The Colorado State women’s basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016, bidding adieu to the Mountain West Conference in style.
CSU defeated Air Force 56-42 Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas to claim its first Mountain West tournament championship in 10 years, winning its last event as part of the league before moving to the Pac-12 next year.
The Rams were able to pull away in the final minutes of a tight game that featured six ties and five lead changes. It was the third win of the season for CSU over Air Force — two teams just down Interstate 25 from each other but who were meeting for the last time in the MWC.
“I liked how they just went for it,” CSU head coach Ryun Williams said after the game. “We got off to a really good start, and then Air Force obviously had different plans. They had an incredible tournament and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s always a grind when you play Air Force.
“It’s a rival game for them, for us. So, we knew we were going to have to grind this victory out and to hold them to 42, that’s how we do it at Colorado State.”
Air Force reached the championship game as the No. 9 seed. The Falcons defeated top seed San Diego State on Sunday and then No. 5 Boise State in the semifinals on Monday to advance to their first-ever tournament title game. The No. 3 seed Rams, who improved to 27-7 this season, defeated No. 2 seed UNLV in the other semifinal.
In the championship matchup, CSU jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game, but the Falcons chipped away and ultimately trailed just 17-14 at the end of the period. The teams traded the lead multiple times in the second period, and a layup by Brooke Carlson with seven seconds left before halftime tied the game at 26 at the break.
After a sluggish third quarter in which the Rams outscored the Falcons 8-6 to take a 34-32 lead into the final period, CSU was able to create some breathing room late in the game.
With 7:13 remaining, the Falcons made a pair of free throws to cut the CSU lead to 36-35. The Rams answered with a 9-0 run to go ahead 45-35 with 2:09 left.
Air Force didn’t get closer than seven points after that.
Carlson led the Rams with 17 points. Madelyn Bragg added 15. Both were named to the all-tournament team. CSU played without Mountain West newcomer of the year Lexus Bargesser, who was injured in the semifinal victory over UNLV.
Williams said after the game that Carlson and Bragg showed a lot of heart and toughness along with timely shot-making.
“There was not much rhythm offensively, and Air Force had a lot to do with that,” Williams said. “So, when the opportunities presented themselves, especially in the fourth quarter, those kids delivered. That’s how this team has done it. We’ve been very opportunistic in the fourth quarter.”
CSU will find out when and where it will open the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Brackets are scheduled to be released at 6 p.m.
