FORT COLLINS — The Colorado State women’s basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, and the Rams are packing their dancing shoes for a trip to Norman, Oklahoma.
CSU earned a No.12 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament and will face No. 5 Michigan State in the first round in Norman on Friday.
At a watch party at Canvas Stadium on Sunday evening, the Rams learned their fate and cheered along with their head coach when the school showed up in the bracket.
“Colorado State, on a national stage, thatap where we belong,” CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. “And for these young women to be representing this university, there’s nothing better than that. Their competitive makeup is right where it needs to be for an NCAA Tournament,”
The Rams earned a spot in the 68-team field by of the Mountain West Conference tournament.
They have been waiting since winning that title Wednesday night to learn their tournament fate. Even on Sunday, the Rams’ section of the bracket was one of the last to be revealed.
“I’ve been on a high a little bit since the championship and just kind of taking that all in and not looking too far into the future,” CSU senior Hannah Ronsiek said. “But now, I think itap time to look onto the next team.
“I’ve wanted to do this for four years. Obviously, this is the goal, but I’m just super happy that we could get it done in my last year.”
This will be CSU’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016, which was also the last time the Rams won the MWC tourney.
It will be CSU’s seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second under Williams. The Rams are 5-6 in the tournament, with their last victory dating back to 2001.
The farthest CSU has advanced in the tournament is the Sweet 16. That occurred in 1999 when the Rams were led by Becky Hammon and Katie Cronin.
CSU is 22-7 on the season. The Rams went 15-5 in conference play and won three games in three days to win the league tournament, defeating Grand Canyon 61-59, UNLV 66-59, and then Air Force in the championship game.
The players and Williams believe what they did in Las Vegas earned them enough respect to earn the 12 seed they received.
“It was super overwhelming to know that they see our great determination, and they see how hard we work and just to gain that No. 12 seed is really promising for us,” CSU sophomore Kloe Froebe said.
The Rams have been led this season by senior Lexus Bargesser. The Mountain West newcomer of the year averaged 15.2 points per game for CSU but was injured in the conference semifinal game against UNLV and did not play in the championship game.
Sophomore Brooke Carlson averages 11.3 points per game and Froebe is averaging 10.7. Froebe is also the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 6.8 per contest.
If the Rams win their first-round game, they will face either host Oklahoma or Idaho in the second round.
