Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, February 28
Fort Collins, CO
11:00 AM
Colorado State
18-9,9-7Mountain West
54
vs
51
Nevada
14-15,8-8Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Nevada
17
10
15
9
51
Colorado St.
10
12
18
14
54
Rams Ride Late Surge to Beat Nevada
2/28/2024 2:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Crocker provides spark needed to win third straight
At halftime, Ryun Williams needed some "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" from his Colorado State women's basketball team to ignite a spark hot enough to find a win over Nevada.
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Cailyn Crocker came through with some Zip-a-dee-a, and the Rams pulled out a 54-51 win in front of thousands of Thompson and Poudre School District elementary students for CSU's fourth-annual Education Day.
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As the third quarter wound to a close, Crocker hit the toughest — and perhaps most influential — bucket of the entire game between Colorado State and Nevada: a left-handed scoop while driving across the face of the basket. A foul was called and she cut the Wolf Pack's lead to one late in the third quarter.
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"The reason Crock played well today was because her head was right," Williams said. "Some of our other kids played flustered, you could see it. For whatever reason it was, you don't want to see that out of a mature team. But you've got enough options, and Crocker is that, she was leading the charge in the locker room at halftime. So we went with that lineup in the third quarter and quite frankly, that's the lineup that probably won us the basketball game."
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Marta Leimane stole the ball the next possession and took it coast to coast for a layup to take the Rams' first lead since three minutes into the game.
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Crocker, with all of her seven points, and Leimane combined for 10 straight points for the Rams in just 2:13 of game time down the stretch of the frame, taking and extending the lead.
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Nevada closed the quarter with a 5-0 run to take the lead back heading into a fourth quarter which could end up having big Mountain West Tournament implications, as both teams entered the game tied for sixth in the conference standings.
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That stretch of back and forth all but summed the day up.
Â
Nevada jumped out to a lead early, to which the Rams would respond with a run to cut it close, but Nevada would extend it out once again. Each time, CSU would inch closer and closer until the breakthrough, led by Crocker.
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"Honestly, I was just like, 'please score,'" Crocker said, alluding to her and-1 scoop layup. "I just try to go in and do the most of what I can when I'm in and create a spark. So if I'm able to get an and-1 or try to score, then that's what I'll do for that moment."
Â
Hannah Ronsiek, who scored a team-high 15 points with five 3s, was a part of those runs on multiple occasions. To begin the second quarter, she hit two straight 3s to bring her team to within a possession, but the Wolf Pack's Victoria Davis responded with two of her own, those ones from much deeper.
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Frustrating, sure. Nothing too out of the ordinary for Ronsiek, though.
Â
"I mean, it's just basketball," she said. "It's so late in the season where I think we've experienced it enough times to know that's going to happen each game."
Â
But there were a few topics of discussion at halftime aside from the 'it's just basketball' phenomenon. The Rams were out-rebounded 24-14, allowing 10 offensive boards. CSU didn't take care of the ball well, committing seven turnovers despite averaging nine per game this season.
Â
Part of the second-half turnaround and the will to find a way to win was because of how things went last time the two teams met. In Reno this January, the Wolf Pack beat the Rams 78-51 on Nevada's own Education Day.
Â
At the break, Ronsiek said, a decision was made by the team: don't let that result repeat itself.
Â
And it definitely didn't. In the second half, the Rams had just two rebounds fewer than the Wolf Pack. Defensively, they forced eight Nevada turnovers — off of which they scored 12 points — while giving up just one of their own.
Â
A significant nod to the maturity the group has developed over the past month, according to Williams. The Rams have won seven straight at home and are 6-3 since the defeat in Reno.
Â
"I like the fact our kids are still in the chase, they're chasing a victory," Williams said. "Let's finish as high as we can in the standings and let's chase playing really good basketball heading into March and the tournament.
Â
"We have found a different competitive level and that's why we won the game. A month ago, we do not win this game, there's no way. That group would not have won. But you can see it in the last three or four games, they're competing at a different level."
Â
Â
Cailyn Crocker came through with some Zip-a-dee-a, and the Rams pulled out a 54-51 win in front of thousands of Thompson and Poudre School District elementary students for CSU's fourth-annual Education Day.
Â
As the third quarter wound to a close, Crocker hit the toughest — and perhaps most influential — bucket of the entire game between Colorado State and Nevada: a left-handed scoop while driving across the face of the basket. A foul was called and she cut the Wolf Pack's lead to one late in the third quarter.
Â
"The reason Crock played well today was because her head was right," Williams said. "Some of our other kids played flustered, you could see it. For whatever reason it was, you don't want to see that out of a mature team. But you've got enough options, and Crocker is that, she was leading the charge in the locker room at halftime. So we went with that lineup in the third quarter and quite frankly, that's the lineup that probably won us the basketball game."
Â
Marta Leimane stole the ball the next possession and took it coast to coast for a layup to take the Rams' first lead since three minutes into the game.
Â
Crocker, with all of her seven points, and Leimane combined for 10 straight points for the Rams in just 2:13 of game time down the stretch of the frame, taking and extending the lead.
Â
Nevada closed the quarter with a 5-0 run to take the lead back heading into a fourth quarter which could end up having big Mountain West Tournament implications, as both teams entered the game tied for sixth in the conference standings.
Â
That stretch of back and forth all but summed the day up.
Â
Nevada jumped out to a lead early, to which the Rams would respond with a run to cut it close, but Nevada would extend it out once again. Each time, CSU would inch closer and closer until the breakthrough, led by Crocker.
Â
"Honestly, I was just like, 'please score,'" Crocker said, alluding to her and-1 scoop layup. "I just try to go in and do the most of what I can when I'm in and create a spark. So if I'm able to get an and-1 or try to score, then that's what I'll do for that moment."
Â
Hannah Ronsiek, who scored a team-high 15 points with five 3s, was a part of those runs on multiple occasions. To begin the second quarter, she hit two straight 3s to bring her team to within a possession, but the Wolf Pack's Victoria Davis responded with two of her own, those ones from much deeper.
Â
Frustrating, sure. Nothing too out of the ordinary for Ronsiek, though.
Â
"I mean, it's just basketball," she said. "It's so late in the season where I think we've experienced it enough times to know that's going to happen each game."
Â
But there were a few topics of discussion at halftime aside from the 'it's just basketball' phenomenon. The Rams were out-rebounded 24-14, allowing 10 offensive boards. CSU didn't take care of the ball well, committing seven turnovers despite averaging nine per game this season.
Â
Part of the second-half turnaround and the will to find a way to win was because of how things went last time the two teams met. In Reno this January, the Wolf Pack beat the Rams 78-51 on Nevada's own Education Day.
Â
At the break, Ronsiek said, a decision was made by the team: don't let that result repeat itself.
Â
And it definitely didn't. In the second half, the Rams had just two rebounds fewer than the Wolf Pack. Defensively, they forced eight Nevada turnovers — off of which they scored 12 points — while giving up just one of their own.
Â
A significant nod to the maturity the group has developed over the past month, according to Williams. The Rams have won seven straight at home and are 6-3 since the defeat in Reno.
Â
"I like the fact our kids are still in the chase, they're chasing a victory," Williams said. "Let's finish as high as we can in the standings and let's chase playing really good basketball heading into March and the tournament.
Â
"We have found a different competitive level and that's why we won the game. A month ago, we do not win this game, there's no way. That group would not have won. But you can see it in the last three or four games, they're competing at a different level."
Â
Team Stats
Nevada
CSU
FG%
.255
.400
3FG%
.381
.231
FT%
.882
.667
RB
42
32
TO
13
8
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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