Rams Tourney Ends With Rivalry Loss in Semis

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Nov 13

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at Gonzaga

LAS VEGAS – A blistering start. Just not from start to finish.

After making 8-of-13 to open the game, Colorado State's women's basketball team went into a three-quarter cold spell, allowing rival Wyoming to move in front and stay there in a 65-56 loss in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The good vibes just didn't continue, and they went south quick as the Rams missed their first six shots of the second quarter, and it does have an effect mentally

"I think it did a little bit, but it kinda goes back to stringing those stops together and converting," Destiny Thurman said. "When we were getting those stops, we weren't going down and finishing on the other end. I think that kind of impacted us a lot."

The Rams shot just 38.2 percent in the game, with only Destiny Thurman and McKenna Hofschild showing real touch, but even their efforts were divided. While Thurman came out the gates blazing with 16 first-half points, she finished with 19. Hofschild, limited to two points at half, came on strong to finish with 14 points. Finishing with just two assists was just as telling.

Her teammates weren't hitting and she felt she wasn't aggressive enough in pushing the issue out of the gates.

"Yeah, they just had a good defensive scheme," she said. "I could have done a lot better, and I will take this one and learn from it. It's not comfortable for me not to be there for my team."

The defensive effort was to slow down Alysson Fertig in the paint, and to a degree, the Rams did as she finished with 15 points, 10 in the second quarter. The first two times the ball went inside to her, the Rams turned her over.

Wyoming was not about to give up the advantage they held inside, so they persisted. The Cowgirls doubled up the Rams in the paint (36-18) and dominated the boards, 50-23. Of that total, 14 came on the offensive glass, five in the fourth quarter. The Rams were still within shouting range, but six of their 18 second-chance points came off 3s out of scramble situations in the offensive glass.

"Their motion is that. It's good motion," Williams said. "When you get into a rotation because the ball touches the paint and you've got two on the ball, that's where it gets a little dicey. That's where your guards have to rebound down, and you have to chase down some long rebounds.

"I think we cut it to five maybe, then a big dagger 3 and a bank shot, and those were the ones, and they were second-chance points. You're going to give up some; we realize that. You have to commit for 40 minutes there."

In the end, the Rams just weren't consistent enough on either end to keep their tournament hopes afloat.

When they'd get stops, they couldn't follow up with a basket. When the missed, Wyoming put together little spurts, and in a tight game, mini runs can make a difference.

"I think it's important when you get those stops to go down and finish the play, because it gives us momentum," Thurman said. "I think we had a few back to back where we just didn't finish them out, and I think if we did, this turnout would have been very different."

Colorado State sits with a 20-11 record with hopes of continuing the season with a bid to the WNIT. The Rams would relish the chance because Tuesday's loss didn't sit well with any of them.

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