Dancing again. Finally.
After coming oh so close the previous two seasons, the CSU women’s basketball team – thanks to two ultra-clutch free throws from Ellen Nystrom with 3.3 seconds remaining – rallied for a 55-54 win over Fresno State on Friday in the championship game of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.
As a result the Rams will be playing in the NCAA Tournament – the Big Dance – for the first time since 2002. They will be dancing. Finally.
The Rams, a No. 11 seed in the Bridgeport Regional, open NCAA play at 7 p.m. Saturday against No. 6 seed South Florida, the runner-up from the American Athletic Conference. The game will be played at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, and will be carried on ESPN2.
“I couldn’t be happier for a basketball team,” fourth-year CSU coach Ryun Williams said. “These kids have worked so hard to get to this spot. And they’ve wanted it so bad. And when you’re supposed to do something, I think one of tougher things to do in all of sports is to do what you’re supposed to do, and these kids did that. So I love my basketball team. I love my basketball team.”
Earning their trip to Los Angeles
It’s easy to understand why Williams loves his team. The Rams (30-1) have won their past 28 games en route to tying the record for best start in CSU history, matching the great Becky Hammon-Katie Cronin team of 1998-99.
Fittingly, the NCAA-clinching victory was anything but easy. The Rams have wriggled their way out of several tight games while establishing school and conference records with their winning streak, which has propelled them to the No. 22 national ranking.
Fresno State, which finished second in the Mountain West behind CSU and has made a habit of going to the NCAA Tournament in recent years, gave the Rams everything they wanted – and then some. The Bulldogs led by 15 points midway in the third quarter and seemed determined to once again shatter CSU’s postseason dreams.
Lots of heroes
The Rams, though, rallied behind their defense and the offense of reserve Stine Austgulen, who scored a career-best 14 points. The Rams still trailed by one when Nystrom was fouled while shooting; the conference’s player of the year calmly sank both free throws to give the Rams the trophy and the automatic NCAA berth that comes with it.
Nystrom scored just two points but set school and conference records with 16 assists. Fellow Swede Elin Gustavsson was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after averaging 16.3 points per game on 58.8 percent shooting (20 of 34) in the three tournament games.
Tough matchup
South Florida (23-9) enters the game as the favorite but Williams believes in his team.
“Once we found out who we were playing we got back to work and started preparing ourselves to win,” he said. “This group always expects to win, and that’s what I love about them.
“Yes, we are happy to be here, but now that we’re here let’s do what we’ve been doing all year and find a way to win.”
