After their first loss of the season on the road against Mississippi State University Nov. 20, Colorado State University women’s basketball split their two games in the Las Vegas Invitational to move to 4-2 on the season.

The Rams opened the two-day invitational in Las Vegas by taking on Mercer University Nov. 25. The Bears entered the game with a 2-1 record but were trampled by the Rams 79-51.

CSU won in blowout fashion yet again in their fourth victory of the season; all of their wins this season have come with a margin of 20 or more points. 

The Rams built a dominant 41-20 lead over the Bears by halftime and coasted to the 28-point win Friday night. Mercer failed to make a single 3-pointer in the game, shooting 0-12 from beyond the arch. CSU, meanwhile, made 11 of 29 attempted 3-pointers.

Guard Destiny Thurman led the Rams in scoring against Mercer with 19 points. She also recorded eight rebounds, second on the team behind forward Cali Clark, who had 10. Per usual, guard McKenna Hofschild led the team in assists with five. She also contributed 10 points with three rebounds.

“(The Rams will) look to get back on track on the road against the University of Northern Colorado Tuesday, Nov. 29.”

In their second game of the invitational against Auburn University Nov. 26, the Rams lost in heartbreaking fashion as Auburn guard Honesty Scott-Grayson sunk a free throw in the final second of the game to win 74-73.

Auburn makes the first. Misses the second. Ball out of bounds. Our ball. We take a timeout to advance. They are going to look at the monitor for time and confirm possession.

CSU 73 // AU 74
?? // 4Q#Stalwart x #CSURams

— Colorado State Women's Basketball (@CSUWBasketball) November 27, 2022

The two teams looked very evenly matched throughout the game, which remained close from start to finish with 18 lead changes. Auburn’s record improved to 4-2 with the victory, while CSU fell to 4-2 as well.

Hofschild led the Rams in scoring, rebounding and assists against the Tigers with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

After opening the season 3-0, the Rams lost two of their last three games. They’ll look to get back on track on the road against the University of Northern Colorado Tuesday, Nov. 29. The Northern Colorado Bears are also 4-2 on the season so far, most recently defeating Adams State University 67-61 Nov. 26.

Reach Kaden Porter at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @kqporter5.