Resounding Win Pushes the Rams Into Quarterfinals

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

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Ryun Williams wanted motion.

His team gave it to him. They also provided a roadblock to the basket when San Jose State had the ball, a lethal combination in what became an 82-43 runaway victory for Colorado State women's basketball in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.

The Rams used all available parts in shooting a cool 50 percent in the opening half, while the Spartans could only muster 22.2 percent, accentuated by an 0-for-11 showing from behind the arc. The Rams not only drove the basket, they cut to it. They backed defenders into the paint and scored over them. They moved the ball around the perimeter and found smart, open looks and knocked them down.

Now, it's on to the next round and a Border War rubber match with Wyoming at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday at 9:30 p.m. (MT).

In previous wins over the Spartans, the Rams were led by a guard having a career night, as both McKenna Hofschild and Upe Atosu torched them for 32 points, each in a different victory. But on Sunday, the Rams were the sum of their parts offensively, getting contributions across the board.

"We needed that. I thought McKenna and Upe have been outstanding all year long," Williams said. "I thought they both may have started a little unsettled. It took them a little while to get in the flow. Once they did, I thought they were really, really good.

"To have the pick-up from their teammates and to have everybody involved in that first half, and really throughout the night. The ball had energy, we shared it. I thought everybody played with a really good confidence and a really good conviction tonight. You don't go through a tournament with one or two kids playing really, really well. Everybody has to be involved, everybody has to have their moments, and I liked tonight. Everybody had some great effect on this game offensive. I thought everybody had great effect on this game defensively."

As the game wore on, the Rams never relented, pushing the lead to the most impressive win over the Spartans of the three on the season. It all started when Sydney Mech drove into the lane and hit a mid-range jumper in the paint as the Rams scored the first six points. They had a bunch of sustained runs, but no real dry spells.

They took turns, making 30 shots with 19 assist, eight of them from Hofschild, who was named All-Mountain West for the second consecutive year earlier in the day, to go with her 16 points. Atosu would lead the team, scoring 17, backing her selection as newcomer of the year.

Mech, she contributed in spots throughout the game, reaching a season-best 14 points as she drained her second 3-pointer of the night. Kendyll Kinzer found her way to double digits, too, scoring 11. But Mech was looking to score, which hasn't been the case in a year, in all fairness, has been injury altered.

"I felt a lot more comfortable out there, confidence-wise, and this whole season, my teammates have always told me to be aggressive, and McKenna is always on me about it, too," Mech said. "I don't know, tonight something turned on and I just went out there."

As nice as the balance was, the key was the defense the Rams played in the game. San Jose State didn't get many clean looks they could count on, and while they attacked the offensive glass with a vengeance, it was very much for naught. The 15 they collected in the game led to nothing. Really. Nothing. Not a single second-chance point. Even when the collected a miss down low, they were met by a wall of CSU defenders.

It really highlighted just how well the Rams were dialed in defensively.

"It does speak volumes. I think they had seven in the first quarter; that was the number I was told by our staff," Williams said. "They were crashing hard; they were sending four to the O-glass. We thought if we could just secure some of those and get some clean outlets, we could be able to run and play to our strength. I think as the game wore on, we settled down on the glass, which was a huge thing. I see we outrebounded them (42-39), which was big."

Colorado State limited San Jose State to just 23.9 percent from the field in the game, and the Rams turned that into offensive opportunities. They didn't get to run much, but they controlled the paint, outscoring the Spartans 34-14 in that spot on the floor.

Twice, the Rams kept their foe from scoring double digits in a quarter.

"It's super important, I think, setting the tone early and creating that expectation each game we go into is huge," Hofschild said. "We know that we have a lot of weapons on the offensive end. Defensively, we know we have weapons too, we just sometimes don't find that on a night. Knowing that we can do it, we're going to keep doing it and it's going to make us successful."

No time like the present, either.

To some degree, now the pressure is on to do it once again. Against a rival in the conference quarterfinals.

"Sometimes it does put a lot of pressure knowing you have a big game tomorrow, and performing well on defense is always kind of key," Mech said. "I love it. I love defense, and I'm excited. Wyoming's a good team, and I'm excited to come out and show them what we have defensively."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results