CSU women’s basketball team shines as athletic powerhouse

Karsyn Lane, Sports Director

If you are unaware of the Colorado State University women’s basketball team, you must be living under a rock. Although I’ve previously argued that the men’s basketball team rules Moby Arena, it is obvious that the women’s team is the real champion.

After an eventful 2022-23 season, the Rams finished off tied for third in the Mountain West Conference with unforgettable achievements along the way. This time last month, the Rams were in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center sweeping the Mountain West Championship and ultimately taking third place in the semifinals against the University of Wyoming.

Ad

From the get-go, the Rams rolled their opponents regularly, shelling out 20-point victory after 20-point victory. On day one, the Rams shut down Colorado Christian University 78-47 in the exhibition game as a sneak peek at the stalwart power the women brought this year. A legend on the team, guard McKenna Hofschild averaged just over 20 points per game this season, and it sure showed.

On top of stealing the leaderboard, Hofschild racked up a hefty number of remarkable accolades this season including becoming a Nancy Lieberman finalist, Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason and Midseason Watch List, Preseason All-Mountain West Team and Mountain West Player of the Week three separate times this season.

Additionally, guard Destiny Thurman left quite an impact in her first year, claiming Newcomer of the Year. Thurman was introduced to the Rams this year alongside four other transfers and took on her role as a guard with passion. With the Rams, she recorded season-highs in points, rebounds and assists: 29, 11 and six respectively.

This isn’t it for the Rams though, as they have a promising future with continuing news on new recruits. So far, the women’s basketball team has announced three new Rams for the 2023-24 season: Ann Mary Zachariah, Jackie Carman and Sanna Ström.

Zachariah is a 6-foot-2-inch forward transferring from Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, where she averaged 15.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Carman, a 5-foot-8-inch graduate student guard from Wofford College, where she spent all five years playing, showed exceptional growth offensively, as she averaged about 15.1 points per game last season. Finally, Strom is a 6-foot guard transferring from the University of Kansas who averaged a 30% 3-point percentage.

With all that being said, the Rams are a stalwart force to be reckoned with at CSU. They’ve set the standards high for women’s sports and will continue to dominate Moby Arena for years to come.

Reach Karsyn Lane at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @karsynlane1