LAS VEGAS — After 33 games, 26 wins, tournaments and injuries, Colorado State women’s basketball arrived at the moment it had been building toward all season: the Mountain West Championship.
The Rams were set to face Air Force, with both teams battling for very different stakes. CSU lost its biggest playmaker, Lexus Bargesser, just one game prior to the championship, raising the question of who would step up. Meanwhile, the Falcons defied the odds and became the Cinderella story of the MW Tournament.
They were one of the lowest-ranked teams going in as the ninth seed, but pulled several upsets and finally made their way to the final level before the NCAA Tournament. All that was left was to face the only in-state rival within the conference.
But not all Cinderellas get their happily ever after.
Purple and silver confetti poured out onto the Thomas and Mack Center court as CSU clinched an NCAA bid after a 56-42 win Tuesday. The Rams gathered together in the middle of the court, holding one another after battling for multiple days in a row to get where they were, chanting, “I’m proud to be a CSU Ram.”
And the win just gets sweeter as six CSU seniors get to have at least one more game as a Ram.
“We’ve won games a lot of different ways, but we always have confidence in our resolve and our toughness … all of that,” head coach Ryun Williams said. “We’ve always found a way to just be opportunistic. … These kids have delivered. Even on offensive nights where it hasn’t been maybe the most rhythmic or beautiful thing, they just find a way. That’s the sign of a champion.”
The Rams came into the game strong, hardly showing that this would be their third game in three days. But as the game progressed, exhaustion bled through. But — as Williams said — CSU finds a way.
Several players throughout the MW Tournament have had sparks of greatness, whether it was Madelyn Bragg making the winning layup in the Rams’ game against Grand Canyon or Marta Leimane being what Williams calls a “Latvian Bear”.
Alongside them is Brooke Carlson, who constantly hits the most minutes in every game while producing the highest number of points. Tuesday, Carlson hit the most points out of any player at 15. She notched four rebounds and two steals during her 40 minutes of action.
“I feel like I was pretty tired today, but at the end of the day, I’m going to do what I can do to get my team a win,” Carlson said. “I’m out there trying to get those loose balls still, so just fighting through even the toughest (battles).”
Bragg notched on 15, nine of which came from the second half, when the Rams needed it most. Around that same time, AFA was trying its hardest to fight back, but that only resulted in two players fouling out, with one other being in foul trouble.
Bragg ended the night shooting 87.5%, proving herself as a powerful tool in the tournament once again.
There was another fierce weapon on the court, but it wasn’t CSU’s.
Milahnie Perry notched a career-high of 33 points just a couple of nights before facing the Rams. Even when the two teams matched up early in the season, Perry was a force to be reckoned with. Although it took her a second to get started Tuesday, she was a hard player to contain, and she finished the game with 14 points.
Before Bargesser was injured, it was projected to be a battle between her and Perry, but in stepped Leimane to guard her instead. For Williams, there was no other player to put on Perry.
“There was no question, you need length, you need experience on Perry,” Williams said. “She is unbelievable. … There were a couple of times I looked at (Leimane), she couldn’t even see straight, she was so tired. We played her 40 minutes. … Marty is a very instinctive, smart defender. That’s what you need to have on Perry.”
Leimane finished the matchup with eight points, four rebounds and three assists, while holding Perry to two rebounds and two assists.
“I think she has a really great pull-up, and she has that little cross to her pull-up, and I think I kind of studied that before and just locked in on defense,” Leimane said.
The Rams only have a few days to reset before their NCAA bracket is announced and have to begin scouting the next star player.
But no matter what team they’re announced to play next, players like Carlson want them to know that CSU is ready for the challenge. The MW Tournament was just one step in the long game they’re wanting to play.
“(Teams shouldn’t) count us out,” Carlson said. “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.”
Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on social media @sophgwebb.
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