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Live updates: CSU women’s basketball battles in Mountain West semifinals against UNLV

Sophie Webb, Sports Editor
March 9, 2026
Collegian | Cait Mckinzie
Colorado State University women’s basketball guard Marta Leimane (14) fights through University of Nevada Las Vegas guard Mariah Elohim (2) during CSU’s game against UNLV in the Mountain West tournament March 9. Leimane scored 16 points for the Rams after becoming a major player after Lexus Bargesser (2) was pulled out for an injury.
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Live Coverage
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Updated
Mar 10, 2026, 8:16 pm

AFA’s star begins to shine

Second Quarter: Colorado State 24, Air Force 22

AFA’s Perry picked up a couple of good looks and is slowly building up her points, sitting at seven.

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Mar 09, 2026, 10:24 pm

CSU comes out on top, moves on to MW Championship

End of Fourth Quarter/Game: Colorado State 66, UNLV 59

Although one of CSU’s leaders, Bargesser, went out early, the Rams found their second-half surge and pulled out with the win. Carlson led the Rams in points with 19; meanwhile, Leimane had one of her strongest games this season, ending with 16 points.

The Rams will move on to the championships, facing one of their biggest rivals: Air Force.

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Mar 09, 2026, 9:51 pm

The Rams come out into fourth strong

Fourth Quarter: Colorado State 47, UNLV 38

Leimane is on fire as she leads with 16 points, primarily from 3-pointers. Hannah Ronsiek tacked on a 3 of her own, which sent UNLV into a timeout.

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Mar 09, 2026, 9:47 pm

Leimane stays hot, CSU pushes for final stretch

End of Third Quarter: Colorado State 41, UNLV 38

Leimane clinches last-minute points once again. Although CSU walks into the final quarter with the lead, the Lady Rebels made a few key blocks that controlled the momentum near the end of the third quarter.

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Mar 09, 2026, 9:13 pm

CSU, UNLV go into second half tied

End of Second Quarter: Colorado State 28, UNLV 28

With Bargesser out, it’s up to the rest of the Rams to fill in the presence missing. With just a few seconds left before halftime, Leimane tied up the game with another 3-pointer, her completion percentage is 100%.

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Mar 09, 2026, 9:01 pm

Lexus Bargesser exits court injured

Second Quarter: Colorado State 13, UNLV 19

One of the Rams’ best players, Bargesser, injured herself during a play. She assisted herself off the court and hopped to the locker room on one leg.

Bargesser has a racked up a total of 498 points throughout the season, averaging 15.6 per game.

Update: As per CSU Athletic’s Mike Brohard, Bargesser is out.

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Mar 09, 2026, 8:55 pm

Rams find success from deep, bridging score gap

End of First Quarter: Colorado State 11, UNLV 15

UNLV seemed to be taking off as it had an eight-point lead, but McKenna Murphy sparked consistency from deep, getting the first Ram 3-pointer of the game. Marta Leimane kept the fire alive and is 2-of-2 from 3.

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Mar 09, 2026, 8:42 pm

Lexus Bargesser puts first points on the board for Rams

First Quarter: Colorado State 2, UNLV 7

The Rebels started strong, forcing an almost four-minute scoring drought until Lexus Bargesser finally pulled away from UNLV’s defense and made a second-chance layup.

Colorado State women’s basketball is one game away from the Mountain West Championship.

But to get there, it must first get past No. 2 UNLV — a team the Rams have struggled against in recent years, with the Rebels winning 10 of the last 11 matchups.

After a neck-and-neck fight against Grand Canyon, CSU clinched the win in the final second of the game, thanks to Madelyn Bragg. The Rams lost the lead for a large portion of the game, and as the tournament progresses, there’s less opportunity for that kind of error.

Will CSU rise to the challenge or have its season come to an end?

Those curious can check back here and @michaelfhovey on X for live updates.

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About the Contributors
Sophie Webb
Sophie Webb, Sports Editor
Sophie Webb is returning as the sports editor for The Collegian, expanding her love of journalism beyond the classroom.  Writing has always fascinated Webb, who has been writing short stories since third grade. In high school, she decided to try her hand at journalism. Soon after discovering her passion for journalism, she began working for The Collegian while in high school, and after her first semester of college, she was named sports editor.  This year, Webb aims to push herself out of her comfort zone and consistently expand the sports desk, whether that involves helping writers discover their place within the field or collaborating with other departments to increase the quality of content and level of engagement. The Collegian has not only allowed her the opportunity to further her writing and leadership skills but has also given her a second home in the newsroom. Walking in every day confirms she made the right choice in following her passion. Webb knows she can make an impact through her writing, which is why she plans on becoming a full-time journalist post-graduation and, for her next three years at Colorado State University, honing her craft. If not writing or taking photos, Webb can be found hiking, listening to music or traveling to her next country.
Cait Mckinzie
Cait Mckinzie, Photo Director
Cait Mckinzie is a third-year student double majoring in art and journalism and media communication. She is the returning photo director for the 2025-26 school year. As an out-of-state student from Renton, Washington, there wasn’t much in Fort Collins Mckinzie was familiar with when she first started at Colorado State University. But in high school, she was the co-head of visuals for her school newspaper, so she applied to The Collegian as a photographer during her first year to get back into a similar environment. At the end of her year as a freelancer, she was trained by Milo Gladstein and Garrett Mogel, her photo directors, to take over Gladstein’s position when he graduated. She attributes most of her photojournalistic experience — and some of her sense of humor — to them. Most of Mckinzie’s photography experience, though, comes from her grandfather. A photographer for most of his life, he gifted Mckinzie her first camera in her junior year of high school and taught her how to use it. With his guidance, she improved her skills during high school enough to get her to The Collegian, a paper that now takes up a large amount of her time. Mckinzie is excited for another year at The Collegian and aims to make her photo desk one Gladstein and Mogel would be proud of.