Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, February 1
Fort Collins, Colo.
1:00 PM
Colorado State
15-7,6-3Mountain West
71
vs
75
Air Force
13-9,3-7Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Air Force
20
15
20
20
75
Colorado St.
19
13
17
22
71
Rams Fall Short of Answers in Loss
2/1/2025 4:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Team honors cancer warriors in Fight Like a Ram game
The key to effective problem solving is to not create a side issue with the solution.
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During Saturday's Fight Like a Ram game, the Colorado State women ran out of fingers trying to stop the leaks which would eventually spring free in a 75-71 loss to Air Force at Moby Arena.
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"I think it can be simply put they outworked us and outplayed us. I feel the entirety of the game we were playing from behind, which obviously we were, but mentally I thought we were, which just didn't help our case whatsoever," CSU's Emma Ronsiek said. "That was a mental game. That was a really poor mental game."
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It was a tough loss to take in many ways. It's one the Rams hope they don't regret later, entering in second in the Mountain West standings and falling to a team who was tied for second to last. CSU is now 15-7, 6-3 MW; the Falcons improved to 13-9, 3-7. It also came on a night the players gave up their names on their jersey's to represent cancer warriors.
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The only thing more disheartening about sloppy perimeter defense is giving up shots late in the shot clock.
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While Air Force's 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half was enough to raise the blood pressure of Colorado State coach Ryun Williams, what spiked it most was the fact the Falcons hit a trio of them late in the shot clock. That performance alone was enough to give the guests a slight edge at Saturday's break of the Fight Like a Ram game, 35-32.
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Compounding the issue was the nation's leader in turnovers per game – just 9.2 per outing for the Rams – had racked up seven.
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So, the Rams eliminated the turnovers all together and gave up fewer clean looks from 3. Strides forward. But they also went 1-of-10 from the floor in the third quarter, and just when they started to heat up, they'd let Madison Smith return to form for Air Force.
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"We lacked a fair amount of discipline tonight, which is very, very discouraging. It proves you've got to really be on your game to win," Williams said. "I don't know what our thought process was, but the execution and the discipline lacked for quite a few minutes. With that said, Air Force lit us up like a Christmas tree all night."
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And with that, the Rams opened the door for the unexpected to occur.
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No Mountain West team is better at defending the 3 than is Colorado State this season. No team shoots it worse from deep than Air Force. In Colorado State's defensive scheme, Hannah Ronsiek is the float, hanging off an opponent who isn't a great outside shooter to help inside.
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"My role as the float to impact driving the lanes and stop dribble penetration was really tested tonight. I would stop the ball, and they'd just get a kickout-3," she said. "My girl is supposed to look to drive first or not be a good 3-point shooter and she had six 3s probably. There were times our offense did get stagnant, but it came down to not being able to guard."
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"She" was Jo Huntimer. Averaging less than three points and three rebounds a game this season, she finished with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. She didn't hit six 3s, just five, but on seven attempts.
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What the Rams did expect was Milahnie Perry, an all-conference guard, would be aggressive to the basket. She was, especially coming off a ball screen and getting a new defender, finishing with 23 points. Smith, who scored a career-best 31 against the Rams last year, scored eight quick points, went quiet, then finished with 18 by the end.
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Whether it was Perry, Smith or Huntimer, if a basket late in the set was needed, one of them found the mark.
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"It's super frustrating because I feel like we were there and then our rotation was pretty poor in probably the last five seconds," Emma said. "I wouldn't say they were lucky shots; they're college-level athletes. They're able to make those. They definitely made us pay."
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The Rams didn't just roll over, not with Emma scoring 12 of her game-best 27 in the fourth quarter, leading four CSU players into double figures. They cut the lead to 67-65 2:36 remaining, but again, the Falcons found a way. An offensive rebound was given up, leading to a basket as the Rams surrendered eight second-chance points in the final half.
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The two Hannah's – Ronsiek and Simental – both finished with 12 points. Brooke Carlson had 11 and seven assists. But the Falcons always had the definitive answer.
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"We just weren't overly connected. A lot of those late shot-clock, driving, and then you get in a scramble situation and then we'd spectate on those kickouts," Williams said. "Usually, that's a strength of ours. We call is scramble mode. Or we fouled late in the shot clock. You never want to foul a jump shooter. We created a fair amount of offense in that regard.
