LAS VEGAS — Colorado State women’s basketball found a way to win without its top scorer Monday, taking down Mountain West No. 2 UNLV and propelling to the championship game. The Rams held off a late fourth-quarter effort by the Lady Rebels, withstanding the upped full-court intensity.
In a game with only four seniors playing the majority, CSU looked composed down the stretch as it has in recent games.
CSU surges in second half
In MW play, runs are everything, and CSU showed it can both recover and initiate when it mattered.
While the Lady Rebels did their best to extend their stay in the bracket with under two minutes remaining, the Rams prevailed under the stewardship from three of the seniors and, not surprisingly, the sophomore duo of Brooke Carlson and Kloe Froebe.
But McKenna Murphy was another catalyst for CSU, hitting a pair of big-time shots in the third quarter, helping the team find some consistency.
It was night and day for the Rams as CSU grabbed hold of its first chance at a lead after the break, never releasing.
Compared to the 36.7% and 35.7% FG and 3-point showing in the first half, CSU looked like it settled, finding ways to get to the hoop outside of the rim running and pure shooting it started with.
That rhythm carried the Rams to the end, even as UNLV pulled out all the stops in an attempt to comeback.
Marta Leimane steps up, fills void
Despite averaging 19.6 minutes per game prior to the semifinals match, Marta Leimane was called upon after Lexus Bargesser left the game.
The fourth-year Ram has plenty of experience in MW tournament play, and it showed in her steadiness and lack of hesitation in taking some impressive shots.
The senior finished with 16 points off 4-of-5 from 3-point range while adding 3 rebounds and 4 assists, effectively filling the stat sheet with Bargesser out.
She also played 32 minutes, marking her highest involvement in seven games.
Young talent continues to produce
Carlson led the team with 19 points, contributing 12 of the team’s 25 points in the fourth quarter while hitting six shots from the charity stripe.
Her poise in an opponent’s arena with UNLV doing their best to bend CSU to its will was closer to that of a seasoned player, and she added five assists and three rebounds to an otherwise solid showing.
And while Froebe had an off shooting night, going 2-of-10 from the field and sinking zero of her four 3-point attempts, she was a frequent guest on the glass with a team-high 11 rebounds.
With the sophomores and Murphy displaying flashes of reliability down the stretch in big games, some of the seniors focused more on the defensive end with UNLV’s Meadow Roland and Shelbee Brown being held to just five points in the second half.
Lexus Bargesser goes down early
The star guard exited the game after what appeared to be a non-contact injury, hopping on one leg off the court into the tunnel.
Bargesser finished the season as the team’s leading scorer, leader in points per game and most efficient 3-point shooter. And she managed nine minutes and four points in Monday’s bout.
Her speed and playmaking ability started to show early in the game, especially when the Rams couldn’t find a rhythm to start.
Up next
CSU now faces MW No. 9 Air Force in the tournament final, looking to stave off the unlikely journey the Falcons have executed. AFA is hot right now, and after consecutive days of tournament play, the Rams will have to bear down and prepare for yet another scrappy matchup.
Read the full story here.
Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on social media @michaelfhovey.
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