Rams Travel to Albuquerque for Wednesday Night Shootout

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A crucial two-game road slate starts Wednesday for Colorado State as the Rams travel to play New Mexico, a squad tied for first place atop the Mountain West and sporting the league's top scoring offense.

The matchup is CSU's second conference rematch of the season. Two and a half weeks ago, UNM defeated CSU 85-74 in Moby Arena with a dominant fourth quarter, outscoring the Rams 23-12. Prior to that however, CSU overcame a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to tie it going into the final frame. The second meeting is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. MT inside The Pit. The Rams are coming off a bye weekend, giving them a five-day break from games prior to playing in Albuquerque.

After the battle with the Lobos (18-5, 9-1 MW), the Rams will go Saturday to Air Force (11-10, 5-5 MW) in another game two that CSU is aiming to split in the season series. Colorado State (14-5, 5-4 MW) is on a two-game winning streak after an away victory at Fresno State and a home win over Nevada. In the conference standings, the Rams sit fourth behind UNM, UNLV and the Wolf Pack.

"There is no question that this is a huge game," head coach Ryun Williams said. "The Lobos have a top 20 offense in all of NCAA and we saw it on display just a few weeks ago at home. However, we were right in that game with 10 minutes to go. We just need to be more disciplined defensively and challenge their shots more, because they can really get up and down the court and hoist up the 3-ball with efficacy. Coming off the bye weekend, we should benefit on being rested and focused for this challenge."

New Mexico (18-5, 9-1 MW) was picked to finish second in the Mountain West, but also garnered seven first-place votes. Last Saturday, the Lobos defeated San Diego State 67-58 at Viejas Arena. The Lobos' lone conference loss came two games ago at UNLV – MW's other 9-1 team atop of the standings. Two of UNM's four non-conference losses were against power five schools including Texas Tech and a ranked Arizona team. The 85 points are the most the CSU defense has given up all season.

RAMS NOTEBOOK

Last Time Out
• Last time out, the Rams controlled Nevada throughout, leading 29 minutes of the contest en route to the 66-55 win at Moby Arena. McKenna Hofschild had a game-high 20 points for her sixth time with at least 20 points this season. Karly Murphy pulled in 12 points and a season-best 14 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the campaign. The win marked CSU's first against one of the three teams (UNM, UNLV, UNR) ahead of the Rams in the conference standings.

What to Watch for vs. New Mexico?
• CSU FG% Defense (.367; #1 in MW) vs. UNM FG% Offense (.457; #1 in MW)
• CSU 3FG% (.351; #3 in MW) vs. UNM's 3FG% defense (.319; #7 in MW)
• CSU Turnovers Per Game (9.9; #1 in NCAA) vs. UNM's Steals/G (8.7, #3 in MW)
• CSU's McKenna Hofschild (#1 in MW assists) vs. NM's LaTora Duff (#3 in MW in assists)

Scouting Report on New Mexico
• The 2020-21 Lobos finished 15-5 overall record with an 11-3 conference mark to capture of the MW regular-season championship. CSU and UNM played its series at The Pit in the last regular-season matchup of the season. One win could have forced a share of the MW regular season title, but UNM held off the Rams.
• UNM lost to Fresno State in the MW semifinal and then lost to California Baptist in the first round of the WNIT.
• More of Game 1: NM attempted 52 threes and made 19 against CSU - both registering as opponent highs for CSU this season. The Lobos added seven 3s in the fourth quarter, which sealed the win. Antonia Anderson's 30 points is tied for the most individually against the Rams this season.

Playing Short Handed
• Colorado State started the season with 12 on the roster, leaving little wiggle room for injuries or sickness.
• CSU has had 10 games in which 10 Rams logged minutes including four with all 12 playing.
• Six times (UTSA, BS, SDSU, USU, FS, UNR), CSU has played with just eight players. The second time (vs BS), Cali Clark went out three minutes into the game and did not return, leaving just seven available as Sydney Mech was out on injury, and three out per COVID (Karly Murphy, Jess Moors and Anna Prim).
• CSU and UNM are the only schools in the conference that have three players in the top 15 for minutes played.

COVID Back Affecting Schedules
• On Jan. 31, the MW announced some slight schedule adjustments. CSU's home game against Wyoming (2/16-2/17) slid back a game and so did its contest at Nevada (2/19-2/20). The Rams now have four days of prep before the Cowgirls instead of three, but lost a day on the backend before playing San Diego State on now three-days' rest.

