Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 25
Fort Collins, Colo.
6:30 pm
Colorado State
6-0,0-0Mountain West
88
vs
43
South Dakota Mines
1-5,0-0RMAC
1
2
3
4
F
South Dakota Mines
8
10
9
16
43
Colorado St.
22
20
27
19
88
Rams Cruise in Tourney Tune Up
11/25/2025 9:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Team remains unbeaten with home win
One can always hope the perfect scenario plays out.
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This will be a long week for Colorado State's women's basketball team with a trio of games, the final two on the road on back-to-back nights. Tuesday's home date with South Dakota Mines presented itself as the easiest task on paper for the Rams. A smaller school – though coached by former assistant Kyley Bachand with a touch of first-hand knowledge – struggling in the early going. In a perfect world, a chance to spread the minutes and save some wear and tear.
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To the relief of CSU coach Ryun Williams, that's the way things played out in an 88-43 victory at Moby Arena, pushing his team to 6-0 on the campaign.
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One could see the plan in motion early, as 10 Rams played in the first quarter alone. By the end of the game, 12 had seen action and none of the starters were on the floor for 23 minutes. The closing five minutes were populated by some players out of natural spots -- McKenna Murphy was running the point – and 11 Rams played at least 10 minutes.
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The design worked.
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"Totally. I mean, we were going to try to go through the first quarter normal rotation, then we were going to get to the 10-man, and then we progressed after that. But that had to be part of the plan tonight," Williams said. "Even if we were probably playing somebody different, where you have three games in such a short window, we were going to have to use the depth differently tonight than, say, maybe we did at Oregon State or what have you. So, this was just kind of what the doctor ordered heading into a really tough weekend and to have some kids not play as many minutes, because you're going to need those legs here Friday, Saturday."
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For Williams and his team, it was hard to keep track of the good stuff. Not only did a lot of players see the floor, but they played well as a team, regardless of the combinations. The Rams scored at least 20 points in each of the first three quarters, 19 in the fourth.
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Their 27-point third stanza matched the Hardrockers' total for the game at that point. CSU shot well, won the boards and finished with 23 assists and just six turnovers. Everybody had fun, particularly the regulars when they were on the bench.
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"It's super exciting. We play against each other all the time in practice, so every time that we can play against other opponents, it's always fun and then just feeding off of each other's energy," Kloe Froebe said. "Especially when G (Gianna Smith) hit a 3 and that was a big one. So, everybody's going crazy and that's just really fun to experience that."
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Froebe had a stat-stuffer night in just 17 minutes, and under normal circumstances, she may have given a triple-double a good run. She closed with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
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Williams considers her to be the most versatile talent on the team with her ability to impact the game in so many ways. Eight rebounds is a good night, but it's a really good one when seven come on the offensive end. Williams looks at the assists and recalls she played the point in high school, so she sees the floor really well.
Â
So much good stuff, but Froebe had a favorite part. Yes, when she grabs on offensive board, she gets hungry for more. But the assists help out somebody else directly.
Â
"I'd say the assists. I enjoy hitting the Maddie (Bragg) especially; it's been so nice having a big down there," Froebe said. "When I catch it at the high post just being able to dump down to her, so any chance that anybody on our team is scoring is a win for us."
Â
A lot of Rams scored. Lexus Bargesser finished with 13, six of which came in the lopsided third stanza. Also with six in the third was McKenna Murphy, who did so off a pair of 3-pointers.
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She finished the night 6-of-11 from deep for a team-best 18 points, just one make off landing in the top five for a game, and she's now 15-of-33 on the season, a .455 clip.
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"That's definitely my role coming in when I come off the bench that that's what coach wants me to do. He wants me to come in, and he wants me to shoot when I'm open," Murphy said. "Then My teammates just find me the ball, and I just think that builds my confidence, too. And they can find me when it's a wide-open 3, that's pretty—I'm not gonna say it's easy to make it, but it makes it way easier than when it's contested. It's just, yeah, credit to them for just being able to find me when I'm open."
Â
The type of performance which gives a confident team a bit more heading on the road for two in a row. Two different teams, too, Texas Southern and Stanford.
Â
The game was what his team needed to prepare for a two-step they'll need for later.
Â
"Two different teams, two different styles. We're really going to be tested," Williams said. "But the back-to-back, we like doing that in the non-conference just because you're going to have to do it in the tournament time.
Â
"You can kind of, your kids can learn how you prep, you know, the importance of recovery right after the game, the importance of the focus in a shoot-around and how you talk in a shoot-around, because it's all you've got leading into a game. You don't have practice. You've got 30 minutes, basically, and the importance of film session. So, all that stuff, super, super important, and it really gets challenged in a two-game set."
To this point, Williams has seen his team meet every challenge to date.
