Colorado State University Athletics
Monday, March 11
Las Vegas, NV / Thomas & Mack Center
3:30 PM
Colorado State
20-10,10-8Mountain West
65
vs
54
Nevada
16-16,10-8Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
12
15
22
16
65
Nevada
14
16
5
19
54
Photo by: Alysa Rubin/NCAA Photos
Rams Find Range to Advance
3/11/2024 6:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Ronsiek’s third-quarter surge leads rally
LAS VEGAS – For two days, the most consistent message from Ryun Williams to his team was to play with intent. Leave nothing to chance.
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In true Vegas fashion, to go all in with their effort as they opened up the Mountain West Tournament on Monday. The only thing which didn't for his Colorado State women's basketball team at the Thomas & Mack Center was their shots.
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In the second half – the third quarter specifically – the Rams produced an answer, and her name was Hannah Ronsiek.
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Her 13 third-quarter points after an 0-for-5 shooting start to the game flipped the switch for the Rams in what would become a 65-54 win over Nevada, setting up a Tuesday semifinal showdown with No. 21 UNLV at 6 p.m. MT.
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"I thought we stayed with what we had to do. We stayed the course; we didn't really stray from it," Williams said. "We thought there were some things we could get to, and we did. I know she said she was struggling with her confidence, but it sure didn't look like that. I was so proud of how she continued to keep shooting the basketball. If you go for 0-for-5, that can wear on your confidence a little bit."
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The separator in the first half was Nevada was making shots, Colorado State was not. The Rams were fine defensively, forcing 10 turnovers and blocking four shots. They just couldn't find the range outside of McKenna Hofschild and Marta Leimane, who combined for 21 of the team's 27 points. Even still, the deficit was a mere 30-27.
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That was Williams' only complaint all night. And it didn't sway his confidence heading into the locker room.
Â
"That was kind of the message at halftime. We were really happy with the compete," he said, his team now 20-10 on the year, the fourth 20-win season in a row. "We were really happy with the conviction of which we played on offense. We shot with the ball with confidence, and we did play aggressively. We just needed it to go in."
Â
His feeling, and that of the team, was to stick to it. And stick a few shots.
Â
Ronsiek, well, she was a bit like a James Bond martini – shaken, but not stirred.
Â
"Personally, for me, I wasn't super confident on offense. On defense, I was like if I'm not making shots I have to contribute to the team in some way. So, defense was one way to do that, and defense leads to offense."
Â
Williams claims he told the guard at the break to shake it off, that she'd probably go five-for-five in the second half.
Â
All she needed was one, and it came on a mid-range jumper.
Â
"I think it was just seeing the ball go in, just one time, so when I made that 2, I think the hoop got a little bigger," the sophomore said. "As soon as the ball went in, I got a little confidence."
Â
The Rams opened the second half on an 8-0 run, with Ronsiek, Hofschild and Leimane all involved. The real thrust came when Ronsiek started hitting from behind the arc, a trifecta of treys in the third, her final dagger of the frame pushing the CSU lead to 14 points.
Â
She wasn't done. She hit two more in the fourth as the lead grew to as much as 19, finishing the game with 19 points. She also blocked two early shots, pulled down seven rebounds and notched a pair of assists.
Â
It was a flurry which the team fed off from.
Â
"It's huge. I think it just makes us so much harder to guard," Hofschild said.
Â
Hofschild didn't enter the game necessarily on a hot streak, but she created one early against the Wolf Pack. A 46.7 percent shooter from the field, she'd was below 40 percent in six of the eight games leading up to the tourney. The response of the all-conference guard was to give the Rams immediate energy, scoring 15 of her 21 points in the first half, adding eight assists by the end of the night.
Â
Leimane was solid all night, adding 13 points to give the Rams a trio of threats, leading the team with eight rebounds. After shooting woeful in the first half, they hit at a 58.3 percent clip in the final two quarters.
Â
Which was all the Rams really needed.
Â
Â
In true Vegas fashion, to go all in with their effort as they opened up the Mountain West Tournament on Monday. The only thing which didn't for his Colorado State women's basketball team at the Thomas & Mack Center was their shots.
Â
In the second half – the third quarter specifically – the Rams produced an answer, and her name was Hannah Ronsiek.
Â
Her 13 third-quarter points after an 0-for-5 shooting start to the game flipped the switch for the Rams in what would become a 65-54 win over Nevada, setting up a Tuesday semifinal showdown with No. 21 UNLV at 6 p.m. MT.
Â
"I thought we stayed with what we had to do. We stayed the course; we didn't really stray from it," Williams said. "We thought there were some things we could get to, and we did. I know she said she was struggling with her confidence, but it sure didn't look like that. I was so proud of how she continued to keep shooting the basketball. If you go for 0-for-5, that can wear on your confidence a little bit."
Â
The separator in the first half was Nevada was making shots, Colorado State was not. The Rams were fine defensively, forcing 10 turnovers and blocking four shots. They just couldn't find the range outside of McKenna Hofschild and Marta Leimane, who combined for 21 of the team's 27 points. Even still, the deficit was a mere 30-27.
Â
That was Williams' only complaint all night. And it didn't sway his confidence heading into the locker room.
Â
"That was kind of the message at halftime. We were really happy with the compete," he said, his team now 20-10 on the year, the fourth 20-win season in a row. "We were really happy with the conviction of which we played on offense. We shot with the ball with confidence, and we did play aggressively. We just needed it to go in."
Â
His feeling, and that of the team, was to stick to it. And stick a few shots.
Â
Ronsiek, well, she was a bit like a James Bond martini – shaken, but not stirred.
Â
"Personally, for me, I wasn't super confident on offense. On defense, I was like if I'm not making shots I have to contribute to the team in some way. So, defense was one way to do that, and defense leads to offense."
Â
Williams claims he told the guard at the break to shake it off, that she'd probably go five-for-five in the second half.
Â
All she needed was one, and it came on a mid-range jumper.
Â
"I think it was just seeing the ball go in, just one time, so when I made that 2, I think the hoop got a little bigger," the sophomore said. "As soon as the ball went in, I got a little confidence."
Â
The Rams opened the second half on an 8-0 run, with Ronsiek, Hofschild and Leimane all involved. The real thrust came when Ronsiek started hitting from behind the arc, a trifecta of treys in the third, her final dagger of the frame pushing the CSU lead to 14 points.
Â
She wasn't done. She hit two more in the fourth as the lead grew to as much as 19, finishing the game with 19 points. She also blocked two early shots, pulled down seven rebounds and notched a pair of assists.
Â
It was a flurry which the team fed off from.
Â
"It's huge. I think it just makes us so much harder to guard," Hofschild said.
Â
Hofschild didn't enter the game necessarily on a hot streak, but she created one early against the Wolf Pack. A 46.7 percent shooter from the field, she'd was below 40 percent in six of the eight games leading up to the tourney. The response of the all-conference guard was to give the Rams immediate energy, scoring 15 of her 21 points in the first half, adding eight assists by the end of the night.
Â
Leimane was solid all night, adding 13 points to give the Rams a trio of threats, leading the team with eight rebounds. After shooting woeful in the first half, they hit at a 58.3 percent clip in the final two quarters.
Â
Which was all the Rams really needed.
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Team Stats
CSU
Nevada
FG%
.463
.345
3FG%
.400
.200
FT%
.500
.714
RB
29
41
TO
10
18
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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