Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, February 25
Laramie, WY
7:30 PM
Colorado State
18-10,11-6Mountain West
60
at
76
Wyoming
20-9,13-5Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
6
19
15
20
60
Wyoming
9
23
14
30
76
Rams Miss Chance in Border War Loss
2/25/2023 10:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wyoming's paint presence proves to be the difference
LARAMIE, Wyo. – The standings in the Mountain West entered Saturday a jumbled mess behind front-running UNLV.
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A handful of teams held out hope for the second position for the upcoming Mountain West women's basketball tournament in Las Vegas, and Wyoming had the first and best crack at the task.
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All the Cowgirls had to do was beat rival Colorado State at Arena-Auditorium on Saturday night and the spot was theirs. With a 13-point lead in the third quarter, the Cowgirls were looking pretty good. Then it was gone when Destiny Thurman hit a deep 3 at the end of the shot clock with 6:40 remaining to give the Rams a 53-51 lead.
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Then Allyson Fertig took it back for the Cowgirls with a personal 8-0 run, part of a 15-point outburst by her in the fourth leading to a 76-60 victory. Now the Rams, 18-10 overall, 11-6 in the conference, are in a four-team race for the third spot along with New Mexico, San Diego State and a Boise State team they'll host Tuesday at Moby Arena.
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With a win, the Rams can clinch the third seed based off of the conference's tiebreaking procedures.
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Fertig's answer to Thurman's gut-punch shot was a serious momentum change, not in favor of the Rams.
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"She was having a pretty good game. I think it would have been big for us to come down and get that stop instead of letting her score," Thurman said after scoring 16 in the contest. "I don't know, we just have to convert on those plays, and we get the lead, we have to keep it. We have to be tougher than the other team."
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Neither team started well offensively in the first quarter, 10 minutes filled with missed shots and turnovers. Both squads picked up the pace in the second, with Wyoming building a 32-25 lead at the intermission.
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In the process, Wyoming was getting a bit here and a bit there across the board. Meanwhile, the Rams were relying on Thurman, McKenna Hofschild and Kendyll Kinzer as the rest of the roster couldn't find the range.
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"You need to be a threat. We just had some kids who we rely on to play better who didn't play all that well," CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. "It has to be more than just a Cailyn Crocker, a McKenna and a Destiny. You take away that, and now we have a more difficult time scoring."
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Midway through the third, the Wyoming lead had stretched to 13 points and looked prime to take over. The Rams had other plans, with a 9-3 run to the end the stanza, then coming out hot to start the fourth.
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Hofschild, who had 16 on a rough shooting night, played a role. Kinzer had a part in it, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting behind the arc. It was in stark contrast to her pregame routine.
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In pregame, Kinzer wasn't leaving the floor at Arena-Auditorium until she made a final 3-pointer from the top of the key. A few feet back, McKenna Hofschild waited for her teammate to do so.
Â
Patiently. Attempt after attempt, Kinzer drew iron. About six times. Then she hit.
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"That's kind of my ritual, even in warmups. I try to stay on the floor until I make one," Kinzer said. "I was struggling during warmups; that happens sometimes. Sometimes I don't even hate when that happens. I kinda have this thing where I feel I'm getting the misses out, but my shot showed up when it mattered."
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When it mattered for Wyoming, the Cowgirls pounded the paint looking for Fertig and occasionally Grace Ellis, who closed with 12.
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The spread in the paint wasn't wide – 34-26 in favor of Wyoming – but the production stung. Fertig started her run with back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays and the tide had turned. Kinzer, tasked with guarding her most of the game, knew the issue.
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"Her size. I mean, I just think that's a really tough matchup for both of us," Kinzer said. "Our skillsets are very different. It's hard for her to guard me sometimes, and it's hard for me to guard her sometimes because we're so different. She's really good at getting good position and getting low. It's just a hard matchup for all of us in general."
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That was part of it, but not all of it. The Rams' defense is set up to provide help, but it never came. Boise State also comes to town with size, so that's a correction needed in short order.
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"Fertig and Ellis, anytime they got the ball on the block they just punished whoever was guarding. Our double was nowhere to be found tonight," Williams said. "That was the issue, but I mean, they bully balled us and that's it.
Â
"We needed more fight tonight. When they started going inside, they needed to feel some resistance, and that just didn't happen. I thought we were too light and too soft on the block."
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The chance for second is gone, but more pressure awaits. Thurman fully believes the team is built to bounce back, fully understanding what's at stake.
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New game. Home court. Another chance.
Â
"We've got to get this win Tuesday and then it's tournament time," Thurman said. "We don't really have time to dwell on this loss. There's nothing we can do about it. We'll probably see this again in the tournament, so that will give us another chance to beat them. We just have to beat Boise on Tuesday and get ready to play in the tournament."