Â
"The message to our group is the mindset has to be right. We know that. And you really have to execute. This is a good league. You can't just show up and expect to get a W."
Â
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During Saturday's Fight Like a Ram game, the Colorado State women ran out of fingers trying to stop the leaks which would eventually spring free in a 75-71 loss to Air Force at Moby Arena.
Â
"I think it can be simply put they outworked us and outplayed us. I feel the entirety of the game we were playing from behind, which obviously we were, but mentally I thought we were, which just didn't help our case whatsoever," CSU's Emma Ronsiek said. "That was a mental game. That was a really poor mental game."
Â
It was a tough loss to take in many ways. It's one the Rams hope they don't regret later, entering in second in the Mountain West standings and falling to a team who was tied for second to last. CSU is now 15-7, 6-3 MW; the Falcons improved to 13-9, 3-7. It also came on a night the players gave up their names on their jersey's to represent cancer warriors.
Â
The only thing more disheartening about sloppy perimeter defense is giving up shots late in the shot clock.
Â
While Air Force's 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half was enough to raise the blood pressure of Colorado State coach Ryun Williams, what spiked it most was the fact the Falcons hit a trio of them late in the shot clock. That performance alone was enough to give the guests a slight edge at Saturday's break of the Fight Like a Ram game, 35-32.
Â
Compounding the issue was the nation's leader in turnovers per game – just 9.2 per outing for the Rams – had racked up seven.
Â
So, the Rams eliminated the turnovers all together and gave up fewer clean looks from 3. Strides forward. But they also went 1-of-10 from the floor in the third quarter, and just when they started to heat up, they'd let Madison Smith return to form for Air Force.
Â
"We lacked a fair amount of discipline tonight, which is very, very discouraging. It proves you've got to really be on your game to win," Williams said. "I don't know what our thought process was, but the execution and the discipline lacked for quite a few minutes. With that said, Air Force lit us up like a Christmas tree all night."
Â
And with that, the Rams opened the door for the unexpected to occur.
Â
No Mountain West team is better at defending the 3 than is Colorado State this season. No team shoots it worse from deep than Air Force. In Colorado State's defensive scheme, Hannah Ronsiek is the float, hanging off an opponent who isn't a great outside shooter to help inside.
Â
"My role as the float to impact driving the lanes and stop dribble penetration was really tested tonight. I would stop the ball, and they'd just get a kickout-3," she said. "My girl is supposed to look to drive first or not be a good 3-point shooter and she had six 3s probably. There were times our offense did get stagnant, but it came down to not being able to guard."
Â
"She" was Jo Huntimer. Averaging less than three points and three rebounds a game this season, she finished with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. She didn't hit six 3s, just five, but on seven attempts.
Â
What the Rams did expect was Milahnie Perry, an all-conference guard, would be aggressive to the basket. She was, especially coming off a ball screen and getting a new defender, finishing with 23 points. Smith, who scored a career-best 31 against the Rams last year, scored eight quick points, went quiet, then finished with 18 by the end.
Â
Whether it was Perry, Smith or Huntimer, if a basket late in the set was needed, one of them found the mark.
Â
"It's super frustrating because I feel like we were there and then our rotation was pretty poor in probably the last five seconds," Emma said. "I wouldn't say they were lucky shots; they're college-level athletes. They're able to make those. They definitely made us pay."
Â
The Rams didn't just roll over, not with Emma scoring 12 of her game-best 27 in the fourth quarter, leading four CSU players into double figures. They cut the lead to 67-65 2:36 remaining, but again, the Falcons found a way. An offensive rebound was given up, leading to a basket as the Rams surrendered eight second-chance points in the final half.
Â
The two Hannah's – Ronsiek and Simental – both finished with 12 points. Brooke Carlson had 11 and seven assists. But the Falcons always had the definitive answer.
Â
"We just weren't overly connected. A lot of those late shot-clock, driving, and then you get in a scramble situation and then we'd spectate on those kickouts," Williams said. "Usually, that's a strength of ours. We call is scramble mode. Or we fouled late in the shot clock. You never want to foul a jump shooter. We created a fair amount of offense in that regard.
Â
"The message to our group is the mindset has to be right. We know that. And you really have to execute. This is a good league. You can't just show up and expect to get a W."
Â
Team Stats
USAFA
CSU
FG%
.471
.462
3FG%
.579
.350
FT%
.727
.941
RB
34
24
TO
11
7
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
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