Saturday’s game left the Rams thirsty for victory, but they were unable to quench those desires in competition with Utah State on the day of their senior night.
The Aggies put pressure on the Rams by scoring within the first 15 seconds of the game, and CSU’s defense was immediately being tested.
Tatum Neubert shot a 3-pointer to prevent a large gap from developing, but Utah pulled ahead of the Rams early.
Lore Devos easily made a basket and her free throws to support the team’s gradual progression. Her average of 13 points per game was exceeded with 18 points, the highest scorer for the Rams overall.
After a substitution, Lauren Brocke made a 3-pointer with Taylor Mole following suit. These shots attributed to the increasing momentum in favor of CSU.
By the end of the first quarter, the Rams were in the lead by seven points, 21-14.
Mollie Mounsey made half of the 10 points the Rams scored in the second quarter, and Brocke contributed yet another 3-pointer to the scoreboard.
Utah’s Eliza West helped the Aggies by making two steals and scored consecutively within the last three minutes of the second quarter.
The Rams’ mental game began to falter with a tie game at 29 points with one minute remaining before half time. There were four turnovers in favor of Utah State within five minutes.
Utah State successfully made a half court shot for a buzzer beater to pull ahead 34-31 going into the break.
Neither team scored in their first trip down the court in the third, but the Aggies quickly brought up the pace by scoring five points. CSU struggled to maintain high energy and consecutive shots to refrain from being surpassed by their opponent.
The Rams’ energy slowly dwindled as the Aggies fought to stay ahead, but Devos refused to let the Aggies’ advantage grow into double digits.
Not normally a 3-point shooter, Neubert made another basket in favor of the Rams. Several attempts outside the arc did not make the cut for CSU.
With two minutes left in the third quarter, CSU trailed by ten points with Devos as the only other scorer for the Rams in the period.
Utah State sunk their second buzzer beater of the game to conclude the third period. The Aggies continued to keep the Rams’ defense on their toes with relentless and adjacent shooting.
Grace Colaivalu forced a basket to maintain a stable offense and boost morale. Her minimal exposure on the court contributed to the fluctuating energy of the team overall.
Sneaking into the key, Liah Davis made her first points of the game against the dominating offense presented by the Aggies.
Both squads had four fouls with six minutes left in the final quarter, but the number of turnovers were significant.
Mounsey drove underneath the basket in response to the consistent scoring of the Aggies. She held the position as the third highest scorer for CSU during the game.
Mole easily scored a 3-pointer followed by a defensive block against Utah State to sustain the energy of the Rams in the final minutes.
Utah State took advantage of the dwindling minutes by slowly dribbling the ball down the court and eating up the shot clock.
Head Coach Ryun Williams called a timeout with a little over a minute remaining, with the Rams lagging behind by fourteen points.
Devos refused to give up, putting two more points on the board before Utah regained possession of the ball until the clock ran out. The Aggies took the match 70-59, marking the Rams eighth loss in a row.
CSU will travel to Las Vegas for their next game against UNLV on Thursday, March 7 before the kick off for the Mountain West Tournament next week.
Jess Boxrud can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @Jessica_Boxrud.
