Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, December 5
Fort Collins, CO
6:30 PM
Colorado State
7-0,0-0Mountain West
93
vs
61
High Point
4-5,0-0Big South
1
2
3
4
F
High Point
9
17
21
14
61
Colorado St.
17
19
25
32
93
Rams Rout High Point, Remain Unbeaten
12/5/2023 9:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Guard trio emerging as threatening force
FORT COLLINS – At halftime against High Point Tuesday night, Colorado State women's basketball coach Ryun Williams gave his team a challenge.
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The Rams led by 10 at that point, but he felt the defense was a little too "nonchalant," giving up multiple easy buckets at the rim and allowing the Panthers to keep it close.
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"Just do your job. The job we give you, you can do it. It may not be easy, but you can do it," Williams said. "I think they really bought into executing what we needed to get done and they played with a good effort, and the discipline was much better in the second half."
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The message was clear and it worked out as the Rams more than tripled their halftime lead to win 93-61. With the victory, CSUÂ moved to 7-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when it started with eight straight.
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They were boosted by another double-double from McKenna Hofschild — her third of the season — who recorded 25 points and 11 assists, both game highs. As per usual, her barrage of points came from a variety of shots, one being a step-back triple to end the third quarter.
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No buckets were sweeter than the crossover in the paint, which made a Panthers' defender stumble and fall as she hit a layup while getting fouled.
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The most satisfying thing to Hofschild, though, as usual, was another tally added to the win column.
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"It's exciting, I think it's a testament to this team, the experience and the work we've put in this offseason and getting ready for this season," Hofschild said. "To come in, be 7-0, it's exciting, but we're looking to go 8-0."
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Guards Hannah Ronsiek and Sanna Strom combined for 31 points, the former shooting a near-perfect 4-of-5 from 3 while adding eight rebounds, matching her career high.
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The shooting was nice, but Ronsiek's rebounding figure was most impressive to Williams, who has challenged the entire team to step up in that category after losing prolific board-securer Cali Clark to a leg injury.
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"All throughout practice, (Williams) has really reiterated how (Clark) is a big, physical presence that was going to be gone," Ronsiek said. "So we all just needed to step up and get boards and I thought I executed that well."
Â
With the trio of Ronsiek, Strom and Hofschild accounting for 56 of the Rams' 93 points, Ronsiek is gaining confidence in the diverse styles of play the three can exhibit on a nightly basis.
Â
For Ronsiek, shooting at the clip she's at, Hofschild being a dual offensive threat and Strom being an aggressive driver is a sign of good things to come after struggling a bit to start the season.
Â
"I was worried at the beginning of the season because I wasn't shooting the way I like, but the only way to get out of a shooting slump is to shoot your way out of it," Ronsiek said. "I got out of it a little bit last game and I just want to continue to shoot well. McKenna's always finding me and Sanna. We have different games, I like to shoot it more and Sanna likes to drive more, so it really is a dangerous trio."
Â
For Williams, the trio is a good threat at the moment, but is firm in the belief anyone can turn it up on any given night.
Â
Whether it's Meghan Boyd or Kendyll Kinzer stretching the floor in Clark's absence, Cailyn Crocker asserting her aggression on drives or the entire squad playing good team defense, he said the Rams can be dangerous if they can be more disciplined and clean up mistakes.
Â
He knows that to be a team which gets most things right on any given night, they need to correct things one by one, game by game. 7-0 is a great start, but it can always get better.
Â
"That's great, but the thing I'm most proud of is that our basketball team is growing," Williams said. "We're getting tougher, we're not making as many mistakes as the game before. That's what I really care about, but 7-0 is better than whatever, it's the best we can be at this point. We're just still really focused on becoming a better basketball team."
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The Rams led by 10 at that point, but he felt the defense was a little too "nonchalant," giving up multiple easy buckets at the rim and allowing the Panthers to keep it close.
Â
"Just do your job. The job we give you, you can do it. It may not be easy, but you can do it," Williams said. "I think they really bought into executing what we needed to get done and they played with a good effort, and the discipline was much better in the second half."
Â
The message was clear and it worked out as the Rams more than tripled their halftime lead to win 93-61. With the victory, CSUÂ moved to 7-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when it started with eight straight.
Â
They were boosted by another double-double from McKenna Hofschild — her third of the season — who recorded 25 points and 11 assists, both game highs. As per usual, her barrage of points came from a variety of shots, one being a step-back triple to end the third quarter.
Â
No buckets were sweeter than the crossover in the paint, which made a Panthers' defender stumble and fall as she hit a layup while getting fouled.
Â
The most satisfying thing to Hofschild, though, as usual, was another tally added to the win column.
Â
"It's exciting, I think it's a testament to this team, the experience and the work we've put in this offseason and getting ready for this season," Hofschild said. "To come in, be 7-0, it's exciting, but we're looking to go 8-0."
Â
Guards Hannah Ronsiek and Sanna Strom combined for 31 points, the former shooting a near-perfect 4-of-5 from 3 while adding eight rebounds, matching her career high.
Â
The shooting was nice, but Ronsiek's rebounding figure was most impressive to Williams, who has challenged the entire team to step up in that category after losing prolific board-securer Cali Clark to a leg injury.
Â
"All throughout practice, (Williams) has really reiterated how (Clark) is a big, physical presence that was going to be gone," Ronsiek said. "So we all just needed to step up and get boards and I thought I executed that well."
Â
With the trio of Ronsiek, Strom and Hofschild accounting for 56 of the Rams' 93 points, Ronsiek is gaining confidence in the diverse styles of play the three can exhibit on a nightly basis.
Â
For Ronsiek, shooting at the clip she's at, Hofschild being a dual offensive threat and Strom being an aggressive driver is a sign of good things to come after struggling a bit to start the season.
Â
"I was worried at the beginning of the season because I wasn't shooting the way I like, but the only way to get out of a shooting slump is to shoot your way out of it," Ronsiek said. "I got out of it a little bit last game and I just want to continue to shoot well. McKenna's always finding me and Sanna. We have different games, I like to shoot it more and Sanna likes to drive more, so it really is a dangerous trio."
Â
For Williams, the trio is a good threat at the moment, but is firm in the belief anyone can turn it up on any given night.
Â
Whether it's Meghan Boyd or Kendyll Kinzer stretching the floor in Clark's absence, Cailyn Crocker asserting her aggression on drives or the entire squad playing good team defense, he said the Rams can be dangerous if they can be more disciplined and clean up mistakes.
Â
He knows that to be a team which gets most things right on any given night, they need to correct things one by one, game by game. 7-0 is a great start, but it can always get better.
Â
"That's great, but the thing I'm most proud of is that our basketball team is growing," Williams said. "We're getting tougher, we're not making as many mistakes as the game before. That's what I really care about, but 7-0 is better than whatever, it's the best we can be at this point. We're just still really focused on becoming a better basketball team."
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Team Stats
HP
CSU
FG%
.386
.589
3FG%
.154
.550
FT%
.929
.941
RB
26
32
TO
12
8
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
12
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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