Rams Host Utah State for Orange Out Game

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In a unique circumstance, there will be a battle of Aggies Wednesday evening inside Moby Arena as Colorado State, donning its Aggie orange jerseys, hosts the Utah State Aggies in the annual Orange Out game.

The first 1,000 fans on Wednesday night will receive a free orange t-shirt courtesy of Canvas Credit Union. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. tip and will be broadcasted on Mountain West Network.

Three weeks ago, the Rams defeated USU 88-72 in Logan, which started the span of five road games out of the past six games. CSU tallied 26 assists on 34 field goals made - both season bests. Leading that trend was McKenna Hofschild who dished out a CSU record 17 assists, passing Ellen Nystrom's previous mark of 16.

"After two tough road games, our team is excited to get back on track at home in front of our fans," head coach Ryun Williams said. "In the last couple practices, there has been more emphasis and talk about late-game scenarios and mechanics defensively. Our student-athletes are eager to get this bad taste out of our mouths and finish this regular season strong, but it starts with one game at a time. Utah State comes in playing great as of late and have an offense that can match ours if we let it."

Utah State (7-15, 2-10 MW) was picked to finish last in the Mountain West. However, the Aggies were two points away from winning three of their past five games. The wins came against Wyoming and San Jose State, while the one-point loss was versus San Diego State - a team that beat CSU. Junior Adryana Quezada leads the Aggies in scoring (13 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg).

RAMS NOTEBOOK

Last Time Out
• The Rams dropped game two of the Air Force series, giving the Falcons their first regular season sweep since 2008. CSU jumped out to an 11-0 start and led by as many as 10 points at the 3:38 mark in the third quarter. However, the Rams went 2-of-18 shooting (11.1%) thereafter and relinquished six turnovers, allowing USAFA to take its first lead with two minutes left in regulation. Upe Atosu had a game-high 23 points for her fourth 20+ scoring game this season, while McKenna Hofschild added 17 points. Karly Murphy pulled in a career-best 15 rebounds to go with nine points.

What to Watch for vs. Utah State?
• CSU Scoring Defense (62.33; #4 in MW) vs. USU Scoring Offense (66.18; #6 in MW)
• CSU Def. Reb/G (30.81; #1 in MW) vs. USU Off. Reb/G (12.27; #3 in MW)
• CSU Turnovers Per Game (10.0; #1 in NCAA) vs. USU Steals/G (7.45 #5 in MW)
• CSU fewest fouls per game (#1 in NCAA) vs. USU free throws made/G (#2 in MW)
• CSU's Karly Murphy (#2 in MW Rebounds) vs. USU's Adryana Quezada (#6 in MW in Rebounds)

Scouting Report on Utah State
• Among the MW, the 2021-22 Aggies rank in the top four in several statistical categories including free throws made per game, blocks, turnovers forced per game, offensive rebounds per game, and 3-point field goals per game.
• More from Game 1: McKenna Hofschild's 17 assists also is second all-time in MW history and third in all of NCAA this season. Also of note was Kendyll Kinzer's first-ever double-double, Petra Farkas' career-high 17 points and the return of Sydney Mech and her 11 points after missing eight games. Three Aggies scored in double figures (Adryana Quezada, E'Lease Stafford, Laci Hawthorne), and one recorded a double-double (Stafford). Utah State accumulated 21 assists – the second most all season – with Emmie Harris dishing out a career-high 12.

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.
• Seven times 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 8 more games) for 181 assists this season, which would be second on CSU single-season's list behind 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 295. 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)      131

Protecting the Rock Better than ALL
• CSU continues to lead the NCAA in turnovers per game (10.0) and is third in assist to turnover ratio (1.47). 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 21 games. Also, CSU has 10 games with single-digit turnovers with five coming in conference play.

Murphy on the Glass
• Karly Murphy is second in the MW in boards per game (9.1) and total rebounds (182). She is on pace (assuming there is 8 more games) to have 255 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. At Air Force, she grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.

Second Half Team
•   In the first two quarters, the Rams have outscored their opponents by seven points and 31 points, respectively. After halftime, CSU has outscored its opposition by 60 points in the third quarter and 46 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 10-1 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 224 for 296 (75.7%) from the charity strike thus far, ranking 38th in NCAA. The trio of Karly Murphy, McKenna Hofschild and Upe Atosu are 185-of-240 for 77.1%. 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 – Utah State
Overall: CSU leads, 23-13
In Fort Collins: CSU, 12-5
In Logan: CSU, 7-6
Neutral: CSU, 4-2
Current Streak: CSU, 4
Largest CSU Victory: 31
Largest CSU Defeat: 40
Last: CSU 88, USU 72 (1/19/22) at CSU
More on the matchup on pg. 8 of the Game Notes

A Colorado State Wednesday Win Would Mean…
• The Rams are back at .500 in the Mountain West and have swept their first opponent of the 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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Upe Atosu

Cali Clark

Petra Farkas

McKenna Hofschild

Kendyll Kinzer

Sydney Mech

Jess Moors

Karly Murphy

Anna Prim

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