Â
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This will be a long week for Colorado State's women's basketball team with a trio of games, the final two on the road on back-to-back nights. Tuesday's home date with South Dakota Mines presented itself as the easiest task on paper for the Rams. A smaller school – though coached by former assistant Kyley Bachand with a touch of first-hand knowledge – struggling in the early going. In a perfect world, a chance to spread the minutes and save some wear and tear.
Â
To the relief of CSU coach Ryun Williams, that's the way things played out in an 88-43 victory at Moby Arena, pushing his team to 6-0 on the campaign.
Â
One could see the plan in motion early, as 10 Rams played in the first quarter alone. By the end of the game, 12 had seen action and none of the starters were on the floor for 23 minutes. The closing five minutes were populated by some players out of natural spots -- McKenna Murphy was running the point – and 11 Rams played at least 10 minutes.
Â
The design worked.
Â
"Totally. I mean, we were going to try to go through the first quarter normal rotation, then we were going to get to the 10-man, and then we progressed after that. But that had to be part of the plan tonight," Williams said. "Even if we were probably playing somebody different, where you have three games in such a short window, we were going to have to use the depth differently tonight than, say, maybe we did at Oregon State or what have you. So, this was just kind of what the doctor ordered heading into a really tough weekend and to have some kids not play as many minutes, because you're going to need those legs here Friday, Saturday."
Â
For Williams and his team, it was hard to keep track of the good stuff. Not only did a lot of players see the floor, but they played well as a team, regardless of the combinations. The Rams scored at least 20 points in each of the first three quarters, 19 in the fourth.
Â
Their 27-point third stanza matched the Hardrockers' total for the game at that point. CSU shot well, won the boards and finished with 23 assists and just six turnovers. Everybody had fun, particularly the regulars when they were on the bench.
Â
"It's super exciting. We play against each other all the time in practice, so every time that we can play against other opponents, it's always fun and then just feeding off of each other's energy," Kloe Froebe said. "Especially when G (Gianna Smith) hit a 3 and that was a big one. So, everybody's going crazy and that's just really fun to experience that."
Â
Froebe had a stat-stuffer night in just 17 minutes, and under normal circumstances, she may have given a triple-double a good run. She closed with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Â
Williams considers her to be the most versatile talent on the team with her ability to impact the game in so many ways. Eight rebounds is a good night, but it's a really good one when seven come on the offensive end. Williams looks at the assists and recalls she played the point in high school, so she sees the floor really well.
Â
So much good stuff, but Froebe had a favorite part. Yes, when she grabs on offensive board, she gets hungry for more. But the assists help out somebody else directly.
Â
"I'd say the assists. I enjoy hitting the Maddie (Bragg) especially; it's been so nice having a big down there," Froebe said. "When I catch it at the high post just being able to dump down to her, so any chance that anybody on our team is scoring is a win for us."
Â
A lot of Rams scored. Lexus Bargesser finished with 13, six of which came in the lopsided third stanza. Also with six in the third was McKenna Murphy, who did so off a pair of 3-pointers.
Â
She finished the night 6-of-11 from deep for a team-best 18 points, just one make off landing in the top five for a game, and she's now 15-of-33 on the season, a .455 clip.
Â
"That's definitely my role coming in when I come off the bench that that's what coach wants me to do. He wants me to come in, and he wants me to shoot when I'm open," Murphy said. "Then My teammates just find me the ball, and I just think that builds my confidence, too. And they can find me when it's a wide-open 3, that's pretty—I'm not gonna say it's easy to make it, but it makes it way easier than when it's contested. It's just, yeah, credit to them for just being able to find me when I'm open."
Â
The type of performance which gives a confident team a bit more heading on the road for two in a row. Two different teams, too, Texas Southern and Stanford.
Â
The game was what his team needed to prepare for a two-step they'll need for later.
Â
"Two different teams, two different styles. We're really going to be tested," Williams said. "But the back-to-back, we like doing that in the non-conference just because you're going to have to do it in the tournament time.
Â
"You can kind of, your kids can learn how you prep, you know, the importance of recovery right after the game, the importance of the focus in a shoot-around and how you talk in a shoot-around, because it's all you've got leading into a game. You don't have practice. You've got 30 minutes, basically, and the importance of film session. So, all that stuff, super, super important, and it really gets challenged in a two-game set."
To this point, Williams has seen his team meet every challenge to date.
Â
Team Stats
SDSMT
CSU
FG%
.267
.478
3FG%
.310
.367
FT%
1.000
.786
RB
34
48
TO
14
6
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballCSU Basketball (W): Murphy (L) and Froebe (R) Postgame (SD Mines, 2025)
Tuesday, November 25
CSU Basketball (W): Ryun Williams Postgame (SD Mines, 2025)
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CSU Basketball (W): Murphy (L) and Ronsiek (R) Postgame (San Diego 2025)
Monday, November 17
CSU Basketball (W): Ryun Williams Postgame (San Diego, 2025)
Monday, November 17