Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, March 20
Norman, Okla.
5:30 PM MT
Colorado State
27-8,15-5Mountain West
62
vs
65
No. 5 Michigan State
23-8,11-7Big Ten
1st quarter1
2nd quarter2
3rd quarter3
4th quarter4
FinalF
Colorado St.
13
16
18
15
62
Michigan St.
16
11
20
18
65
Rams Fall in Final Exchange
3/20/2026 9:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Colorado State’s post-season ends after fight against Michigan State
Newton's third law states every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. The momentum of a basketball game can be seen the same way.
Every run demands a response. Every shot invites a rebound. Every surge of green is met by a wall of white.
On Friday night, No. 12 Colorado State pushed the principle to its limit against No. 5 Michigan State. The Rams delivered force. The Spartans answered. And somewhere during the exchange — in the push and pull of momentum — the game tipped just out of CSU's grasp in a 65-62 loss.
"Just a March Madness basketball game," coach Ryun Williams said. "These two teams are really battling out there, and congrats to Michigan State. I thought they played a tough fourth quarter, but I couldn't be more proud of my squad. Holy cow did we battle … these ladies will forever be champions, and they played like it tonight. No doubt about it. I love my basketball team."
Colorado State owned the momentum in the beginning.
Hannah Ronsiek started it. In two possessions, she sparked a 9-0 Rams run. Energy built from the bench and the growing section of green seated near the CSU marching band. As a senior, those opening shots — the first points of her final college game — are difficult to put into words. For Ronsiek, it came back to intention: play for her team.
"It's obviously March and I'm a senior and I know that the next game isn't promised, so I just want to go out and do everything I can for my basketball team, whether that's getting stops or hitting open shots," she said. "I just I saw an opportunity on the offensive end and I took it."
That mindset carried into a defensive performance which dictated tempo. CSU didn't just guard — it disrupted. Every Spartan touch came with pressure, every possession shortened, every decision rushed.
Even when foul trouble tried to slow them down Lexi Deden responded, stepping in without hesitation. She had come in for Madelyn Bragg after two fouls in succession in the first quarter.
"(Lexi) has been great all year for us," Williams said. "Whatever we've asked her to do, she's done, and Vandersloot is a very difficult interior player to guard. She's got exceptional footwork. Maddy picked up two quickly. One was kind of silly, but then Deden was ready to go, and that's the thing about Deden, is she is always ready to go. She comes in, and she plays with incredible energy."
That's the thing about momentum in March. It doesn't disappear. It transfers.
And in the third quarter, it swung.
MSU found its counterforce, pouring in 20 points and reclaiming control. The Spartans had their reaction — equal, opposite, and timely. Still, CSU didn't fold. It answered again.
Brooke Carlson became the Rams' final surge, scoring 13 of the team's 15 fourth-quarter points. Every bucket felt heavier than the last, every drive carrying the weight of a season which refused to end quietly.
"We wanted to win, we wanted to get that dub, but I was just playing, giving what the defense was giving me," Carlson said. "My teammates were finding me in those positions, so it was just kind of taking what I got in that moment."
That's the paradox of the game — even in control, you're reacting. Even in reaction, you're fighting to take control back.
And in the final minutes, with every possession amplified and every second stretched, the Rams kept pushing. Kept answering. Kept proving they belonged in the moment, regardless of seeding, expectations or outcome.
"I mean, there's not one CSU Ram around the country, wherever they are watching, that isn't bursting with pride," Williams said. "Nobody's bursting with more pride than me. We've got a locker room that's hurting, and they hurt because they care, and because they expect to win. They don't look at a 12-5. They don't look at it that way, and we've trained them to not look at it that way.
"There's always a way to put yourself in a position to win, and that's why I'm so proud of them, because they do it, and they did it all year long."
As the final buzzer sounded, the reaction wasn't just MSU advancing. It was CSU standing  on the hardwood knowing it had given everything it had to give.
And when it was over, something else lingered.
"I know all the Rams here back home believed in us, but we were definitely an underdog, and I think we went out and we showed that like we can compete with these teams on any given night," Ronsiek said. "I'm just super proud of our basketball team, the way we played tonight and throughout the season."
Pride will not take Ronsiek to another season. No next possession to answer it. Some things don't come back. And maybe that's what makes it matter.
The finite nature of it all — the way a season builds, possession by possession, run by run, until suddenly there's nothing left to give. No more timeouts. No more second chances. Just the weight of everything which came before.
The scoreboard showed how MSU had advanced. It marked the end.
