40.
Â
"That's pretty cool. The depth has been something that we've known we've had, and it was nice of them to perform tonight," CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. "Cailyn Crocker came in and gave us 17 big points and Joseana Vaz comes off the bench and gives us great play. Kendall Kinzer came off the bench and guarded those bigs and rebounded.
Â
"It wasn't just the points, it was the overall play. I thought there was great toughness, and there was never a letdown. If anything, we picked up and the energy just stayed really consistent with the depth we played with tonight."
Â
The first 20 minutes didn't go completely to plan, but the Rams never lost sight of the bigger Cougars. Lauren Gustin, who averaged a double-double in an all-conference season last year, had 10 and 8 by half, threatening to be a major concern. More so for the Rams were the open 3s they were allowing BYU to shoot, and they hit to the tune of 7-of-18 in the first 20 minutes, building a 39-35 lead as Arielle Mackey-Williams had 16 at the break.
Â
The only personnel change was Sydney Mech hawking Gustin most of the second half. She scored just two more points and grabbed five rebounds. The rest of it was attitude.
Â
"In the locker room at half, we talked about how we're at our best when we can get out run and get into transition, and in order to do that, we have to get stops and rebounds," CSU guard McKenna Hofschild said. "I think it was just a mentality change for our offense to translate, we need to get it done on the defensive end. We locked down, really took it personal I think a little bit more, got those boards a little bit better and we were able to get out and run and that's when the game opened up."
Â
The Cougars were just 1-of-8 behind the arc the second half, and Mackey-Williams added just two points to her total.
Â
The first sign things had changed didn't even require a full two minutes of the third quarter.
Â
It was a quick 7-0 run fueled by Crocker, who scored the first bucket, then assisted on the next two, leading to a BYU timeout. The bench and crowd were jazzed, and Hofschild said that was the moment it all changed for them.
Â
Colorado State outscored their guests 28-13 in the frame, a lead which would eventually build to as much as 24 at one point in the fourth quarter.
Â
Aggressiveness was the heartbeat of the offense, and it was the bench to first make it pound. Vaz's first appearance netted six points and some rebounding prowess. Crocker had no fear driving the line, and once Colorado State started hitting 3s – which Hannah Ronsiek did with great efficiency in closing with 10 – the lane became easier to navigate.
Â
"I think it helps when you have shooters on the court," she said, and she's one of them. "We had to spread them so much in the help that I didn't feel that if it's one-on-one, me versus one other person, I can kind of make it. Or if they all collapse, it's a knock-down 3 for anybody. I think that makes it a lot easier to want to be an attacker. You have to guard us. Which one are you going to choose? I think that's exciting, and as a team, we're just hard to guard in that sense."
Â
Vaz closed with 10, the third bench player to reach double figures. Hofschild heated up in the second half to lead the team with 18 points, adding nine assists as the ball moved better and shots started to fall. Mech had a hot streak late to finish with 10 and push the starter's total just a hair ahead of the bench.
Â
But at that point, and with the style of play, it's doesn't matter which is which. The attitude is the same, exactly what Williams hoped to see.
Â
"That was the last thing we wrote on the board. You've got to just go for it," he said. "It doesn't mean you're going to win every night. If we're going to walk out of an arena, and it's a tough night, at least we went for it. You have to light your hair on fire, whatever you've got to do, you have to play with that type of mentality."
Â
Â
Â
The secondary gain from the players Colorado State's women's basketball program added was the waves of talent it could now bring to the floor. They used to play fast, now they could play faster. And they could do it longer, because there were more of them able to keep up the pace.
Â
When a coach talks about a full team effort, Tuesday night's 82-62 victory at Moby Arena to open the season is a prime example.
Â
For the majority of the evening, it was Colorado State's bench which was leading the scoring effort until a late push from the starters made it nearly an even clip. The first five put 42 on the board, the next four 40.
