FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The stress was already on when Emma Ronsiek transferred from Creighton to Colorado State as a graduate scholar. As soon as she arrived with the Rams, pundits tagged her because the Mountain West Co-Preseason Participant of the Yr and Preseason Newcomer of the Yr. Additionally, she was named as a member of the Becky Hammon Mid-Main Participant of the Yr Watch Checklist, amongst different honors.
Nonetheless, regardless of the excessive expectations, Ronsiek has blended in with a Rams roster full of contemporary faces and excessive hopes for the upcoming Mountain West schedule.
Judging by Monday evening’s 70-52 domination of UTEP, it is easy to see why there’s pleasure in Fort Collins as the vacations strategy.
“It is a good win,” CSU head coach Ryun Williams mentioned. “Coming off finals week, typically it is a robust week for these girls. Their focus is within the classroom and follow time is shorter, so I used to be happy with how they got here out of the gates and obtained this factor began.”
Amongst these newcomers making a distinction for the Rams is freshman Kloe Froebe, who had 11 of CSU’s 23 first-quarter factors because the hosts raced to a 23-5 edge, holding UTEP to only one discipline objective within the opening stanza because the Miners shot simply 1-for-13, together with 0-for-7 from three-point vary.
“I believe it was simply our preparation for this recreation,” mentioned Froebe, who tied a season-high with 15 factors. “We activate of one another, and that is what led us in that first quarter. When one particular person begins flattening pictures, I believe it’s sort of a domino impact.”
Coming off a house win over Gonzaga the place the Rams trailed by 20 factors at intermission, CSU is now 8-3 on the season in opposition to a excessive stage of competitors.
“Our schedule has been actually troublesome,” Williams mentioned forward of the Rams enjoying in a vacation event in San Diego and going through SEC member Georgia within the opening recreation. “This has been as troublesome of a schedule as we’ve had right here shortly. To shut it out with challenges will assist get us into convention play.”
CSU and UTEP performed one another evenly the remainder of the way in which, with the Rams capturing 5-for-22 within the second half because the offense typically struggled. Nonetheless, Ronsiek believes the Rams are displaying promise even when the outcome within the second is not lovely.
“I really feel like we’ve a stage of seniority by way of all grades,” mentioned Ronsiek, who completed with 13 factors. “I would not say that our freshman and sophomores are wanting as much as the seniors and graduate transfers.
“I believe our expertise and management expertise are even all through the board … I believe all of us have actually good management attributes that may assist every class or assist every teammate who’s going to be within the recreation.”
For a Rams crew hoping to hold the momentum into league play with one of many Mountain West’s stars on its roster, that is excellent news for a crew trying to get again to the NCAA Event for the primary time because the 2015-16 marketing campaign.