Ronsiek Reunion Promises to Supply Sparks
Sister act producing laughter and competition
Mike Brohard
Just a normal summer practice, where the vibe is a mixture of serious and laid back. There is no opponent to prepare for, but there are a host of new faces to blend for the Colorado State women’s basketball team – three transfers and five freshmen, to be exact.
As a five-on-five session plays out to best-of-11, a play at the rim requires some clarification for assistant coach Rico Burkett.
“Is that a foul call?” he asked.
Emma Ronsiek proclaimed, “I’m calling it a foul,” drawing an immediate response from her younger sister, Hannah.
“I’m not.”
It was. Clearly.
“I do laugh at those two. Some of the things are quite comical, but they are very competitive,” CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. “Like Hannah really guards Emma hard. Like, you know that’s a foul? That’s 18 fouls in 5 seconds, but she doesn’t care.”
This is what the Ronsiek sisters sought, for as many as four years, but particularly starting last season, Emma’s final at Creighton. She was a four-year starter for the Bluejays, a career where she averaged 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. It was a program where, if she were to stay, was a definite Top 25 team heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
But the sisters had other plans. Unfinished business even. But it really depended on Emma. She was the one who would enter the transfer portal. She did so with a no-contact tag, wanting to join Hannah at Colorado State. Even still, that didn’t deter other possible suitors.
They had no chance.
“I just wanted to finish out my last year playing with her,” Emma said of Hannah. “I loved Creighton, and I loved my four years there, but the covid year gave me the chance to be able to have one last go at playing with her.
“I think it’s an experience you’re not going to get anywhere else. That’s why I turned down schools and put my name on the no-contact list. Despite our little fights on the court, we always have each other’s backs on the court. I think that’s going to be super fun playing these Mountain West schools, being able to win and play high-level basketball. We want to win the Mountain West. I think that’s what we’re ultimately coming for.”
The unfinished business. Back at O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, S.D., they were on an undefeated team in 2020, Emma a senior, Hannah a sophomore. Their team was on a projected run to win a state title, then covid shut down the season and ended the dream.
Hannah would go on to win a state title as the duo was highly successful at the school. Emma set the career scoring record, and in volleyball, broke records held by Taryn Kloth, who currently is seeking gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics in beach volleyball. Hannah would leave OGHS as the career leader in 3-pointers and steals.
While having the chance to win a title together didn’t exactly haunt them, it did feel like a missing piece.
“I think we’re definitely going after a Mountain West championship. We do every year, but this is her last year of college basketball and our last chance to play with each other,” Hannah said. “I think this is a great opportunity for us to do that. To get it back a little bit.”
They know it can’t be just their mission, but one for the entire group, and they understand that. That’s why we’ve had such a good summer.Ryun Williams
On this, they agree. On other topics, they are sisters, through and through. They bicker. Emma will ride Hannah at practice and Hannah gives it right back. While their drive to get the best of each other is strong, their desire to get the best out of the other is a driving factor.
They can go after each other, but if an outsider goes after a sister, instigator beware.
“Emma is definitely big sister protecting her little,” said their mother, Mary Beth. “Hannah is fun. Emma’s a little more serious, and they have these differences. Emma is the safe, Hannah is the wild. They’re Yin and Yang, something like that.”
When it became official Emma was joining the program, Mary Beth and Williams had a talk on the phone. Mom’s advice to the coach: Let them go, get it out of their system, and it will soon pass. This is what Williams has seen in the past in coaching sisters, and so it has been with the Ronsiek pairing.
Mary Beth and her husband, Randy, are naturally thrilled. They only have to worry about watching one team, and when the season opens, mom is quite confident seeing them once again in the same uniform will be an emotional night.
But who Mary Beth’s heart goes out to currently is their roommate, redshirt freshman Avree Antony. She may be young, but she also has siblings, and in a short time, she’s learned how to read and navigate incoming storms.
“It’s actually hilarious. To see how they are on the court and how they act at home is so funny,” Antony said. “They really like to do this thing when they’re arguing: ‘Avree what do you think?’ I’m like, ‘oh, no, no, no, I’m not getting dragged into this. Absolutely not.’ But sometimes Emma and I like to team up on Hannah, just for the fun of it, just to stir things up occasionally.”
Something Emma really needs no help doing. Nor does Hannah.
It’s been a long time since they’ve actually shared a living space for an extended time. There had to be things they missed, aspects they forgot the other did to ignore them.
All have come to the surface.
“It’s good and bad. I mean, it’s just stupid sister fights,’ Hannah said. “It’s also good being able to be with your sister again.
“I forgot how annoying it was she’s not a very good sharer. She doesn’t like to share with me, and I’m more than willing to give her my things and she’s not. Something I missed …”
Before she could answer (which she never did), Emma piped in.