Â
"That's pretty cool. The depth has been something that we've known we've had, and it was nice of them to perform tonight," CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. "Cailyn Crocker came in and gave us 17 big points and Joseana Vaz comes off the bench and gives us great play. Kendall Kinzer came off the bench and guarded those bigs and rebounded.
Â
"It wasn't just the points, it was the overall play. I thought there was great toughness, and there was never a letdown. If anything, we picked up and the energy just stayed really consistent with the depth we played with tonight."
Â
The first 20 minutes didn't go completely to plan, but the Rams never lost sight of the bigger Cougars. Lauren Gustin, who averaged a double-double in an all-conference season last year, had 10 and 8 by half, threatening to be a major concern. More so for the Rams were the open 3s they were allowing BYU to shoot, and they hit to the tune of 7-of-18 in the first 20 minutes, building a 39-35 lead as Arielle Mackey-Williams had 16 at the break.
Â
The only personnel change was Sydney Mech hawking Gustin most of the second half. She scored just two more points and grabbed five rebounds. The rest of it was attitude.
Â
"In the locker room at half, we talked about how we're at our best when we can get out run and get into transition, and in order to do that, we have to get stops and rebounds," CSU guard McKenna Hofschild said. "I think it was just a mentality change for our offense to translate, we need to get it done on the defensive end. We locked down, really took it personal I think a little bit more, got those boards a little bit better and we were able to get out and run and that's when the game opened up."
Â
The Cougars were just 1-of-8 behind the arc the second half, and Mackey-Williams added just two points to her total.
Â
The first sign things had changed didn't even require a full two minutes of the third quarter.
Â
It was a quick 7-0 run fueled by Crocker, who scored the first bucket, then assisted on the next two, leading to a BYU timeout. The bench and crowd were jazzed, and Hofschild said that was the moment it all changed for them.
Â
Colorado State outscored their guests 28-13 in the frame, a lead which would eventually build to as much as 24 at one point in the fourth quarter.
Â
Aggressiveness was the heartbeat of the offense, and it was the bench to first make it pound. Vaz's first appearance netted six points and some rebounding prowess. Crocker had no fear driving the line, and once Colorado State started hitting 3s – which Hannah Ronsiek did with great efficiency in closing with 10 – the lane became easier to navigate.
Â
"I think it helps when you have shooters on the court," she said, and she's one of them. "We had to spread them so much in the help that I didn't feel that if it's one-on-one, me versus one other person, I can kind of make it. Or if they all collapse, it's a knock-down 3 for anybody. I think that makes it a lot easier to want to be an attacker. You have to guard us. Which one are you going to choose? I think that's exciting, and as a team, we're just hard to guard in that sense."
Â
Vaz closed with 10, the third bench player to reach double figures. Hofschild heated up in the second half to lead the team with 18 points, adding nine assists as the ball moved better and shots started to fall. Mech had a hot streak late to finish with 10 and push the starter's total just a hair ahead of the bench.
Â
But at that point, and with the style of play, it's doesn't matter which is which. The attitude is the same, exactly what Williams hoped to see.
Â
"That was the last thing we wrote on the board. You've got to just go for it," he said. "It doesn't mean you're going to win every night. If we're going to walk out of an arena, and it's a tough night, at least we went for it. You have to light your hair on fire, whatever you've got to do, you have to play with that type of mentality."
Â
Â
Team Stats
BYU
CSU
FG%
.339
.508
3FG%
.308
.478
FT%
.737
.750
RB
41
32
TO
11
4
STL
2
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
CSU Basketball (WBB) - Behind the Whiteboard with Coach Burkett
Thursday, September 11
CSU Basketball (WBB) - Behind the Whiteboard with Coach Sy
Thursday, August 28
CSU Basketball (WBB) - Gear Day 2025
Tuesday, August 26
CSU Basketball (WBB) - 94 Feet with Brooke Carlson
Wednesday, August 13