Losing back-to-back games hurts. Losing back-to-back conference games hurts even more, and the Colorado State University women’s basketball team is feeling that pain. After suffering a 59-49 loss to San Diego State on Wednesday in their first conference game of the season, the Rams were bested again on Sunday by the visiting Boise State Broncos 72-69.

The matchup was a narrow contest from start to finish. After one quarter of play, the two teams were only separated by one point. Redshirt senior Andrea Brady was the focus of the Rams’ offense early on, pouring in 10 points in the first quarter of play. However, Boise quickly rediscovered their offensive groove after shooting 38.89% in the first quarter to then take a 40-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Rams’ starters came to play, with Brady, Megan Jacobs, Jamie Bonnarens and Makenzie Ellis all finishing the game with double-digit point totals. Brady finished as the game’s top scorer with 23 points. Jacobs scored 18 while also hauling in 10 rebounds to secure her first double-double of the season.

“We all just tried to play tough tonight,” Jacobs said. “We tried to put ourselves aside and just play for the team.”

This offensive explosion comes in the wake of the Rams being without some of their leaders on the court, including Tori Williams, who also missed the Rams’ conference opener earlier in the week, and Lore Devos, who hasn’t set foot on the floor for CSU since their season opener against Chadron State. 

Despite suffering a substantial amount of hefty injuries, Sunday’s defeat means the Rams have now lost four games by single digits this season, which has obviously been a frustrating statline that the Rams have had to deal with since many members of the fan base and coaching staff feel if the lineup was at full strength, it’d be enough to get over those small hurdles.

“We’re anxious to get healthy and put a really good squad out there and let this team cut loose a little bit,” head coach Ryun Williams said. “I’m proud of the team that we have out there, but this team needs that win. They need to really start believing, and the only way to do that is to get some Ws.”

Nevertheless, going toe-to-toe with the current conference champions and current favorites to win the conference again will hopefully inspire the Rams as they prepare to head to Knoxville to take on the 17th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Bailey Shepherd can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @B_Sheps.