LAS VEGAS — It’s said that beating a team three times in a season is difficult to do. It’s nearly impossible when your shooting is cold as ice, as Colorado State’s was Wednesday.
Shot, miss. Shot, miss. Shot, miss.
When the dust settled, the third-seeded Rams had hit just 35 percent from the field, and that didn’t get the job done in a 68-63 loss to sixth-seeded Boise State in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals.
The loss ends the season for the 13-17 Rams, who made only eight shots in the second half. They were 8-of-28 from the field in the second half.
And yet, even through major shooting struggles, CSU was able to maintain a small lead during the second half.
But that ended, and with just under six minutes left a steal and layup by Keiahnna Engle gave Boise State its largest lead of the game, a five-point cushion at 58-53. The Broncos stretched that to 60-53 before CSU countered.
But the Broncos had the answers down the stretch.
Lauren Lenhardt took control, mostly against CSU’s zone defense. She scored 10 of her 18 points in the second half, and added seven rebounds in the game.
Colorado State was led by 15 points and 10 rebounds from Hayley Thompson.
In the first half it appeared CSU would be able to do enough to pull through.
A 12-3 run took CSU from a 9-7 deficit to a 19-12 lead, its biggest of the half. But the Broncos fought back. They took a 28-27 lead with just under three minutes left in the half before settling in down two at halftime.
