Rams Lock Up Third Seed for Conference Tournament

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at Gonzaga

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the past week, the women's basketball standings in the Mountain West have been packed tighter than a fresh quart of ice cream.

Saturday, Colorado State's women's tried to grab their share up in Laramie but walked away with a bent spoon and an empty bowl. Tuesday night, at home at Moby Arena, the Rams came back with a scoop and took all they wanted, the cherry on top of the 66-51 victory over Boise State being the third seed in the upcoming conference tournament, beginning March 5 in Las Vegas.

With the win, the Rams (19-10, 12-6 MW) will just practice that day, while the Broncos will play a game. And, as the bracket sits, the two could meet each other again in the second round.

Boise State came out with intention, hitting its first 3-pointers for a slim edge, but by the end of the first – thanks to a 9-0 run – Colorado State had moved in front and settled in, continually building up the lead, taking a 13-point margin into the break.

McKenna Hofschild saw to it, scoring 10 points in the second quarter, brushing aside two early blocks she suffered on drives, only to come back undeterred.

"At my stature, that's going to happen. That's just part of the game," Hofschild said after a 19-point performance. "I think a big part of our offense is getting downhill, getting in the paint, kicking out and creating in that area. I'm going to get blocked, I'm going to get sent to the floor sometimes, that's just how it goes, but I think if me and (Destiny Thurman) and Cailyn (Crocker) can get there, I think it opens up our offense so much and helps everything flow a lot better, so I'm not going to back down after a few blocks."

Building the lead at intermission gave his team a calm, head coach Ryun Williams felt, and they played some poise in the final two stanzas, even if the offense wasn't hitting at the same clip.

That was important, because it was senior night for Destiny Thurman and Petra Farkis, and those emotions can get in the way sometimes. The Rams didn't.

"I think even midway through the first quarter, we started to find some stops, we got out and ran a little bit, but that second quarter, we kind of freed ourselves up," he said. "I think it allowed us to take a deep breath and just play and forget about whatever you might be focusing on, whether it's, 'oh, we have to have this win,' because it's for a seed or senior night.

"We made it a basketball game, freed ourselves up and trusted each other. That was a huge quarter."

The second half was tough for both squads offensively, as the Broncos only shot 38.5 percent, the Rams even worse, 28.1. But the Rams used their defense to create some offense, keyed by Destiny Thurman.

She stuffed the stat sheet in the game, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. Two of those takeaways led to coast-to-coast layups, the second rather easy and traditional, the second requiring some moxie.

It came in the second quarter, and she had to throw up an initial ball fake to clear some space, then as she moved closer to the basket, she noticed another flying BSU defender. Another ball fake, easy bucket.

It was so impressive, even the ref who handed her the ball to inbound coming out of half said she was juked.

"She did say that," Thurman said, to which Hofschild replied, "I think she faked everyone out."

"The lob, I already knew she was sprinting back, they wanted to get that ball back. I knew the first one, automatic pump fake, but I saw her teammate coming out of the corner of my eye," Thurman continued. "All I saw was her jersey, I didn't even see her head. I just knew I had to pump fake again or my shot was going to be in the stands."

The Rams may have lacked some second half offense – they scored 26 in the two periods after opening the game with 21 in the first – but made up for it with the key contributions they lacked on the road against Wyoming.

Boise State is bigger and longer in the post, but Cali Clark's eight rebounds – two on the offensive glass – kept the margin tight. Kendyll Kinzer, who finished with 11, also pulled down five rebounds. Hannah Ronsiek and Meghan Boyd both entered and made contributions with key 3s when the scoring had gone stagnant.

Those little things add up, as does eight Rams contributing points.

"It was great to see that," Williams said. "Ronsiek, the 3 was big. To get those kids – to get everybody involved – and to be a threat is critical. Obviously everything is going to be scout-wise, they're going to try to take away our guard play and create some havoc on that. To get those kids going was critical. I thought Cali was huge tonight. Their post play is physical and long. Cali gave us some offensive rebounds; she was huge, and I thought Kendyll battled really well.

"It's nice to get those kids playing well going into the tournament. They can get some confidence. Confidence is huge in March. You have to have a good self-belief, and tonight really helped with that."

They also allow teams and players to enjoy the moment. The lead, which grew to 18 at one point, allowed Williams to empty his bench a bit and give Farkas some playing time, and then it allowed him to pull her out of the game later to an ovation from the crowd.

And in the course of the night, Hofschild hit another milestone with her 539^th assist, passing Becky Hammon for second on the program's list. Quite the nifty sidenote for the semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award.

"That's really cool. It means a lot," Hofschild said. "I keep saying it: I know how much she means to this program, this university. Everyone here loves Becky Hammon, everyone is so proud to have her as an alum, and I think that's a huge person to look at and strive to be in the same sentence with her. I'm very honored just to be in that realm."

That and to scoop up a bye the first day of the tournament.

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