It was a textbook finish to the 27th and final season of Mountain West competition.

Colorado State women’s basketball had fallen under a bit of a dry spell following last season’s early MW tournament defeat to Fresno State. The team had not reached the championship game since 2022 and had not made the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

Coming into 2025-26, the Rams never shied away from the big moment.

“Colorado State basketball — it’s a big deal,” Ryun Williams said following the Rams’ NCAA Tournament loss. “This group all year long, last year — I mean, we play really good basketball. … When it’s on the line, you saw what being a CSU Ram is all about.”

CSU came into the season with a lot to make up for, losing Emma Ronsiek, the team’s leading scorer at 17.7 points per game from the 2024-25 campaign.

But the Rams had an excellent transfer portal period, bringing in seniors Madelyn Bragg and Lexus Bargesser, who they expected to make an immediate impact — and the two did just that.

With the help of new transfer portal additions alongside the continuous leaps of sophomores Kloe Froebe and Brooke Carlson, the Rams started the season guns blazing. The team went 7-0 to start the year, including one huge road win over future Pac-12 opponent Gonzaga, giving the squad serious momentum.

However, things came to a temporary halt after the Rams suffered back-to-back home losses to Stanford and Utah. The Utes came into Moby Arena and handed the Rams a very rare 12-point home loss, giving a team with championship-or-bust expectations a time to reflect.

“(Utah’s) just the better team,” Williams said following the 70-58 loss. “They’re just more physical. And if that’s what the next level is, I told our kids we’re not ready for that. We’re just not, and it’s OK. It’s OK.”

After challenges against tougher opponents, the Rams needed to find that next level if they wanted to end their time in the MW on top.

Heading into conference play with a 9-2 record, CSU had a solid run to finish the regular season 15-5 in conference play, and a 24-7 overall record. The team’s conference run included various winning streaks, but none as beneficial as the six-game winning streak to end the regular season.

The Rams entered the MW tournament as the No. 3 seed thanks to their late-season push, and the team finally regained some of the momentum from its winning start to the season.

However, this is where the Rams needed to meet that next-level expectation — the postseason. The Rams had been a top seed in years prior but couldn’t finish the season with the hardware, leaving one lingering question: Could this season be different?

In CSU’s quarterfinal matchup against Grand Canyon, it was a tight battle all the way to the final seconds — a similar scenario to the team’s quarterfinal loss a season ago.

Riding a six-game winning streak in their final ever Mountain West tournament with the realization that a lot of seniors’ careers could be over, Williams put the ball in Bragg’s hands on the final possession with the season on the line.

And she delivered.

Bragg hit a fading layup as time expired to give CSU a 61-59 victory over the Lopes and advance them further along on their quest to the title. 

Team spirits were high going into their semifinal bout against UNLV, the conference’s No. 2 seed. But in the second quarter of the game, the Rams got hit with a moment of bad luck. Leading scorer and top option Bargesser exited the match in the second quarter with a knee injury, leading to her sitting out the rest of the season.

With the match tied at halftime and no Bargesser for the remainder of the game, CSU rose to the next-level expectations. They outscored the Rebels 38-31 in the second half, led by replacement Marta Leimane‘s 16 points, in order to stamp their position in the MW championship.

After a win without their leading scorer and one game standing between the Rams and their second MW title under coach Williams, CSU had no reason to look back after the team’s most impressive postseason win in recent times.

CSU faced a familiar — yet unexpected — opponent in the championship game: the No. 9-seeded Air Force Falcons. The Rams have a long history with their in-state rivals, but the Falcons made a surprise appearance in the title game through a Cinderella run that included upsets over No. 1 San Diego State and No. 5 Boise State.

Avoiding a team they struggled with in the regular season, CSU had to pounce on the opportunity and play their game. Despite the Falcons sticking alongside the Rams for three quarters, trailing only by two at the end of the third, the Rams were the team that wanted it more.

Outscoring Air Force 22-10 in the fourth, and led by Carlson’s 17 and Bragg’s 15 points, the Rams had finally reached the top, winning the Mountain West championship in their final season in the conference, and giving Williams his second MW championship in his tenure as head coach.

“(Teams shouldn’t) count us out,” Carlson said after the win. “We’re the type of team that thrives in any situation, so we’re always going to come out, play hard, play that Ram grit.”

Despite all the celebration with the team’s championship win, they still had more basketball to play. CSU cemented their spot in the Big Dance with an automatic bid as MW champions — their first tournament appearance since 2016.

The Rams drew a matchup against No. 5 Michigan State, putting them as the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. MSU had played at a level all year in which they scored the ball extremely efficiently, making the Spartans one of the best teams in the nation early in the season before a late-season drop off.

The contest was as close as it could be, with neither team leading by more than five points the entire game. CSU played its style of basketball, with tight defense on the Spartans’ best players and getting to their spots for open looks as they have been doing all season.

With the game tied at 47 apiece entering the fourth quarter, both teams had lots on the line: 10 more minutes to see whether the world would witness the first upset of the tournament or if the Spartans can keep their season alive.

Despite 13 of Carlson’s career-high 26 points coming in that fourth quarter, the Spartans made just a few more plays, leading them over the hump and able to hold on for a 65-62 win.

CSU had one final possession to tie it up — they needed a 3, and they got the ball to senior Hannah Ronsiek for a good look at a corner triple. The final shot of Ronsiek’s collegiate career went too long, and the Rams came up just short.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my squad,” Williams said following the loss. “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.”

CSU will finish its 27-year run in the Mountain West with three conference tournament championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and as the final Mountain West champions of the current conference alignment.

“I think the country saw what a CSU Ram is all about,” Williams said. “There’s not one CSU Ram around the country, wherever they were watching, that isn’t bursting with pride. Nobody is bursting with more pride than me.”

Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.