CSU Guards Trigger Comeback in Conference-Opening Win

Calendar

Show:/

Oct 18

TBA

Women's Basketball

vs South Dakota (Exh.)

Oct 29

6:30 pm

Women's Basketball

vs Colorado Christian (Exh.)

Nov 4

6:00 pm

Women's Basketball

vs Weber State

Nov 9

1:00 pm

Women's Basketball

vs Long Beach State

Nov 13

TBA

Women's Basketball

at Gonzaga

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – They like to consider themselves thoroughbreds, and for good reason.

With a pair of quick guards accompanied by wings and a few posts who can run the floor, Colorado State likes to fly right out of the chutes. Fresno State wanted no part of that and using full-court pressure then flipping to a zone in the halfcourt, the Bulldogs wanted to turn the Rams into mudders on the opening night of Mountain West play Thursday at Moby Arena.

And they did, which was no fun for McKenna Hofschild or Destiny Thurman.

"They did a good job of that, that 1-2-2 or that 2-1-2 back in their zone," Hofschild said. "I expect we'll get more zone just because it does slow us down a little bit, but I think we handled it pretty well and we got into rhythm late in the fourth quarter and did what we needed to do."

In the final 10 minutes, enough was enough, and the CSU backcourt duo proved to be too much for the 'Dogs to reign in, combining for 23 fourth-quarter points to erase a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter and turn it into a 64-58 victory – No. 200 in the CSU career of coach Ryun Williams.

Both of them had struggled offensively the first three quarters, but they were dynamic when the chips were down. Hofschild scored 14 of her game-best 28 in the final frame, hitting 4-of-7 shots and all three of her 3-point attempts.

Thurman scored nine of her 15 in the frame, five coming off a perfect performance from the free throw line down the stretch while dishing out three assists.

"That was competitive excellence to me," Williams said, his team now 8-4. "When your best is needed, your best has to be delivered, and that's exactly what McKenna did and Destiny as well."

Hofschild's 3s were clutch. The first cut down a five-point deficit. The second tied the game at 54 with 3:17 remaining. The last gave the Rams a 57-56 edge and they never trailed again in a game which saw eight ties and seven lead changes.

Thurman's scoring was just as important, as she hit all five of her free throws in the final quarter, helping to keep the Bulldogs at arm's length. Williams pairs them together with the hope they will make the team dynamic, and part of that is doing it themselves when the moment calls.

"Guard play is so darn important, and good guard play is so darn important. We feel we've got two really good players in Destiny and McKenna, and I thought they were really clutch with their shot making, their decision making," Williams said. "They were strong with the ball – no silly turnovers late – big free throws and I thought Kenna's 3s, that's something she's been working on. Last year that was a shot she passed up a lot. It took great courage to nail those babies, and I'm glad she did. "

The game required patience from both of them, especially forced into a pace they didn't want to play. Timing is of the essence, and when the Rams did get a chance to run, they did, delivering 13 fast-break points. But in the middle two quarters, the Bulldogs were hitting shots, and it's hard to run when a team can set up the pressure. It wasn't designed to force turnovers, just to slow down the hosts. But aggression was needed left, and even though Thurman knew she and Hofschild had answered the call, she didn't realize it was to the tune of 23 combined points.

But hey, whatever it takes.

"Wow. I think this team pretty much, they go as we go," she said. "I think it's big, and we're probably going to have to do it a lot this season for both of us to have to step up, fourth quarter, really throughout the whole game in order for us to be successful."

Williams loved the successful dramatics, but he was pretty sure they could have been avoided.

Colorado State picked apart the Fresno State zone, getting great looks by being patient. The only problem was the Rams didn't finish. They were OK in the first quarter, but not good in the second (30.8 percent from the field) and well off in the third (21.1).

In the meantime, Fresno State was getting scoring off the bench – 25 points in all, 15 from Franka Whittenberg, who averaged 4.5 per game.

"That's exactly what we told the team after the game, even at halftime. We missed a lot of bunnies, those chippies," Williams said. "We probably left, we figured, 12-14 points off the board that you should make. You're a DI college basketball player … You need to make those. I'm sorry. I'm not that coach that says, 'oh, get the next.' That's too easy. You have to finish that. We were a little hesitant and soft with our approach around the rim, but just found enough. Execution wise was pretty good."

He also figures Thurman is getting her legs back after missing time. The same with Caitlyn Crocker, and even Sydney Mech. The Rams had the looks the wanted, and he does expect those shots to start to fall.

For Hofschild – who played all but 5 seconds of the game -- the bottom line was all which mattered. The win was needed, especially to start league play, as the next foe is UNLV, the defending Mountain West champs who beat the Rams in the tourney finale last year.

And the Rebels – who opened with a 73-67 win over Wyoming at home -- like to run.

"We've got Vegas on Saturday, so we wanted to get this one and get this momentum going," she said. "I'm excited to play Vegas, let's just say that."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results