Â
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A handful of teams held out hope for the second position for the upcoming Mountain West women's basketball tournament in Las Vegas, and Wyoming had the first and best crack at the task.
Â
All the Cowgirls had to do was beat rival Colorado State at Arena-Auditorium on Saturday night and the spot was theirs. With a 13-point lead in the third quarter, the Cowgirls were looking pretty good. Then it was gone when Destiny Thurman hit a deep 3 at the end of the shot clock with 6:40 remaining to give the Rams a 53-51 lead.
Â
Then Allyson Fertig took it back for the Cowgirls with a personal 8-0 run, part of a 15-point outburst by her in the fourth leading to a 76-60 victory. Now the Rams, 18-10 overall, 11-6 in the conference, are in a four-team race for the third spot along with New Mexico, San Diego State and a Boise State team they'll host Tuesday at Moby Arena.
Â
With a win, the Rams can clinch the third seed based off of the conference's tiebreaking procedures.
Â
Fertig's answer to Thurman's gut-punch shot was a serious momentum change, not in favor of the Rams.
Â
"She was having a pretty good game. I think it would have been big for us to come down and get that stop instead of letting her score," Thurman said after scoring 16 in the contest. "I don't know, we just have to convert on those plays, and we get the lead, we have to keep it. We have to be tougher than the other team."
Â
Neither team started well offensively in the first quarter, 10 minutes filled with missed shots and turnovers. Both squads picked up the pace in the second, with Wyoming building a 32-25 lead at the intermission.
Â
In the process, Wyoming was getting a bit here and a bit there across the board. Meanwhile, the Rams were relying on Thurman, McKenna Hofschild and Kendyll Kinzer as the rest of the roster couldn't find the range.
Â
"You need to be a threat. We just had some kids who we rely on to play better who didn't play all that well," CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. "It has to be more than just a Cailyn Crocker, a McKenna and a Destiny. You take away that, and now we have a more difficult time scoring."
Â
Midway through the third, the Wyoming lead had stretched to 13 points and looked prime to take over. The Rams had other plans, with a 9-3 run to the end the stanza, then coming out hot to start the fourth.
Â
Hofschild, who had 16 on a rough shooting night, played a role. Kinzer had a part in it, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting behind the arc. It was in stark contrast to her pregame routine.
Â
In pregame, Kinzer wasn't leaving the floor at Arena-Auditorium until she made a final 3-pointer from the top of the key. A few feet back, McKenna Hofschild waited for her teammate to do so.
Â
Patiently. Attempt after attempt, Kinzer drew iron. About six times. Then she hit.
Â
"That's kind of my ritual, even in warmups. I try to stay on the floor until I make one," Kinzer said. "I was struggling during warmups; that happens sometimes. Sometimes I don't even hate when that happens. I kinda have this thing where I feel I'm getting the misses out, but my shot showed up when it mattered."
Â
When it mattered for Wyoming, the Cowgirls pounded the paint looking for Fertig and occasionally Grace Ellis, who closed with 12.
Â
The spread in the paint wasn't wide – 34-26 in favor of Wyoming – but the production stung. Fertig started her run with back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays and the tide had turned. Kinzer, tasked with guarding her most of the game, knew the issue.
Â
"Her size. I mean, I just think that's a really tough matchup for both of us," Kinzer said. "Our skillsets are very different. It's hard for her to guard me sometimes, and it's hard for me to guard her sometimes because we're so different. She's really good at getting good position and getting low. It's just a hard matchup for all of us in general."
Â
That was part of it, but not all of it. The Rams' defense is set up to provide help, but it never came. Boise State also comes to town with size, so that's a correction needed in short order.
Â
"Fertig and Ellis, anytime they got the ball on the block they just punished whoever was guarding. Our double was nowhere to be found tonight," Williams said. "That was the issue, but I mean, they bully balled us and that's it.
Â
"We needed more fight tonight. When they started going inside, they needed to feel some resistance, and that just didn't happen. I thought we were too light and too soft on the block."
Â
The chance for second is gone, but more pressure awaits. Thurman fully believes the team is built to bounce back, fully understanding what's at stake.
Â
New game. Home court. Another chance.
Â
"We've got to get this win Tuesday and then it's tournament time," Thurman said. "We don't really have time to dwell on this loss. There's nothing we can do about it. We'll probably see this again in the tournament, so that will give us another chance to beat them. We just have to beat Boise on Tuesday and get ready to play in the tournament."
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Team Stats
CSU
UW
FG%
.404
.442
3FG%
.391
.429
FT%
.625
.923
RB
25
40
TO
13
15
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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