Rams Unable to Hold Late Lead Against Mississippi State

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FORT COLLINS – Sometimes, all it takes to win a basketball game is for one player to catch fire.

The Colorado State women's basketball team was on the receiving end of that Wednesday against Mississippi State. Behind a Moby Arena record 10 3s from Bulldogs guard Lauren Park-Lane, MSU was able to come from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Rams, 82-75.

"Hats off to her. She shot it well and she played a great game," said guard McKenna Hofschild, who put up her fifth double-double of the year with 25 points and 10 assists. "It's disheartening because you're wishing those won't go in, but at the end of the day, we had the win in our hands. I think we were in control of our own destiny in that game, and it didn't happen."

Outside of the first and last few minutes of the contest, the score was kept close, each team responding to any scoring runs the other would put up.

From a Rams perspective, that was mainly due to the ability to carve up a large, physical defense and not allow those big players to do much offensively. CSU, at a noticeable size disadvantage, outscored the Bulldogs in the paint, 26-16.

At least for the first half, the Rams kept pace in getting rebounds, only trailing by three in the stat at halftime. That number changed dramatically in the second half, ending with a margin of 16 in favor of the Bulldogs once the game ended.

"I thought our kids (who played interior defense) really battled and I think we learned that if we really commit to rebounding the ball, we can be tough to beat," head coach Ryun Williams said. "I think we learned we really have to sustain really good play for 40 minutes on both ends of the floor to beat really good teams. … Maybe we got a little tired. It's not so much the up and down that I think fatigues you in a game like this, it's the constant battle in the paint — the physicality, the bodying and the pushing — that's tiring."

Williams noted the fatigue also may have affected the way the Rams shot from 3-point range, as they shot a below-average 36 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, shot an uncharacteristic 48 percent from distance.

Despite MSU averaging just six 3s per game, Park-Lane had 10 of her own, the team totaling 14 on 29 attempts. She hit six in the second half alone; a few times finding acres of space in the corner and drilling the shot after a kick out.

The Rams, who late in the game were starting to allow a higher rebound rate and second-chance opportunities, opted to continue to clog the interior and give space to shooters. Williams said towards the end, the Rams were simply allowing things which weren't going for the Bulldogs early in the game.

For forward Kendyll Kinzer, who tallied 18 points with four 3s including a 30-foot buzzer beater to end the third, it was crucial to stick to limiting the Bulldogs' interior offense after it worked so well for three quarters. Unfortunately for the Rams, Park-Lane was just blazing from behind the arch.

"I think it's tough, but I also think that was our game plan," Kinzer said. "We really preached to not stray away from the game plan because it probably should have worked out. If we make a few more game-winning plays down the stretch, it's probably going to work and then it's a whole other story. I think it's hard to watch and a lot of people don't get that, but that was our game plan and we trust our coach."

The Rams have a 10-day break before heading into conference play, opening at San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2:00 p.m. MT.

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