But Newton's third law doesn't account for what lingers after the action stops. Because the force CSU played with didn't disappear. It was felt in every run. Every stop. Every answer.
And long after the game is over, it still is.
Every run demands a response. Every shot invites a rebound. Every surge of green is met by a wall of white.
On Friday night, No. 12 Colorado State pushed the principle to its limit against No. 5 Michigan State. The Rams delivered force. The Spartans answered. And somewhere during the exchange — in the push and pull of momentum — the game tipped just out of CSU's grasp in a 65-62 loss.
"Just a March Madness basketball game," coach Ryun Williams said. "These two teams are really battling out there, and congrats to Michigan State. I thought they played a tough fourth quarter, but I couldn't be more proud of my squad. Holy cow did we battle … these ladies will forever be champions, and they played like it tonight. No doubt about it. I love my basketball team."
Colorado State owned the momentum in the beginning.
Hannah Ronsiek started it. In two possessions, she sparked a 9-0 Rams run. Energy built from the bench and the growing section of green seated near the CSU marching band. As a senior, those opening shots — the first points of her final college game — are difficult to put into words. For Ronsiek, it came back to intention: play for her team.
"It's obviously March and I'm a senior and I know that the next game isn't promised, so I just want to go out and do everything I can for my basketball team, whether that's getting stops or hitting open shots," she said. "I just I saw an opportunity on the offensive end and I took it."
That mindset carried into a defensive performance which dictated tempo. CSU didn't just guard — it disrupted. Every Spartan touch came with pressure, every possession shortened, every decision rushed.
Even when foul trouble tried to slow them down Lexi Deden responded, stepping in without hesitation. She had come in for Madelyn Bragg after two fouls in succession in the first quarter.
"(Lexi) has been great all year for us," Williams said. "Whatever we've asked her to do, she's done, and Vandersloot is a very difficult interior player to guard. She's got exceptional footwork. Maddy picked up two quickly. One was kind of silly, but then Deden was ready to go, and that's the thing about Deden, is she is always ready to go. She comes in, and she plays with incredible energy."
That's the thing about momentum in March. It doesn't disappear. It transfers.
And in the third quarter, it swung.
MSU found its counterforce, pouring in 20 points and reclaiming control. The Spartans had their reaction — equal, opposite, and timely. Still, CSU didn't fold. It answered again.
Brooke Carlson became the Rams' final surge, scoring 13 of the team's 15 fourth-quarter points. Every bucket felt heavier than the last, every drive carrying the weight of a season which refused to end quietly.
"We wanted to win, we wanted to get that dub, but I was just playing, giving what the defense was giving me," Carlson said. "My teammates were finding me in those positions, so it was just kind of taking what I got in that moment."
That's the paradox of the game — even in control, you're reacting. Even in reaction, you're fighting to take control back.
And in the final minutes, with every possession amplified and every second stretched, the Rams kept pushing. Kept answering. Kept proving they belonged in the moment, regardless of seeding, expectations or outcome.
"I mean, there's not one CSU Ram around the country, wherever they are watching, that isn't bursting with pride," Williams said. "Nobody's bursting with more pride than me. We've got a locker room that's hurting, and they hurt because they care, and because they expect to win. They don't look at a 12-5. They don't look at it that way, and we've trained them to not look at it that way.
"There's always a way to put yourself in a position to win, and that's why I'm so proud of them, because they do it, and they did it all year long."
As the final buzzer sounded, the reaction wasn't just MSU advancing. It was CSU standing  on the hardwood knowing it had given everything it had to give.
And when it was over, something else lingered.
"I know all the Rams here back home believed in us, but we were definitely an underdog, and I think we went out and we showed that like we can compete with these teams on any given night," Ronsiek said. "I'm just super proud of our basketball team, the way we played tonight and throughout the season."
Pride will not take Ronsiek to another season. No next possession to answer it. Some things don't come back. And maybe that's what makes it matter.
The finite nature of it all — the way a season builds, possession by possession, run by run, until suddenly there's nothing left to give. No more timeouts. No more second chances. Just the weight of everything which came before.
The scoreboard showed how MSU had advanced. It marked the end.
But Newton's third law doesn't account for what lingers after the action stops. Because the force CSU played with didn't disappear. It was felt in every run. Every stop. Every answer.
And long after the game is over, it still is.
Team Stats
CSU
MSU
FG%
.453
.397
3FG%
.278
.190
FT%
.750
.611
RB
34
34
TO
12
8
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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