Kloe Froebe set the foundation with a career night, now it’s time for her to build on it.
Froebe has put some things together and flashed in games throughout the season, but hasn’t exactly been super consistent. After an incredible start to the season, Froebe hit a rough patch, struggling in her last three games.
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In those games, Froebe went just 1-of-6 from the field. Monday night she came into the game, forced the issue and asserted herself offensively. She tied career highs, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven boards, helping Colorado State women’s basketball to a 70-52 win over UTEP.
“Basketball is a game of ups and downs, and that shows it,” Froebe said. “I just had to find my rhythm again, and it’s great to have one of those games to get back into that positive scoring.”
Even with Froebe being touted as the 2024 Illinois Miss Basketball and the Preseason Mountain West Freshman of the Year, being a first-year player still has its nuances.
The game is a lot faster at the collegiate level, the women a lot more physical and the schedule more rigorous. Froebe hasn’t shied away from any of that — working hard through everything. Games like the one she had Monday night can certainly act as a springboard into playing at that next level, especially when Froebe works as hard as she does.
“That young lady holds herself to an incredible standard in everything that she does,” coach Ryun Williams said. “There are stretches where matchups are a little tougher. … I liked her mentality tonight. At the end of the day, she came out aggressive, she got to her spot, she finished with really good balance off two feet and got fouled.”
Froebe helped the Rams get out to a fast start, scoring 11 of her points in the first quarter and hitting all five of her attempts from the field. CSU scored 23 in the quarter, while holding UTEP to just five. The Miners made just one field goal at the very beginning and for more than nine minutes UTEP failed to hit a field goal, finishing the quarter just 1-of-13.
Most of CSU’s production came close to the basket. Whether UTEP went women-to-women or tried the zone, CSU got to the rim with ease and posted one of its best quarters all season long given the strength of the opponent.
“They’re a good team,” said Emma Ronsiek, who finished with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists. “I don’t know if they’re going to be scoring five points in a quarter the rest of the year. Maybe we got a little bit lucky, but I think our preparation and the way the coaches prepare us for these games and (our) scout squad is super good.”
That comeback effort started at the end of the third and extended into the beginning of the fourth. The Miners went on a 12-3 run in that stretch, albeit only getting within 15 points.
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CSU got away from what had worked for so much of the game prior to UTEP’s run. Williams wants his team to move the rock. Great ball movement leads to easy offense — something the Rams couldn’t find any of in the third shooting just 18% from the field. While it didn’t count for anything other than box score stats, come conference time, stretches like that can be the difference in winning or losing.
The Rams’ offense strayed away from that ball movement and started shooting quick shots. Williams called them one-pass jacks, and not often do they lead to productive scoring.
“We fall in love with that quick 3 way too much,” Williams said. “It didn’t bite us in the butt tonight, but I told the kids in a couple of huddles, ‘if this were a closer game, you are going to kick yourself because of your shot selection.’”
CSU is in for a tough next couple of games. The Rams will take on Georgia and Stephen F. Austin in the San Diego Classic Friday and Saturday respectively.
While the Rams won big, they certainly will be looking to do things better. While Emma and Hannah Ronsiek will remain at the forefront of the Rams’ attack, Froebe has an opportunity to continue to build on what she did Monday night. CSU will have a similar opportunity to fix their errors and hit the ground full stride come conference play.
“We just hope to keep growing our basketball team,” Williams said. “We have to play right for longer stretches. We let the game go sideways too many times tonight for my liking; we’re not going to beat the top teams in our league playing the two minute — three minute stretch where we’re not playing right. And so it’s two games to grow that and (we’re) going to need to do that.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
