Rams Lose Offensive Groove in Loss to Aztecs

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Everything was fine. Then it wasn't.

Ryan Williams isn't sure why, either. A 10-0 run by this Colorado State women's basketball team gave the Rams an early 14-4 edge against visiting San Diego State at Moby Arena on Thursday night. The run was a great spark for a team in an important game in the Mountain West standings, a reason to get excited.

But maybe too excited. What followed was three successive turnovers, which was followed by three missed shots in a row. Even still, the Rams had an eight-point edge, but from there out, offensively, they were not the same team the final 32 minutes.

And that short spurt of time is what Williams feels undid his team a bit too much in what would eventually become a 69-61 loss. It ended a four-game win streak and puts the Rams in a fight for one of the top five spots in the standings to earn a first-day bye in the upcoming Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas.

"I thought we just got really loose. I thought that disrupted us, got us out of synch," he said, his team now 18-8 on the year, 9-7 in league play. "They were going to find their rhythm. They're a very good offensive team. I thought we pressed; we just started pressing. Our shot selection was shaky at times, which led to them getting out and running."

Colorado State produced a 22-point first quarter behind Upe Atosu, who scored 12 of her game-best 20 in those 10 minutes. The Rams were sharing the ball, which they continued to do throughout the evening, producing 17 assists on 24 made baskets. But there were times the Rams seemed rushed, taking shots early in the clock, and not always the best look.

The offensive misfired fed into the Aztecs running, and doing it rather well. They finished with a 14-2 edge in fast-break points, a huge difference in the outcome of the game.

"I think there's always adjustments you can make in the second half we made those adjustments," McKenna Hofschild said. "We got excited in the first half, but we settled down."

The Rams just couldn't get shots to settle into the basket at a high rate. They shot just 26.5 percent in the second half, just 23.5 percent in the fourth quarter, making just one of their final 10 shots in the game.

Hofschild gutted out a 16-point performance, one which came with seven assists. And she did clean up her game, as all five of her turnovers came in the first half. And she could have had more assists if some shots would have hit the target.

"They do some things that give us some fits, obviously. I thought we got enough good shots," Williams said. "If we would have showed some more patience, we would have gotten better shots. I think what happened was we let the fact the ball wasn't going in the basket affect the other end, and we had some breakdowns. We've just got to have a better next-play mentality and move on. We played frustrated in stretches the final 30 minutes."

San Diego State did find some rhythm, finishing with four players in double figures. Asia Avinger was a major thorn early as she finished with 16 before fouling out. By the time she did, Sophia Ramos had found her stride after going scoreless most of the first half, finishing with a team-best 18 points.

The game meant a lot to Colorado State, which has two games remaining, the next back at Moby on Saturday against the team well in front of the field, UNLV. What follows is the Border War on the road, as well as a lot of scoreboard watching. The Rams will play 18 games, but not every other team will, which could affect the standings and who avoids those first-round games.

So the Rams will have to collect themselves in the midst of a tough stretch. And Williams will ask them to do so in the flow of a game. Thursday was filled with runs, and even still, the Rams led for 28:08 in the contest.

"Everybody on the court is ready to play and make points and all that," Atosu said. "It's just unfortunate though, the intentions we always have as individuals and as a team, when the ball comes to you, you always want to make good plays. Sometimes the shot doesn't really come."

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