The Colorado State University women’s basketball team made a commanding case for the top team in the Mountain West Conference after sweeping Boise State University with two blowout wins.
CSU won 71-51 on Wednesday behind the impressive scoring efforts of Ellie Boni. The freshman guard was on fire for her 23 minutes in the game, scoring 19 points on 70% shooting. Boni shot 50% from three (1-2) and 100% from the free-throw line (4-4).
The two-game sweep places the Rams at the top of the leaderboard and one game in front of the California State University, Fresno Bulldogs in the Mountain West.”
The Rams had three starters, and one coming off the bench hit the double-digit points, a clear indicator of this team’s ability to spread the wealth. The Broncos had just one player reach that mark in the first game of the series.
The Rams stormed the boards in their first victory of the series as they snatched 10 offensive and 36 defensive rebounds. Boni, playing a key role on both ends of the floor, led CSU in rebounds with nine defensive boards. Cali Clark followed right behind and was able to spread the stat sheet totaling four offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds.
The second game saw more of the same as the Rams won 75-53. Lore Devos scored 17 points on 58% from the field. The senior guard went 75% from behind the arc and managed to get all her points without shooting a free throw. Doing it all, Devos grabbed nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
https://twitter.com/CSUWBasketball/status/1355270824509337603
Another board-dominant game, the Rams finished the game with 52 total rebounds. Additionally, Devos, Clark, Tori Williams and Karly Murphy all obtained nine rebounds. In the first game of the series, both teams had 46 rebounds, but the Rams outmuscled the Broncos down low in the rematch and outdid them 52-38.
The three things to look for outlined in the preview for the series did not necessarily apply since the Rams were so dominant all around. In both games, Williams kept up her momentum from the previous series. In the two-game series against the Broncos, Williams averaged 7.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
Devos averaged 15 points, six rebounds, and one assist in the series. Devos and Williams’ scoring and defensive efforts helped put the Rams in a good spot to dominate the games, but it was the comprehensive team effort that helped the Rams to their series sweep.
The cliché saying “you cannot stop them; you can only hope to contain them” applies directly to Broncos guard Jade Loville. The leading scorer for Boise State scored 13 points in both contests. However, defensive pressure applied by the Rams forced Loville to shoot 24% (5-21) from the field in game one and 33% (5-15) from the field in game two. Apparent from the scores, the Broncos had an all-around difficult time competing with the fiery Ram defense.
The two-game sweep places the Rams at the top of the leaderboard and one game in front of the California State University, Fresno Bulldogs in the Mountain West. CSU now sits at 12-2 overall and 8-2 in conference play, while Fresno State is 9-6 overall and 7-3 in conference play. CSU will be back in Fort Collins taking on the University of Wyoming, a middle of the pack contender, for their next series, starting February’s slate of games.
Tyler Meguire can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @TMeguire.
