Pressure comes from underestimation.
Coming off two dominant victories, Colorado State women’s basketball was stunned by a quick, assertive Northern Arizona Saturday in Moby Arena. Fighting their way back most of the game, the Rams kept the game within reach until the last few possessions, but ultimately fell 84-80.
Ad
The scoring consistency wasn’t there; the defense wasn’t quite tight enough. CSU would like to have the game back, but it was a taste of what could come in the future.
“It’s nothing that we’re not going to see the rest of the year,” graduate student Emma Ronsiek said. “We’re going to play some teams with really quick guards, and we just have to really lock down on what we’re doing defensively.”
Interestingly enough, defense was a bright spot in CSU’s past couple matches. Things were different Saturday, though, as the Rams gave up more points that night than they had in the last two games combined. The Lumberjacks proved to be more nimble than CSU anticipated.
“I think what got on us that entire game was that first half,” Ronsiek said. “I think if we would have really came out a little bit better prepared, and I think that was just on us not fully grasping how quick that they were going to be and how much they wanted to push the ball.”
It wasn’t that the Lumberjacks were more efficient in 3-pointers or down low, they were simply more aggressive.
NAU actually trailed in all major statistical categories except for five: field goals made (by one), rebounds, second chance points, fast break points and steals. Quickness and better spacing led to more overall opportunities and better control of the ball. The Lumberjacks led for over 33 minutes compared to CSU’s three.
CSU’s brief reprieve started to form off a contested Kloe Froebe 3-pointer, which was followed by a Marta Leimane block to the end of the first half.
From there, it was a matter of adjusting.
“I mean, we came out of that third quarter and we wanted Emma right in front of the basket, and we did that, and then they adjusted, and we got some kick-outs,” coach Ryun Williams said.
Ad
Ronsiek has been the go-to catalyst for CSU early in the season. At multiple points, it looked like a takeover game for the graduate star. Getting her involved early in the third led to an invigorated Ram offense.
CSU then went on a seven possession scoring streak that also included a steal and a block. With a 4-point lead, things looked good for just a moment.
Unfortunately, closing out proved harder once NAU keyed in on Ronsiek.
“I thought we got her established early, kind of in that mid post, and then she started spraying it a little bit,” Williams said. “Yeah, she’s a good player, but we’ve got to have other kids step up.”
Ronsiek’s 22 attempts made up over a third of the entire team’s shots with the next closest at 12. The skilled forward put in work in the post, but shot a lackluster 2-of-9 from beyond the arc — something reflective of the team as a whole.
“You know, we’ve just got some atrocious 3-point percentages right now,” Williams said. “If you just look at our overall stats — (the) kids that are soaking up a fair amount of minutes. … At some point we’re going to improve that. I mean, they’re good shooters, but right now, it caught up to us tonight.”
Without any true deep range weapons, it was a matter of staying disciplined and being stronger to win the game, which CSU failed to do.
“We have to be just as tough without fouling,” senior Sanna Ström said. “And we got in some foul trouble there in the second half, which causes some important points. So, yeah, we have to be tough without fouling, and that’s something we have to work on.”
NAU just closed out better than the Rams.
What could’ve been a game-tying shot from Leimane near the end of the fourth quarter turned into a disappointing final stretch. CSU almost made a comeback and showed some efficiency during the game, but it wasn’t an effort on par with expectations.
“Give them credit, but I definitely think we’re the better team, and we didn’t play like it tonight,” Ronsiek said. “So that just makes (it) a little bit more frustrating. But I also think a game like that teaches us a lot, so I guess there’s a silver lining at the end of it, but maybe not right now.”
Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @michaelfhovey.
