Rams Begin League Play Hosting Bulldogs, at Rebels

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State will shift focus to Mountain West action as it begins league play on Thursday against Fresno State in Moby Arena. The Rams will then hit the road and head to UNLV for an afternoon game on Saturday.

THIS WEEK
Thursday, Dec. 29 – vs. Fresno State / 6:30 PM
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Saturday, Dec. 31 – at UNLV / 4:00 PM MT
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RAMS NOTES

Tip Off
Colorado State will finish its five-game homestand, starting and hosting Fresno State for conference play. The Rams are 3-1 in the stretch so far and will look to put the cherry on top with a win against the Bulldogs. CSU will have a quick turnaround and hit the road to the MW Preseason favorite, UNLV on Saturday.

What If...
A win on Thursday would move Colorado State to 8-4 overall and 7-1 at home. The Rams would also improve to 18-14 against the Bulldogs and 8-6 in the series at home. It would be the third-consecutive Mountain West opener victory.
A loss on Thursday would drop CSU to 7-5 overall and 6-2 at home. It would also be the fourth-consecutive home loss against Fresno State.

Getting Dubs
Head Coach Ryun Williams is just one win away from recording his 200th victory in the Green and Gold. Williams is in his 11th season for the Rams and currently holds a 199-120 mark - the winningest coach in program history.

Chasing History
McKenna Hofschild is chasing history. The senior has dished out 422 assist while at Colorado State. The guard is one-of-three in program history, to record 1,000 points and 400-plus assists, joining Ellen Nystrom and Becky Hammon. Hofschild is just 33 assist behind Deb Spickler who is No. 4 all time in career assists.

Hitting 1K
Both McKenna Hofschild and Meghan Boyd reached 1,000 career points this season. Hofschild became the 20th Stalwart Ram to reach 1,000 career points at Colorado State in the dominating win against Denver. Boyd also reached 1,000 career points in the game against Regis after playing her first three seasons at Denver.

Tis The Season
The Rams are in the holiday spirit as they dished out a season-high 28 assists in the blowout win against Denver on Dec. 6. The 28 were the most since the 2018-19 against Chadron State - also 28 assists.

Out Of Breath
The Rams played three games over five days at the end of November, including a pair of back-to-back contests at the Las Vegas Invitational. CSU returned from Vegas and played at Northern Colorado just two days later, going into triple overtime for the first time since 2014. Colorado State trailed nearly the whole game in regulation before forcing the overtime periods.

Protect The Rock
Colorado State doesn't turn the ball over much at all, which is why it leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game with 8.7. The Rams have forked the ball over just 96 times, the lowest in the country. The next team in the turnovers per game, averages almost two more than CSU at 10.1 (Villanova).

Free Baskets
The Rams are making the charity count, making 79.7 percent of their free throws - No. 7 in the nation and leading the Mountain West. Destiny Thurman is making her free baskets count, shooting 95.8% from the line (23-for-24) which is No. 5 in the country.

Hot Hand
Senior Meghan Boyd continues to have hot hands, currently No. 35 the nation from behind the arc shooting 45.9 percent. The Rams as a team are No. 3 among all teams shooting 41.7 percent from downtown – just behind UConn at 42.7 percent.

Ratio'd
Colorado State takes care of the ball, while also moving it around to create assists. The Rams enter their seventh week leading the country in assist/turnover radio at 2.03. McKenna Hofschild is No. 1 in the country with a 4.84 mark, having just 19 turnovers in 11 contests. Last season she finished the year at No. 5 in the nation with a 3.00 ratio.

Make It A Double
McKenna Hofschild has totaled two double-doubles so far this season, both coming with points and assists. Her first of the season was against Montana and second against Denver.
Joseana Vaz recorded her first double-double in the Green and Gold at Northern Colorado. The forward added 10 points in the triple-overtime game, while also pulling down 12 boards in 34 minutes of action.

Weekly Honors
McKenna Hofschild has earned a pair of Mountain West weekly awards already this season, being name the Player of the Week twice by the league. Hannah Ronsiek also has been named Freshman of the Week after the season-opening weekend.

Getting Benched – The Good Kind
Colorado State started the 2022-23 season against BYU, exploding in the second half outscoring the Cougars, 47-23, to cruise to an 82-62 win. The Rams' bench did a lot of the heavy lifting – scoring 40 points, nearly the total of BYU starters. CSU trailed at the half 39-35, but flipped a switch in the second, hitting 8-of-12 from three to break the opener wide open. Cailyn Crocker led the bench players scoring 17 points – second most on the team behind McKenna Hofschild with 18.

Watch Lists
McKenna Hofschild has been named to a pair of Preseason Watch Lists:
Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List
Recognizes the top player in women's NCAA Division I college basketball at a mid-major conference
Nancy Lieberman Award
Recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball

Opponents At A Quick Glace
Fresno State will begin Mountain West action with a 7-6 record in the non-conference, including a 1-4 mark in games away from the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs lone win comes at the Daytona Beach Invitational against Delaware, 53-49. Fresno State is No. 18 in the country in scoring defense, keeping opponents to just 53.8 points per game. Bulldogs have four players averaging double-figure points, led by Yanina Todorva with 12.6, while also controlling the glass with 5.5 rebounds.

UNLV will start conference action with a 10-2 overall mark and will host Wyoming on Thursday before playing CSU on Saturday. The Rebels were picked to win the Mountain West in the Preseason Poll after winning the 2022 MW Championship. UNLV's two losses come from Pacific and Oklahoma State, both of which were away from Cox Pavilion. The Rebels are led by Desi-Rae Young who averages 18.6 points per games, while also grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game. She leads the conference and is No. 13 in the country with six double-doubles so far this season.

Series History
Colorado State will face Fresno State for the 32nd time, holding a 17-14 overall record and 7-6 in Moby Arena. In the last 10 contests, the Rams are 3-7 and have not won at home since 2017 – a three-game skid.

The Rams and Rebels will play for the 55th time overall, dating back to 1984. CSU leads the series 32-22 but is just 14-16 while in Las Vegas. The Rams recorded a road win in 2021, which snapped a four-game losing streak while at Cox Pavilion. In the last 10 contests CSU is 4-6, suffering a loss in the last two games, including in the 2022 Mountain West Championship.

New Faces
Colorado State welcomed five transfers and four freshmen to the team during the offseason, bringing its newcomers total to nine. Transfers include Kiya Dorroh (Mizzou), Destiny Thurman (UTEP), Joseana Vaz (Casper College), Cailyn Crocker (Cal) and Meghan Boyd (Denver).

2021-22 Review
Colorado State finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 21-12 overall record, including a 9-9 mark in Mountain West play. The Rams made a run in the conference tournament, advancing through the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to reach the Championship game. CSU returned to the postseason, appearing in the WNIT and faced Portland State suffering a loss.

Coming Back
The Rams return seven from the 2021-22 roster, including three starters with McKenna Hofschild, Kendyll Kinzer and Petra Farkas. Sydney Mech and Cali Clark also recorded a start a season ago. Hofschild returns for her senior season after leading the Rams and the Mountain West in scoring with 557 points. She also averaged 16.9 points per game and dished out 6.5 assists per game – No. 2 and No. 1 in the league, respectively.

UP NEXT

Thursday, Jan. 5 – at Utah State / 6:00 PM
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