Colorado State’s season came to an end Friday night in Norman, Oklahoma, but the Rams went down fighting.
Despite leading for much of its Women’s NCAA Tournament first-round game against No. 5 Michigan State, No. 12 seed CSU gave up the lead in the fourth quarter and was a 3-pointer away from sending the contest to overtime. That shot missed, however, and the Rams lost, 65-62.
“A March Madness basketball game,” CSU head coach Ryun Williams said. “Two teams really battling each other out there, and congrats to Michigan State. I thought they played a tough fourth quarter, but I couldn’t be more proud of my squad. Holy cow, did we battle.
“They did everything that we asked them to do tonight. Just a few plays here or there and we’re probably having a different conversation. These ladies will forever be champions, and they played like it tonight, no doubt about it.”
CSU finished its season at 27-8. The Rams won the Mountain West Conference tournament and earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that went along with it.
Mostly injury-free throughout the season, they played Friday night’s game without Lexus Bargesser, the Mountain West newcomer of the year and the team’s leading scorer.
Against the Spartans, Brooke Carlson stepped up and led the Rams with 26 points — 13 coming in the fourth quarter. Kloe Froebe added 12. Hannah Ronsiek and Madelyn Bragg each had eight.
“Brooke is a bulldog,” Williams said of the sophomore Carlson. “That young lady, she is a rock star. She knew much more was going to be required from her and she delivered. She captured the moment and she delivered. The basketball world got to see Brooke and she’s just getting started. Trust me, that young lady is just getting started.”
In Friday night’s game, the teams were tied at 47 going into the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer by Michigan State’s Jalyn Brown with 9:01 remaining gave the Spartans a 52-49 lead and the Rams never led again.
Michigan State led 65-59 with 41 seconds remaining and Carlson made a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left. After the Spartans turned the ball over on a shot clock violation, the Rams had one more shot, but Ronsiek’s potential game-tying 3-pointer missed.
CSU played even with the Spartans for the first 30 minutes. The Rams jumped out to a 9-3 lead after the game’s first three minutes, but the Spartans went on a run and tied the game at 13 with just under two minutes left in the period. Michigan State then scored the final three points of the opening quarter to take a 16-13 lead into the second period.
After the Spartans scored the first two points of the second quarter to go ahead 18-13, the Rams went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-18 lead after a layup by Marta Leimane with 7:14 remaining. With 2:41 on the first-half clock, Ronsiek’s 3-pointer gave CSU a 25-24 lead and the Rams took a 29-27 lead into halftime.
The Rams never trailed in the third quarter either. They took a 47-42 lead after a layup by Carlson with 1:49 left. However, the Spartans ended the quarter with a 5-0 run and the teams went to the final frame tied at 47.
Michigan State then outscored CSU 18-15 in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, the Rams were excited to represent their program and their school on a national stage.
“I know all of the Rams here and back home believed in us,” Ronsiek said. “We were definitely an underdog, and I think we went out and showed that we can compete with these teams on any given night. I’m just super proud of our basketball team and the way we played tonight and throughout the season.”
