Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 7
Fort Collins, CO
12:00 PM
Colorado State
10-5,3-1Mountain West
76
vs
65
New Mexico
9-7,1-2Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
New Mexico
9
11
24
21
65
Colorado St.
23
15
20
18
76
Fast Start Propels Rams to Victory
1/7/2023 3:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Defensive effort sparks conference victory
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The turnaround was quick. Not as prompt as the Rams stated their intentions Saturday at high noon.
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Make it a hard day offensively for New Mexico. Square up on the perimeter shooters. Make it a physical night in the paint. By clamping down on the best the Lobos had to offer, Colorado State's women's basketball team rushed out to a 23-9 advantage in the first frame and never relented in a 76-65 Mountain West victory at Moby Arena.
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"It was a great start defensively. That's what needed to happen," said CSU coach Ryun Williams, who was presented a game ball for his 200th victory prior to tip. "They're so explosive, and they can score it in bunches. I thought our kids were really locked into their personnel. We limited the 3-ball a lot of the night.
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"Kind of just get ourselves in that game with an attack mentality, so that start was critical."
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Colorado State (10-5 overall, 3-1 in the MW) of late has been a quick team, but the season prior, the Lobos (9-7, 1-2) were a step ahead. They'd run and they'd gun, but it wasn't until the conference tournament semifinals where the Rams found an antidote, pulling off the upset in Las Vegas.
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This version of the Rams is even quicker with the addition of guard Destiny Thurman and Cailyn Crocker, which helped defensively. They bring some versatility which makes them better on switches, but every defensive game plan needs a centerpiece, and for Colorado State it started in the paint.
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Cali Clark, and in spurts Joseana Vaz and Kendyll Kinzer, need to hamper the efforts of Shaiquel McGruder, the Lobos' leading scorer. The Rams had more fastbreak points and more second-chance production, but the huge advantage in the paint – CSU outscored UNM 40-18 – which led Williams to denote Clark as his personal game MVP.
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McGruder finished with 11 points (she averages north of 15) but had just two at the break as the Rams built their early advantage. The brunt of those points came off 5-of-6 made free throws as she was just 3-of-16 from the field and missed all three of her 3-point shots.
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 Clark said the defensive effort was the priority, and she knew what her role entailed.
Â
"It was just making her feel a presence. Our coach said that this whole week – well, our whole day preparing for this game," Clark said. "Just not letting her in the positions she wants to be in and taking away the things she's really good at."
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The paint wasn't the only part of the floor in the Rams' favor. Only three teams in the Mountain West have made more than 100 3-pointer on the season, and two of them were on the floor Saturday. Colorado State entered with 136 in the books, the Lobos with 132.
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The Rams didn't shoot as many, because they didn't need to (4-of-12), but the Lobos couldn't find the mark until later in the game, starting off 3-of-12 in the first half, finishing at 9-of-25. Again, making the Lobos feel a presence paid dividends.
Â
"I think just definitely staying tight, trying to make them uncomfortable from the beginning," Crocker said. "If they were going to beat us, we were going to make it tough. We wanted to make it tough for them on the perimeter, and then Cali and Jo and our 5s really made sure that McGruder, anything she got was tough, too. When that all comes together, it's really hard to score."
Â
The single day of practice the Rams had was focused, but for Clark, playing the past three years against New Mexico and McGruder gave her the advantage of familiarity as a vet. Not all of her new teammates had the luxury.
Â
With just the one day to prepare after beating Utah State on Thursday, Williams felt the effort was even more impressive. It was also a sign the team is maturing, learning a lesson from the week prior.
Â
"We had the short turnaround going into Vegas. I thought we executed our plan really well, but we weren't ready for the first punch," he said. "I mean, we weren't ready for that; they came after us. I think we learned that they need to feel our intentions. We don't need to start off by feeling theirs."
Â
Crocker helped the Rams take that first swipe. She scored six of her 16 points in the opening frame, the production even more important considering Thurman and McKenna Hofschild struggled from the field early. The Rams' scoring was balanced in a game where they never trailed and eventually built up a 20-point advantage early in the third.
Â
Hofschild would eventually catch a bit of a spark to finish with 24 points and eight rebounds, but the balanced early scoring was a boost. Only two Rams finished in double figures, but Clark's eight points and eight rebounds were important to capitalize on what the team did defensively. And while Thurman struggled shooting, she made an impact by crashing the glass for 10 boards and delivering five assists.
Â
"I think our defense turned into offense. It's a lot easier to run when you get the rebound, and we like to run as a team for sure and get the outlet and go," Crocker said. "We were able to get a lot of that today based on Cali and Jo defending so hard and us being able to get the rebound right away."
