On a night that saw freshman Emily Neal come off the bench for a career-high 20 points, Colorado State junior guard Sara Hunter reveled in a rare retirement to the sideline before the final buzzer.
The Rams beat a Mountain West opponent other than last-place Air Force for the first time this season Thursday, and Hunter took a seat in the final minute of the 67-56 victory over San Diego State in Fort Collins.
“To finally pull out a win feels so good,” said Hunter, who contributed 19 points and two steals. “Everyone who is here has worked to build the team we have now, which is completely different from what we started with. Everything that happened is in the past, and we try to take any opportunity we can get and forget what happened and just play basketball.”
The Rams (8-18, 3-11 MWC) had countless injuries early in the season, lost four players to suspension over a prank that resulted in police contact, and saw senior Molly Nohr leave for personal reasons. Two of the suspended players, including Neal, returned, while two others, including leading scorer Kelly Jo Mullaney, left the program.
Through it all, Hunter has been the foundation. This was only the third time in 12 outings that she didn’t play 40 minutes.
While CSU had no answer for San Diego State’s sheer quickness and athleticism, Aztecs coach Beth Burns noted, “We couldn’t score.”
The Aztecs were silent for a 6 1/2-minute stretch in the first half, went 2-of-13 from the floor in the first eight minutes of the game and fell victim to the altitude late.
Although San Diego State has yet to win a road game in the MWC, the Aztecs (12-12, 5-8) are the league’s most improved team after failing to win a conference game a year ago. SDSU is tied for sixth in the league and, unlike eighth-place CSU, will avoid the MWC Tournament play-in game. – Natalie Meisler
WYOMING 61, TCU 50 at Fort Worth, Texas: Wyoming snapped a two-game losing streak and handed Texas Christian its first home loss of the season. Freshman Aubrey Vandiver led the Cowgirls (17-8, 8-5 MWC) with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Jodi Bolderjack added 19 points.
UTAH 60, AIR FORCE 52 at Air Force Academy: Utah opened the game with a 3-pointer and never trailed in handing Air Force a loss in its final home game of the season at Clune Arena. Air Force (5-20, 1-13) shot 29 percent from the floor in the first half and was led by Alecia Steele’s team-high 13 points.
MONTANA STATE 77, NORTHERN COLORADO 49 at Greeley: Montana State closed the first half on a 31-9 run and earned a Big Sky win. Whitley Cox had 18 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for her first double-double of the season in leading the Bears (5-21, 2-11). Montana State (12-14, 7-7) led by 16 at halftime.
Men
Monroe, La. – After a first half that saw eight lead changes, Louisiana-Monroe pulled away from Denver in the second half for an 87-51 Sun Belt Conference victory Thursday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Denver (4-24) finished its regular season in last place in the SBC. Monroe (17-12) clinched a share of the SBC Western Division title.
Alex Cox led the Pioneers with 11 points and Antonio Porch added 10.
Tony Hooper scored a game-high 29 points for the Warhawks.