Assist Legend in the Making
• McKenna Hofschild is on pace (assuming there is 10 more games) for 186 assists this season, which would tie CSU's single-season record (Ellen Nystrom, 186; 2015-16). The top 10 list starts at 132. She already obtained the CSU single-game assist record at Utah State with 17.
• Career-wise at CSU, that same projection would put her assist total at 290. Last season, the MW Newcomer of the Year had 114 in 21 games played. CSU's career assist top 10 starts at 301. The junior has another season of eligibility. She had 31 assists at Seton Hall as a freshmen.

SINGLE SEASON ASSIST LIST
Rank      Player (Season)                                 Assists
7.            Gritt Ryder (2013-14)                      148
8.            Dee Dee Dominguez (1994-95)   143
9.            Dee Dee Dominguez (1992-93)   136
10.          Dee Dee Dominguez (1995-96)   132
?.            McKenna Hofschild (2021-22)      122

Protecting the Rock Better than ALL
• CSU continues to lead the NCAA in turnovers per game (9.9) and is third in assist to turnover ratio (1.51). Last season, CSU finished second and fifth, respectively, in those two categories. This season the Rams have had the same or less turnovers than their opponent in 11 of 19 games. Also, CSU has nine games with single-digit turnovers with four coming in conference play.

Murphy on the Glass
• Karly Murphy is third in the MW in boards per game (8.89) and fifth in total rebounds (160), but has played in less games than all but one of those competitors. She is on pace (assuming there is 10 more games) to have 249 rebounds, which would shatter her career best for a season. If she got close to that number she would be flirting with CSU's top 10 list for a season that starts at 248.

Second Half Team
• In the first two quarters, the Rams have outscored their opponents by seven points and 44 points, respectively. After halftime, CSU has outscored its opposition by 50 points in the third quarter and 55 points in the final 10 minutes. Ironically, the Rams are 4-5 when either tied or trailing at halftime though. On the flip side, CSU is 10-0 when leading at the break.

From the Line
• Last season, Ryun Williams' squad ranked 19th in the nation in free-throw percentage at 76.3%, which also went down as the second-best percentage in CSU history. Trying to replicate that success, CSU is 199 for 267 (74.5%) from the charity strike thus far, ranking 62nd in NCAA. The trio of Karly Murphy, McKenna Hofschild and Upe Atosu are 163-of-214 for 76.2%. That means the rest are 36-of-53 for 67.9%.
• The Rams have five games under .700 from the line and four above .900.

CSU Home Promotional Schedule
• Aggie Game - Feb. 9th vs. Utah State
• Pink Out Game - Feb. 16th vs. Wyoming
• State Pride Game & Empower Women Day - Feb. 24th vs. San Diego State
• Senior Day/Green Out - Feb. 26th vs. UNLV

At the Helm
• A two-time Mountain West Coach of the Year and the winningest coach in program history, Ryun Williams enters his 10th season at the helm of the Colorado State women's basketball program in 2021-22. CSU's 5-0 start marked the first since the 2000-01 campaign. The win over Boise State made it the sixth time the program has started 10-1. For Williams it is his second such start, joining the 2015-16 team that finished 31-2 overall, winning the MW outright and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Williams and Tom Collen ('97-98, '98-99, '00-01 and '01-02) are the only CSU coaches to have 10-1 starts.

Series History: Colorado State – New Mexico
Overall: CSU trails 38-47
In Fort Collins: CSU, 23-13
In ABQ: UNM, 28-13
Neutral: UNM, 6-2
Current Streak: UNM, 6
Last: UNM 85, CSU 74 (1/15/22) at CSU
Largest CSU Victory: 41
Largest CSU Defeat: 35
More on the matchup on pg. 8 of the Game Notes

A Colorado State Wednesday Win Would Mean…
• Handing UNM its second loss of the conference season and CSU's first win versus the Lobos since the 2017-18 season.

How to Follow Along
Attached: Game Notes.
Live Stats: http://csura.ms/WBBStats
Live Stream: http://csura.ms/Live
Television: Mountain West Network/Evoca
Radio: Power 102.9 FM | https://csura.ms/Listen
Audio Stream: Varsity Network | https://csura.ms/VarsityNetwork

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

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