Â
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Make it a hard day offensively for New Mexico. Square up on the perimeter shooters. Make it a physical night in the paint. By clamping down on the best the Lobos had to offer, Colorado State's women's basketball team rushed out to a 23-9 advantage in the first frame and never relented in a 76-65 Mountain West victory at Moby Arena.
Â
"It was a great start defensively. That's what needed to happen," said CSU coach Ryun Williams, who was presented a game ball for his 200th victory prior to tip. "They're so explosive, and they can score it in bunches. I thought our kids were really locked into their personnel. We limited the 3-ball a lot of the night.
Â
"Kind of just get ourselves in that game with an attack mentality, so that start was critical."
Â
Colorado State (10-5 overall, 3-1 in the MW) of late has been a quick team, but the season prior, the Lobos (9-7, 1-2) were a step ahead. They'd run and they'd gun, but it wasn't until the conference tournament semifinals where the Rams found an antidote, pulling off the upset in Las Vegas.
Â
This version of the Rams is even quicker with the addition of guard Destiny Thurman and Cailyn Crocker, which helped defensively. They bring some versatility which makes them better on switches, but every defensive game plan needs a centerpiece, and for Colorado State it started in the paint.
Â
Cali Clark, and in spurts Joseana Vaz and Kendyll Kinzer, need to hamper the efforts of Shaiquel McGruder, the Lobos' leading scorer. The Rams had more fastbreak points and more second-chance production, but the huge advantage in the paint – CSU outscored UNM 40-18 – which led Williams to denote Clark as his personal game MVP.
Â
McGruder finished with 11 points (she averages north of 15) but had just two at the break as the Rams built their early advantage. The brunt of those points came off 5-of-6 made free throws as she was just 3-of-16 from the field and missed all three of her 3-point shots.
Â
 Clark said the defensive effort was the priority, and she knew what her role entailed.
Â
"It was just making her feel a presence. Our coach said that this whole week – well, our whole day preparing for this game," Clark said. "Just not letting her in the positions she wants to be in and taking away the things she's really good at."
Â
The paint wasn't the only part of the floor in the Rams' favor. Only three teams in the Mountain West have made more than 100 3-pointer on the season, and two of them were on the floor Saturday. Colorado State entered with 136 in the books, the Lobos with 132.
Â
The Rams didn't shoot as many, because they didn't need to (4-of-12), but the Lobos couldn't find the mark until later in the game, starting off 3-of-12 in the first half, finishing at 9-of-25. Again, making the Lobos feel a presence paid dividends.
Â
"I think just definitely staying tight, trying to make them uncomfortable from the beginning," Crocker said. "If they were going to beat us, we were going to make it tough. We wanted to make it tough for them on the perimeter, and then Cali and Jo and our 5s really made sure that McGruder, anything she got was tough, too. When that all comes together, it's really hard to score."
Â
The single day of practice the Rams had was focused, but for Clark, playing the past three years against New Mexico and McGruder gave her the advantage of familiarity as a vet. Not all of her new teammates had the luxury.
Â
With just the one day to prepare after beating Utah State on Thursday, Williams felt the effort was even more impressive. It was also a sign the team is maturing, learning a lesson from the week prior.
Â
"We had the short turnaround going into Vegas. I thought we executed our plan really well, but we weren't ready for the first punch," he said. "I mean, we weren't ready for that; they came after us. I think we learned that they need to feel our intentions. We don't need to start off by feeling theirs."
Â
Crocker helped the Rams take that first swipe. She scored six of her 16 points in the opening frame, the production even more important considering Thurman and McKenna Hofschild struggled from the field early. The Rams' scoring was balanced in a game where they never trailed and eventually built up a 20-point advantage early in the third.
Â
Hofschild would eventually catch a bit of a spark to finish with 24 points and eight rebounds, but the balanced early scoring was a boost. Only two Rams finished in double figures, but Clark's eight points and eight rebounds were important to capitalize on what the team did defensively. And while Thurman struggled shooting, she made an impact by crashing the glass for 10 boards and delivering five assists.
Â
"I think our defense turned into offense. It's a lot easier to run when you get the rebound, and we like to run as a team for sure and get the outlet and go," Crocker said. "We were able to get a lot of that today based on Cali and Jo defending so hard and us being able to get the rebound right away."
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Team Stats
UNM
CSU
FG%
.328
.464
3FG%
.360
.333
FT%
.933
.533
RB
42
43
TO
11
6
STL
1
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
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