Rams Head South on I-25 for Rubber Game at Air Force

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Pride of an in-state rivalry and ramifications of the season will be on the line Saturday inside Clune Arena for Colorado State and Air Force in the series' second game of the season.

The Falcons nipped the Rams two weeks ago in Moby Arena and will be aiming for the first USAFA season sweep since 2008. Historically, CSU has always held the upper hand, owning the all-time series at 51-16 with a 24-9 record on the base. More importantly is where each team stands – right next to each other – in the Mountain West standings. Currently in the fourth spot is Air Force (12-10, 6-5 MW), while Colorado State (14-6, 5-5 MW) lurks just one game back in fifth place.

The game is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted on Mountain West Network. After Saturday, CSU will have four of its final seven games at home with each having a theme including an Orange Out, Pink Out, State Pride, and Senior Day. The latter will honor Karly Murphy and Upe Atosu.

"Physicality and going against the zone defense gave us troubles last time we played Air Force," head coach Ryun Williams said. "We also talked about effort and heart after that game, which we've since fixed. We nearly went undefeated on the road the other week and then had an impressive win at home versus Nevada, while also putting up two competitive games against the high-powered New Mexico team. Although it may not show it on paper, our team is playing much better basketball than the first meeting in this series. We will need to channel that focus and energy into a full 40 minutes, because this Air Force team has proven to be tough."

Air Force (21-10, 6-5 MW) was picked to finish 10th in the Mountain West, but currently occupy the fifth spot in the standings. On Wednesday, the Falcons defeated Wyoming 47-45 at home. Riley Snyder was the star of the game, scoring a game-high 23 points on a stellar 10-13 from the field, while grabbing a team-high six rebounds. Two and a half weeks ago, USAFA defeated CSU 77-52 in Moby Arena, which represented the largest margin of victory for USAFA in the series.

RAMS NOTEBOOK

Last Time Out
• The Rams' fourth quarter comeback fell short in an 81-73 defeat at New Mexico, Mountain West's top team at 10-1. Despite a 21-point second half deficit, the Rams closed the third quarter on an 18-6 run to pull under a double-digit deficit and then brought the game to as low as three points early in the fourth. The Lobos thwarted off the Rams each run though when CSU had the margin at four points in four separate instances. The UNM win made it a season sweep with its MW-leading scoring offense putting up 80+ points twice, the most points versus CSU this season in game one, CSU overcame a 17-point deficit to tie it going into the fourth quarter.

What to Watch for vs. Air Force?
• CSU Scoring Offense (69.5; #3 in MW) vs. USAFA Scoring Defense (56.73; #1 in MW)
• CSU FG% Defense (.374; #1 in MW) vs. USAFA FG% (.375; #10 in MW)
• CSU Turnovers Per Game (9.9; #1 in NCAA) vs. USAFA Steals/G (11.4 #1 in MW)
• CSU's Karly Murphy (#3 in MW Rebounds) vs. USAFA's Haley Jones (#2 in MW in Rebounds)

Scouting Report on Air Force
• The 2021-22 Falcons have two losses in the conference by one possession, losing by three at Wyoming and a one-point home loss to Nevada. Other than that, they got swept by UNLV, the No. 2 team in the MW, and lost at Nevada, the No. 3 team in the conference, for the Wolf Pack sweep.
• More of Game 1: Air Force forced CSU into turning the ball over 14 time - the most in conference play and second-most all season. The Rams simply stopped on offense, shooting just 40 percent from the field and a woeful 21.1 percent from 3-point range. By the time the Falcons blew open the game in the third quarter, neither of their leading scorers were leading the charge, and while both Snyder and Winters would reach double figures (11 and 10, respectively), neither one of them was really at the heart of creating a 59-42 lead after three. It was Jo Huntimer and her 14 points. It was Lauren McDonald and her 15. Both of them averaged 2.3 points per game or less going into the contest.

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 9 more games) for 189 assists this season, which would set a CSU single-season record, passing Ellen Nystrom's 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 303. 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)      130

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 (1.52). 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 12 of 20 games. Also, CSU has 10 games with single-digit turnovers with five coming in conference play.

Murphy on the Glass
• Karly Murphy is third in the MW in boards per game (8.79) and total rebounds (167). She is on pace (assuming there is 9 more games) to have 246 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 four points and 32 points, respectively. After halftime, CSU has outscored its opposition by 56 points in the third quarter and 56 points in the final 10 minutes. Ironically, the Rams are 4-6 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 207 for 276 (75.0%) from the charity strike thus far, ranking 51st in NCAA. The trio of Karly Murphy, McKenna Hofschild and Upe Atosu are 168-of-220 for 76.4%. That means the rest are 39-of-56 for 69.6%.
• 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 – Air Force
Overall: CSU leads, 51-16
In Fort Collins: CSU, 26-4
In USAFA: CSU, 24-9
Neutral: CSU trails 1-3
Current Streak: USAFA, 2
Largest CSU Victory: 65
Largest CSU Defeat: 25
Last: USAFA 77, CSU 52 (1/13/22) at CSU
More on the matchup on pg. 8 of the Game Notes

A Colorado State Saturday Win Would Mean…
• CSU and USAFA tied at 6-6 in the conference standings and the series split, making no head-to-head tiebreaker in effect.

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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