“I really don’t feel like you have to say it now, because I feel like you just wanted to say the most annoying thing,” Emma interjected. “I know I’m not a good sharer, but she always asks for my nicest things. She’ll ask to wear my shoes, and shoes are a no-no for me, and if I don’t let her, it’s the end of the world. One time I let her borrow my shoes and she got chocolate on them.”
And that’s how it started.
Hannah: “They were basketball shoes, and I was a sophomore in high school. That’s the other thing – she can’t let things go. She brings up one example from something I messed up, but I was literally 15 when it happened.”
Emma: “She’s been super annoying today, as well. This is probably a bad time for an interview because we’re both angry.”
Hannah: “I’m not angry. This is what I mean, she gets extremely upset over nothing. I’m not mad.
And she gets really mad easily.”
Emma: “I feel like he only asked for one thing.”
This, as they both refer to the back-and-forth, is a sister thing. Anyone with a sibling can relate. As far as the team, Williams believes it will translate in nothing but a positive way.
“I think it has lifted our competitive character in practice, the way they go about their business. Sometimes it’s against each other, but it really has raised our level of competitiveness,” Williams said. “Mary Beth warned me. She told me they’ll get after each other, let them go and they’ll stop and move on. But it is quite entertaining.
“I think they are on a mission to finish what they didn’t get to finish in their high school years. I think that will be contagious. It’s one thing to say it, but the way they go about their business, the way they go about practice and communicate with their teammates is good. They know it can’t be just their mission, but one for the entire group, and they understand that. That’s why we’ve had such a good summer.”
This is what you see on the court, in the summer sessions without pressure. But there is always an underlying urgency. For the Rams, primarily to get used to each other and carve out roles on a team which possesses a high number of new pieces but three returning starters – Hannah, Marta Leimane and Sanna Ström.
This is a team which comes into the season with expectations, which have only gained fuel from the sisters’ fire.
“I can see it at home, and I see it on the court. I see how they bond with each other,” Antony said. “They are two key components of our team. We can all be brutally honest with each other, but they’re next level where they tell each other what needs to be told, and it helps us in the end. When they’re not on the same team, when they talk it’s funnier. When they are on the same team, to see how they work with each other, they play so similar but different at the same time. I think that’s going to help us in a positive way.”
Emma’s collegiate experience translates, as she is prone to direct anyone and everyone with what she sees. A high-caliber player – one who is extremely versatile and brings with her NCAA Tournament experience – she has not been shy to add her two cents. She’s learning some new verbiage, but she likes what she sees, and having met some of the team in the past through Hannah, she already felt comfortable.
The flip to the reunion from high school is notable. As preps, it was younger sister Hannah – who carries her sister and her talents in the utmost regard – joining her sister. This time around, the roles are reversed, and it was a proud moment for Emma to witness it firsthand as she clearly entered Hannah’s realm.
“It definitely was. Even the coaches talking to her about organizing pickup or extra work or she needs to be more vocal as an upperclassman, it’s weird to hear, because she is my little sister,” Emma said. “I’ll always feel like she’s way younger than me, but she is an upperclassman and I think it’s cool to see her come into that leadership role, and I honestly think she’s one of the best leaders on this team. People know what they’re going to get out of her, and she’s going to push people. I think the trust the coaches have in her is really cool to see.”
The feel for each other on the court came back almost immediately. Despite playing at different schools for the past four years, the pickup games back on the court at home kept them fresh. If you want a point they agree on, it is they feel their games compliment each other. They both possess skills which transcend their positions. Emma can play down low, but she also has a shooter’s touch from the perimeter, and her ability to see the floor makes her an exceptional creator.
She thinks the same of Hannah, that while she has a sniper’s aim from the arc, her ability to pass makes her akin to a point. And both are grinders on defense.
Even when complimenting each other, it doesn’t take long for the mood to switch.
“I feel like we both know our strengths and weaknesses. It helps when we’re on the same team,” Emma said. “When we’re not on the same team, it causes a lot of issues. We didn’t guard each other, so I think it was pretty civil.”
Hannah: “I did block her twice today.”
Emma: “The first foul was a foul. The second one” – and Hannah interrupts “was a clean block …” “… was a foul on somebody else and I literally told you that,” Emma closes. “It wasn’t on you, and you were still so dramatic.”
Mary Beth knew. Williams figured it would be this way. The Rams have learned to sit back and watch, not take sides. Because, in a game, having that energy all on the same side could become electric.
Maybe more palatable if Hannah stays away from Emma’s shoes.
Support Colorado State Athletics: Tickets | Ram Club | Green And Gold Guard