NORMAN – The Rams came into the Big Dance with a goal of putting Colorado State basketball on the map.
They did just that against Michigan State women’s basketball.
The Rams led the game for 17 minutes, including a five-point third quarter lead. But the Spartans put on their hard hats, started scoring at a pace they have been scoring at all season and escaped the upset, beating CSU 65-62.
CSU came into the matchup riding a nine game winning streak, and started the night keeping that momentum going, coming as a big shock to Robyn Fralick’s MSU squad.
However, the season comes to an end after the Spartans adjusted, and the Rams’ valiant effort came up just short.
Spartans refuse to go away
After the Rams’ 9-3 start to the game, it would be hard to believe that the Spartans ended the first quarter with a 16-13 lead.
The entire night, neither team ever led by more than six. The Spartans would take a quick lead, and the Rams would bounce back, and vice versa.
But ultimately, what matters is who has more points as the final buzzer sounds — and MSU stayed consistent all night to be that team in front.
Trailing by two at halftime, the Spartans needed a huge response to run away with the win, but the Rams kept answering the Spartans’ responses. But a mini 5-0 run to end the third seemed to be where the Spartans really became confident they could sneak past the upset — and Kennedy Blair was the sparkplug.
The redshirt sophomore was responsible for that entire 5-0 run, as she went through an outstanding offensive and defensive sequence. She hit two free throws, blocked a Brooke Carlson layup after a whole night of getting blown by, knocked down a corner three, and then went and blocked a Kloe Froebe layup on the next possession.
That fired up the Spartans completely to tie the game up after three, and helped them slightly outwork the Rams in the fourth, leading them to the win.
Spartans hold on despite various struggles
While a large part of this matchup being as close as it was goes to the Rams’ efforts, the Spartans were not on their A-game.
MSU shot only 4-of-21 from deep in the game, and only 1-of-14 in the first half. On top of that, they had great spurts of forcing Ram turnovers with tight defense — but only converted seven points off 12 CSU turnovers.
The Rams came into this matchup allowing only 54.9 points per game to opponents — seventh best in the country. They played elite defense to force some tough shots, but the Spartans relied heavily on their main scorers, and they willed their way to victory scoring more than what the Rams usually allow.
Grace VanSlooten, the team’s leading scorer, finished with 18 points, as she used her 6-foot-3 frame to get buckets in the paint at ease. Blair also finished with 18, but added in six rebounds and three blocks to her impressive showing.
Senior guard Jalyn Brown hit three of the team’s four threes of the night, and the Spartans — as they have all year long in an up-and-down season — found a way to just make one more play than CSU.
CSU comes out guns blazing
The Rams didn’t to the Big Dance to show out or to keep the game close: They came to win.
CSU jumped out to an early 9-3 lead prior to the game’s first media timeout, and then either led or trailed by no more than six points the rest of the contest. The Spartans faced adversity early, knew they had to respond to avoid an upset and eventually did — but not before three more quarters of a back-and-forth contest with a dangerous No. 12 seed.
Carlson, Hannah Ronsiek and Froebe all knew they needed big nights to win tonight, and they put their all out on the court — setting the tone of the game in the first five minutes.
Brooke Carlson makes her name known on the big stage
For a team missing a 15 points a night scorer in Lexus Bargesser, one particular guard knew they had to step up and fill in for those 15 points a night.
Carlson did more than just replace those points — she set a career-high in her NCAA Tournament debut.
The guard finished the night with 26 points in 38 minutes, shooting 8-of-17 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Carlson shocked the Spartan defense with her quickness, beating each and every one of their perimeter defenders at times all night long for easy blow-by layups at the rim.
Carlson also hit three triples, including a deep one with 39 seconds left in the game to cut the deficit from six to three, keeping the Rams alive until the final buzzer.
Only a sophomore, Carlson has plenty to build off with this performance. She made her name known on the biggest stage in college basketball and solidified herself as one of Ryun Williams’ potential key players for the future.
Read the full story here.
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Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.
