Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, December 4
Fort Collins, Colo.
6:30 pm
Colorado State
7-2,0-0Mountain West
58
vs
70
Utah
6-3,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Utah
17
15
20
18
70
Colorado St.
14
15
15
14
58
Loss as a Lesson from Hot-Handed Utah
12/4/2025 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
In a 70-58 loss execution remains an overarching lesson
A loss is only a loss if you leave it there.
Coming off its first loss against Stanford in Las Vegas, Colorado State came to the court against Utah looking for a response. Instead, the 70-58 loss displayed what the Rams still lack.
"The shooting is what surprised our kids," coach Ryun Williams said. "Those are some major quick releases. I mean, that's Klay Thompson, Steph Curry. It's not in their hands very long, and so that's what shooters are. And I think they're a team that we can learn from as far as they do what they're supposed to do. Their shooters, they catch ready to shoot. Their drivers, they drive with physicality. We've got a little thinking going on, but we've got a little hesitation going on."
Utah made the hesitation costly.
Ending the night with 13 of their 25 goals from 3, the Utes were letting the ball go from the outside every chance they could and became almost impossible to guard in the later quarters.
But, just like the loss against Stanford, the Rams must use it as a measuring stick. Because competing at a high-level means absorbing what it actually looks like.
"They were definitely physical, but I don't think it was anything that necessarily should have gotten us out of rhythm," Hannah Ronsiek said. "I mean, there's going to be physical teams all throughout Mountain West play. And yeah, we just need to match their physicality better and not let it discourage us."
As well as pitfalls in defense, they weren't taking care of the ball like they normally do. Allowing seven turnovers in the first half, the Rams' normal synergy wasn't clicking like it needed to.
Utah's size didn't help either, with seven players at or above 6-foot-1. But it wasn't just a physicality thing, Williams draws on the mental challenges more so.
"I don't know if it was anything they did, to be honest with you," Williams said. "I mean, they're a little longer team. They collapsed on some penetration and got some touches, that sort of thing. But we got some illegal screens and those are turnovers. And so, execution in a game like this—really in all games—is just so important. You've got to do it with force, but you've got to do it with the discipline."
And that is what it eventually goes back to. Execution.
Even if there's a couple shots that don't go in, the answer is to take the next without second-guessing.
"I think we're going to have an emphasis on coming out ready to play," Lexus Bargesser said. "I think we've had a few slow starts in our games this season. And I think, you know, that starts in practice from the first drill that we start, just being locked in on what we're doing, having a lot of energy. And so that carries over into a game."
Bargesser ended the night with 19 points, five of them at the line, but continued to lose 50-50 balls to the Utes.
The challenge was expected. But the outcome wasn't wanted.
"I want to see a next level of force," Williams said. "And I'm not saying we don't play with force. But we don't play with enough force to beat that. And so, I want us to grow our execution. And the pace at which they run their stuff and the force that they put behind it is a lot different than ours. That's what the next level is."
For a team that has already shown flashes of high-level potential, that next level isn't unreachable. It just requires commitment in the smallest, most consistent details: the certainty on a catch-and-shoot, the discipline to hold a screen, the trust to attack without hesitation.
And that lesson isn't discouraging but grounding. Every turnover, every late rotation, every 50–50 ball they didn't win becomes clarity they didn't have before. The Utes didn't just beat them; they showed them what winning at the highest level actually looks like.
And that's where CSU goes from here. If certainty is what separates the best from the rest, this loss handed the Rams a map. What they do with it decides whether it stays a setback—or becomes something else entirely.
Coming off its first loss against Stanford in Las Vegas, Colorado State came to the court against Utah looking for a response. Instead, the 70-58 loss displayed what the Rams still lack.
"The shooting is what surprised our kids," coach Ryun Williams said. "Those are some major quick releases. I mean, that's Klay Thompson, Steph Curry. It's not in their hands very long, and so that's what shooters are. And I think they're a team that we can learn from as far as they do what they're supposed to do. Their shooters, they catch ready to shoot. Their drivers, they drive with physicality. We've got a little thinking going on, but we've got a little hesitation going on."
Utah made the hesitation costly.
Ending the night with 13 of their 25 goals from 3, the Utes were letting the ball go from the outside every chance they could and became almost impossible to guard in the later quarters.
But, just like the loss against Stanford, the Rams must use it as a measuring stick. Because competing at a high-level means absorbing what it actually looks like.
"They were definitely physical, but I don't think it was anything that necessarily should have gotten us out of rhythm," Hannah Ronsiek said. "I mean, there's going to be physical teams all throughout Mountain West play. And yeah, we just need to match their physicality better and not let it discourage us."
As well as pitfalls in defense, they weren't taking care of the ball like they normally do. Allowing seven turnovers in the first half, the Rams' normal synergy wasn't clicking like it needed to.
Utah's size didn't help either, with seven players at or above 6-foot-1. But it wasn't just a physicality thing, Williams draws on the mental challenges more so.
"I don't know if it was anything they did, to be honest with you," Williams said. "I mean, they're a little longer team. They collapsed on some penetration and got some touches, that sort of thing. But we got some illegal screens and those are turnovers. And so, execution in a game like this—really in all games—is just so important. You've got to do it with force, but you've got to do it with the discipline."
And that is what it eventually goes back to. Execution.
Even if there's a couple shots that don't go in, the answer is to take the next without second-guessing.
"I think we're going to have an emphasis on coming out ready to play," Lexus Bargesser said. "I think we've had a few slow starts in our games this season. And I think, you know, that starts in practice from the first drill that we start, just being locked in on what we're doing, having a lot of energy. And so that carries over into a game."
Bargesser ended the night with 19 points, five of them at the line, but continued to lose 50-50 balls to the Utes.
The challenge was expected. But the outcome wasn't wanted.
"I want to see a next level of force," Williams said. "And I'm not saying we don't play with force. But we don't play with enough force to beat that. And so, I want us to grow our execution. And the pace at which they run their stuff and the force that they put behind it is a lot different than ours. That's what the next level is."
For a team that has already shown flashes of high-level potential, that next level isn't unreachable. It just requires commitment in the smallest, most consistent details: the certainty on a catch-and-shoot, the discipline to hold a screen, the trust to attack without hesitation.
And that lesson isn't discouraging but grounding. Every turnover, every late rotation, every 50–50 ball they didn't win becomes clarity they didn't have before. The Utes didn't just beat them; they showed them what winning at the highest level actually looks like.
And that's where CSU goes from here. If certainty is what separates the best from the rest, this loss handed the Rams a map. What they do with it decides whether it stays a setback—or becomes something else entirely.
Team Stats
Utah
CSU
FG%
.500
.408
3FG%
.481
.333
FT%
.636
.813
RB
32
26
TO
15
13
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballColorado State Basketball (W): Bargesser (L) and Ronsiek (R) Post-Game (Utah, 25-26)
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