Let’s address the elephant in the room: Mckenna Hofschild scored her 2000th career point in the 69-56 victory Wednesday night over Fresno State. She solidified her name with only two other CSU basketball players, former women’s player Becky Hammon and current men’s player Isaiah Stevens. The pressure of knowing only four points stood between Hofschild and the milestone stuck in her mind during the leadup of the game.
“I think I try to keep it the same, I find if I think about it too much I don’t play to my best abilities,” Hofschild said. “So, I just try and go in – let the game come to me, be a good teammate, be a good leader and just know that when the time’s right it’ll find me and I’ll get it done. But try not to think too much and just let it happen.”
Hofschild in many instances battled against the Bulldog’s defense. However, she finished the night with her 17th double-double this season, with 16 points on 6-of-17 and 11 assists. Coach Ryun Williams acknowledged the grit that Hofschild showed despite the challenges that a tough team like Fresno threw her way.
“She just always seems to figure things out in these games. When you need a big play, a big assist, she seems to always find it. So proud of her, she’s obviously a special one,” Williams said.
Fresno State started off cold in the first quarter, trailing 17-9. Colorado State maintained their lead into the second half with Marta Leimane providing the Rams with excellent numbers on offense, totaling 11 points on 4-of-5 with nine of which from beyond the arc.
The historic night from Hofschild is not to overshadow Sydney Mech’s outstanding offensive performance. 19 points on 8-of-12, knocking down all three of her 3-pointers filled the stat sheet in just 27 minutes. Not to mention the four blocks she had despite running into foul trouble. After three years of making efforts to increase production on offense, Mech has finished in double figures the last seven of nine games.
“It’s time to step up and help my teammates, they’ve been saying that. Yeah, defensively I’ve always been helpful in that way but it’s like how else can I help my team? It’s just being confident enough to make those shots,” Mech said.
Williams recognizes the experience that Mech brings to the team. When the Rams need something done on both sides of the floor, Mech is going to do it. Playing college basketball since 2018, Mech has evolved into the greatest version of herself in her final season.
“She is so important. I think you see a young lady that’s just making the most out of every opportunity in her final year -not just the offense,” Williams said, “she guards their best player every single night. We ask her to rebound, we ask her to do so much, so to get this production, it just tells me that young lady is on a mission.”
The second half was met with the challenge of Fresno State battling back to within 10 points. They pressured and trapped in the full court, and the Rams collected 10 turnovers by the final buzzer. Hofschild was repeatedly double teamed, forcing players like Mech to put up 14 of her 19 points in the second half.
“It was a combination of you want to work a little clock, yet they were still trying to be aggressive defensively. We just found enough, our kids were wanting to go, go, go,” Williams said, “They’re trying to press us, why? To get us to shoot fast, and that’s not what we want to do. We just had to find that combination of when to go and when not to go.”
Williams, as he’s described games before, called the game “a good win.” The Ram’s victory over the bulldogs ranks them currently 15-7 overall, 6-5 in the Mountain West. The Bulldogs fall to 11-13 (4-7 MW).
After a two-game home stand, the Rams head to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take on the Lobos February 10 at 12 p.m. The Lobos are currently 16-8, with a 7-4 record in conference play.
When asked jokingly who the best point guard at CSU is, Williams simply said,
“That’s a no-brainer, it’s number 4.”