CSU Rams women’s basketball suffered a close defeat against University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Lady Rebels (63-58) on Saturday at Moby Arena. KCSU Sports Directors Euan Peart and Eliza Drotar take a closer look at the game’s most notable moments.

Going into this game:

• The UNLV Rebels were undefeated in conference play.
• Desi-Rae Young leads the Rebels team in points (357), average points per game (17.9),average rebounds per game (10.1) and average steals per game (1.6).
• Both teams have a lead average of over 12 points.
• Their first matchup of the season was a overtime loss for the Rams 91-88, a fairly high scoring game for both teams.
• These two teams have been duking it out since 1984, and the Rams lead their total series 32-23. However, the last three times they have played, the Rams have lost. CSU entered the game looking to turn that around to continue their 5 game winning streak.
• McKenna Hofschild is the Rams fan favorite player and leads in team in points (387), average points per game (21.5), average minutes per game (36.7) and free throw attempts made (85).
• The lack of rebounds was one of the causes for defeat for the Rams during their last match with the Rebels. Since then, the team has a better effort for assists and rebounds instead of just letting Hofschild be responsible for all the points.
• The Rams’ Destiny Thurman was responsible for some very high scoring games, including the match against the Wolf Pack earlier this week where she scored 29 points on her own (34.5% of the total score by Colo. State).

During the first quarter:

• The Rebels defense was tight, and so was their scoring. ULNV barley let CSU into the key or even anywhere worth 2 points per shot. The Rams were stuck making unlikely three pointers with minimal success.
• Lay up opportunities were scarce for the Rams, but even when they had a chance, they failed to take advantage.
• The Rebels were a bit lazy with their ball control and the Rams took advantage by getting points from bad rebounds and turnovers.
• The few free-throw attempts that happened had 66% completion on three shots.
• The Rebels started with the lead and it never left their possession.

During the second quarter:

• The Rams continued to be stuck in three point land with stellar defense by the Rebels. They lead in team fouls, giving them more opportunities for free points.
• Young had two personal fouls for the Rebels, continuing to lead in her team.
• The Rams finally tied the game up with about 4 minutes left in the first half before Hofschild took a shot in the paint and took the lead. The Rebels shortly tied it back up at 31 and took back the lead. With 52 seconds left in the first half, their were plentiful ties and lead changes. In the final 10 seconds, Rebels player Alyssa Brown fouled stopping the clock and not giving the Rams enough time to get more points before the buzzer sounded.
• The first half ended 36-33 UNLV.

During the third quarter:

• Despite open options, the Rams continue in their three-point-only offense. The Rams felt they had to catch-up fast, but they only caught up slower or not at all. It lead them to being less defensive and gave more scoring attempts for the Rebels.
• About halfway through the quarter, the Rams got back to their strong defense and better passing game but not to much reward. They shortened the nine point lead by a couple, but it wasn’t enough to tie.
• Kiara Jackson of the Rebels lead the team with 3 turnovers and the Rams made the most of those opportunities.

During the fourth quarter:

• The Rebels began to run away with the win in a surprisingly low scoring game. On the Lady Rebels podcast where KCSU Sports Director Euan Peart and Asst. Director Eliza Drotar predicted the final score would be in the 70s or even 80s.
• With five minutes left on the clock, the Rams looked they were running out of hope. They did keep it tight (down by 9 or less) but it was not looking like they were going to end UNLV’s undefeated run.
• There was a shot clock violation by Kiara Jackson that let the Rams catch back up into a one-two score game.
• A foul on Mean Boyd let the Rebels score the final point, putting the game out of reach for the Rams.
• CSU fought valiantly, but lost the game to UNLV 63-58.

Rams women’s basketball currently stands at 13-6 in the season. Next, they will travel to Albequerque, NM to compete against the Lobos on Jan. 26.