While most of the CSU student body was in the process of recovering from a food coma after their Thanksgiving celebration, the CSU Rams started their three day tournament in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii.
At the Waikiki Beach Marriot Rainbow Wahine Showdown Tournament, the Rams faced three tough match-ups. By the time Sunday evening rolled around, the Rams took their flight back home to Fort Collins with a 1-2 record for the weekend.
In their match-ups against the University of Hawaii, University of Minnesota and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga the Rams fought hard, but in the end only took home one win.
For the entirety of the tournament the Rams shooting percentage both from the field and from behind the arch were as low as ten percent and only went as high as forty-four percent.
“We knew coming into this tournament that all three teams would be challenging,” senior Sam Martin said. “I hope we just grow through these close game scenarios. They’re tough losses and those losses hurt. Later on we’ll learn from these games and know what to do so in the end we have to look at it positively.”
Despite the lack of offense the Rams had from the field, there were bright spots in their ability to rebound.
Throughout the entire weekend, the Rams totaled 111 rebounds in their three match-ups. Unfortunately, even though the Rams played well on the boards they were out rebounded by two of their three opponents.
“We rebounded really well and we played back really well, but we went away from that and lost what our game plan was. We just weren’t as focused,” Martin said.
In addition to the defense this team displayed, one consistent spark for the team on offense was a familiar one.
Sophomore guard Caitlin Duffy has proven herself to be the sixth man for this team throughout the season so far and further established her role on this team with her consistent contributions from the field and the three point mark.
“She’s playing with a lot of confidence right now and she’s a consistent scorer for us,” head coach Ryun Williams said. “She’s a tremendous weapon coming off the bench.”
Duffy led the team in scoring in their first two games of the weekend, her best performance coming on Saturday night in the Rams defeat against Minnesota. Duffy totaled 17 points and six rebounds.
Duffy managed to put her role on the team in the simplest terms, “you just come off the bench and provide the spark.”
Even though the Rams took two tough losses this weekend, the team takes these defeats as a lesson for future match-ups and do not let it hinder their confidence heading into future road games.
“I think we’ll be fine (for future road games). I think were gonna bounce back and it’ll make us want to win even more,” Martin said. “Everything is going to make us better in the end.”
