Rams Can’t Turn Corner Against No. 21 UNLV

LAS VEGAS – Getting to the corner was not an issue. For the third time this season, making the turn was.

Twice in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's Mountain West Tournament semifinal matchup with No. 21 UNLV, Colorado State's women's basketball team was able to get to within one possession of matching or leaping the Lady Rebels on the scoreboard, but on neither occasion could the Rams get the stop they needed for the chance.

And the second time they missed the opening, the two-time defending conference champions went on a 7-0 to advance to advance to the final for the third year in a row after a 62-52 victory.

Three times this season the Rams hung tough with the Lady Rebels. Three times they fell in a 20-11 campaign.

"We just could never crack that code. We've really scored it quite well against them every single meeting," CSU coach Ryun Williams said. "We really guarded. Our kids really, really defended. They executed that side of the court. But you've got compete on the other end, and we did compete, but we just didn't find enough good offense tonight."

The 62 points were the third-lowest output for UNLV this season, but it was enough on a night when Colorado State struggled to find the mark. The Rams shot just 37.3 percent overall, just 23.8 percent from behind the arc. It was a better overall shooting percentage than the Rebels, who did find a way to get to the line 15 times (11 more than CSU), making 13 of those attempts.

UNLV's scoring total would have had the Rams excited about their chances before the game started.

"Yeah. I thought we stuck to the game plan really well on the defensive end and stuck to what we were told by the coaches," CSU guard McKenna Hofschild said. "I think we did a great job on that end. Some nights you're just not going to have it both ways, and our offense kind of struggled. They did a good job defending it. We have to live with that one."

The lackluster offense had the Rams playing catchup from start to finish, never a good position against a quality team. The Lady Rebels opened the game on an 8-0 run, then started the second half with a 9-0 spurt.
Marta Leimane struggled most all night, going just 7-of-22 from the field, but she did find a spurt in the fourth, making her first three shots. It didn't help that early in the fourth Cailyn Crocker went down hard in a scrum for a rebound, as she had been a spark off the bench, scoring nine points in roughly nine minutes of play.

The one advantage UNLV holds which most teams don't is a two-pronged defensive front against McKenna Hofschild, with the guard tandem of Kiara Jackson and Amarachi Kimpson taking turns defending the Rams' dynamic playmaker.
Hofschild finished with nine points and eight assists (giving her a season-record 226), but she didn't find many opening in the lane all night.

"Tonight they were really good, and those two kids I thought were very critical to how they defended us. The Jackson kid, she's really long. She separates and keeps it in front," Williams said. "(Kimpson), she's a competitive young lady as well. She probably plays with a little more physicality.

"McKenna has a tough fight, and she had it all night. That's the beautiful thing about McKenna, though, is she just still tries to find a way. Everybody plays her differently, and they run different kids at her with length, with strength, sometimes with their 5. She still finds a way. I thought we kind of found some rhythm in that second half in large part due to McKenna figuring it out."

UNLV countered the Rams' push by slowing down the pace in halfcourt sets, trying to get isolation for both guards and even Alyssa Brown. Kimpson scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the final frame, and Jackson added five of her 12. It helped combat the fact the Rams limited conference player of the year Desi-Rae Young to just six points on 3-of-12 shooting.

With 6.2 seconds remaining in the game, Williams substituted for Hofschild, one of the most formidable players to ever wear the uniform. She leaves as the school and conference's all-time assist leader. She exits as the No. 2 career scorer on both lists.
She left to hugs, which brought upon a few tears, waterworks which reappeared when speaking to the media.

"I can't give you much right now," she said.

But her teammates know exactly what she did for the team through her four seasons, an impact which will remain after she leaves.

She taught as much as she delivered.

"I'm incredibly proud of her and everyone I've met. I really appreciate what basketball has given me here at CSU," Leimane said. "I'm happy to learn from someone that good. I'm really happy to be here, and hopefully we all that are going to not leave, stay in CSU, I hope we take something from that and get them next year."

Over the years, she's earned the respect of the opposition as well as her teammate with her ability to take command of a game and lead her team.

UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque heaped nothing but praise on her career.

"I think she's a great competitor. Obviously a very skilled player," La Rocque said. "She's probably had the odds stacked against her a lot being a smaller player, but she's found a way to keep grinding. I just really respect her, how she carries herself, how she operates her team. I hope she keeps playing because she's a great basketball player."

What Hofschild could not deliver vocally, Williams tried his best to provide. He brought her to Fort Collins from Seton Hall with the idea she'd be an impact scorer. For her final three years, she was additionally a playmaker the program has never seen with three consecutive years of 200 assists, the first player to do so.

It's a legacy with staying power.

"I know this young lady didn't want to speak to her legacy, but I sure the hell will. What this young lady has done for the Mountain West basketball and for Colorado State basketball, it's probably going to go unmatched," Williams said. "Her career is nothing short of remarkable, and she's a warrior. She's a stalwart Ram. She's been loyal to our program, as all of our kids have, but she's brought incredible fight. She might be 5-foot-2, but that heart sure the hell isn't 5-2.
"She has a lot to be proud of, and what an amazing career."

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