As Boise State tied the score in the third quarter, Colorado State women’s basketball had no choice but to shut it down. 

CSU fought hard to prevail on Tuesday, maintaining a lead with every quarter and eventually winning the game 79-70. While BSU players focused on preventing team leader Emma Ronsiek from playing her best game, other players got to prove their place in Moby Arena with one name specifically coming to mind: Jadyn Fife. 

Although Fife has played every game, she only averages about nine minutes. But after lighting a spark for her team, coach Ryun Williams would be making a mistake by taking her off the court. A testament to that was her plus-minus category which came out to 18 and was practically double — besides Hannah Simental — what anyone else achieved. 

“Honestly, when I hit my first pull up I had a fire in me,” Fife said. “It was like: this is it, this is going to be a good one.”

Heading into the game, CSU knew the Broncos would give them a run for their money. The BSU roster had been working together for years, with only two of the 10 players on the court younger than juniors. Williams described it as seeming “like we guarded them for eight years here.”

Not only have the Broncos had more time to build chemistry as a team, but the players are experienced anywhere on the court, making it incredibly difficult for its opponent to predict their next move. 

“The thing that our team does is they really respond,” Williams said. “They take pride in guarding. We switched a little more in that second half, which I think kept the ball in front of us a little more. They didn’t get into that pull-up gain. So nice adjustment by the ladies.”

But Fife was not the only one who got to shine on the court. Despite Hannah Ronsiek having a tough past couple of games — not being able to score a single shot against San Diego State or New Mexico — this was a redemption night for her. 

Hannah Ronsiek carried a clean stat sheet against BSU. Not only did she make the most 3’s for CSU at three, but got the second most points for the team at 15 and the most assists for the team at five. Compared to the last two games, Hannah Ronsiek appears to be finding her groove again. 

“I always feel like each game is an opportunity,” Hannah Ronsiek said. “Especially this one was kind of a get-back game because I did really struggle these last two games offensively. So I think just to be able to see the ball going in the first quarter really helped me to have a better game and execute offensively.”

The last piece of the well-executed puzzle that was CSU: Simental. Like Fife and Ronsiek, Simental was aggressive and kept the ball in her possession, allowing her to score 18 points — the most of any Ram. 

And instead of just seeing Simental pack all the heat on the court once she is off the bench, audience members were able to see her not only end the game but be part of the starting lineup too. 

“(Simental) is just a natural-born leader,” Williams said. “She’s easy to communicate with, and she can communicate with anybody on the team. She knows what’s going on (and) doesn’t get rattled. So the poise that she plays with has been really helpful the last couple games.”

With all these players executing their proper roles, although evident, it was hard for CSU’s Achilles heel to be hit: scoring the ball. By the end of the first half, CSU was barely pulling ahead by four points, Williams reverting to the fact that the team needed to outscore the Broncos in case they were not able to stop it. 

But with a strong performance from each of the green and gold players who stepped on the court — five of the eight players who competed hit double digits in points — the Rams were going to rewrite the wrong that happened against UNM. 

“I thought the kids really responded and played a really good game offensively for four quarters,” Williams said. “Defensively, I thought we really settled in the second half and really made things difficult — (we) valued the ball. I don’t think our team understands how good a win that is. … That Boise State team, they’re old. They put a lot of shooters coming off those ball screens.”

Although BSU kept it close, it was the win that the Rams needed. If they had lost tonight, that would have been two in a row — not a great place to be before the Border War. But as Williams said, the players paid attention to detail and that is how they were able to take the game.

Coming off this win, the Rams will go on to face Wyoming in an away game. If they crumble, causing key players to not make baskets, it could feel like CSU is back to square one all over again. Yet if the team plays as smart as they did tonight there is a bright future ahead.

“There’s a lot of ways to win a basketball game,” Williams said. “And we found enough ways tonight.”

Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @sophgwebb.