On a Strong Offensive Night, Rams Find Just Enough Defense

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After yielding 26 first-quarter points the previous time on the floor, it felt good to be the team to reach the total.

Only issue was Boise State wasn't far behind. Early on, it felt like one of those nights Colorado State coach Ryun Williams would prefer to avoid.

"We said that on the bench. We're going to have to outscore them," Williams said. "It didn't look like we were going to be able to stop them in that first half, we're going to need to keep scoring it. The thing our team does is they really respond. They take pride in guarding."

The Rams (14-6, 5-2 Mountain West) did just enough of that Tuesday night, pulling away for a 79-70 victory over the Broncos (14-7, 4-4) at Moby Arena. It came with balanced scoring on a good shooting night. It came from the team being good outside (9-of-19 from 3) and being aggressive to the rim, leading to a 20-of-22 performance from the line on a night the Rams shot 50 percent overall.

Hannah Simental (18 points) stayed hot. Hannah Ronsiek (15 points) got hot. And Jadyn Fife had a career night with 12 points as the team had five players in double figures, with Emma Ronsiek producing 12, Brooke Carlson 10.

"I think we were able to execute really good offense, especially because they were dedicating so much to Emma down in the pro, so we were able to hit our kick-out shots and other people were able to drive the lane, because they we so dedicated to her," Hannah Ronsiek said. "Overall, I think it was a really great offensive night for us."

There were a lot of moving parts in that regard for the Rams, all moving in a positive direction on the same night. Hannah Ronsiek, for varied reasons, hadn't been able to get on track the previous two games, only taking four shots combined and making none of them.

It didn't hurt she hit early shots and hit them from deep. It didn't hurt the lane was coming open, finding her aggressiveness to push toward the rim. When she wasn't scoring, she was helping others, finishing with five assists. And she pulled down six rebounds.

Bounce-back nights feel good.

"I always feel like each game is an opportunity, especially this one was kind of a get-back game, because I did really struggle these last two games offensively," Hannah Ronsiek said. "I think just to be able to see the ball go in in the first quarter really helped me to have a better game and execute offensively."

Then where was Fife, who was originally needed more for her defense than anything else. Boise State's offense is a series of moving parts, and Carlson and Kloe Froebe were lost in the shuffle at times. As Williams said, they looked like freshmen.

Fife had seen it and guarded it before, but in addition guarding, she found some good looks and hit them. Bench players always hope for breakout games, and she delivered.

"Honestly, when I hit my first pull-up … I don't know, it was having a fire in me," Fife said. "It felt like, this is it. This is going to be a good one."

Her defense was crucial, but then again, so was that of Hannah Ronsiek. Boise State shot 47.5 percent in the game against a CSU team barely allowing teams to connect at a 40-percent clip. They don't like to switch, but Hannah Ronsiek said in the second half they did just that because Tatum Thompson (11 points), Mya Hansen (19) and Natalie Pasco (12) hit too many mid-range jumpers to ever feel comfortable.

What the Rams did do to slow the roll was create turnovers – 17 overall, nine in the second half. Hannah Ronsiek had a trio of steals as part of the total.

"The shooting is one thing, the 15 points is awesome, but she was really good defensively," Williams said. "I don't know how many second-half turnovers they had, but it was quite a few, and she was in the middle of a lot of those, and that's her job. She really performed her duty tonight."

But it was a night Williams would rather avoid, a game where his team had to click offensively just to stay in front. They did most of the game, as the Broncos led for less than a minute of playing time. But there were four ties.

Punch and counterpunch.

"No. That might be our biggest Achillies heel, to be honest with you, has been scoring the ball," Williams said. "The 79 is incredible. No. I want to have a plan and execute the defensive plan to be honest with you, just like they did the second half."

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