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Colorado State senior guard Ellen Nystrom passed Becky Hammon for the most assists all-time at CSU and made the game-winning jump shot in the final seconds of overtime to lift the Rams past the Fresno State Bulldogs, 66-64, from the Save Mart Center.
Nystrom finished the game with six assists to reach 540 assists for her career, as her fifth of the game pushed her past Hammon (538). Nystrom added a team-high 18 points and six rebounds to her final stat line. The Lulea, Sweden native’s jumper with two seconds left in overtime gave the Rams their first win in Fresno, Calif. since 1997.
Senior forward Elin Gustavsson posted her fifth double-double of the season, recording 17 points with 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Myanne Hamm scored 12 points, while junior guard Stine Austgulen finished with 11 points with six rebounds.
The Rams (19-6, 11-2 MW) had trailed the entirety of the game after falling into a 20-10 hole after the first quarter. The Rams continued to chip away at the lead, trailing by seven at halftime and five after the third quarter. The Rams flirted with tying the game or taking the lead throughout the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to one at the 3:38 mark. Ultimately the five-point advantage held until the final minute of regulation.
Fresno State’s Candice White made a jumper for Fresno State to give the Bulldogs a 59-54 lead with 53 seconds to go. On the other end, Nystrom responded with a layup to draw the Rams within three with 45 seconds to go. Fresno State called timeout after Nystrom’s basket, and was able to get the ball inside to Preseason All-Mountain West center Bego Faz Davalos. Gustavsson blocked Faz Davalos’ attempt, and the Rams got the ball back in the final seconds of regulation. Hamm made the game-tying three with nine seconds to play, and the Rams forced a Fresno State miss from the three-point arc at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.
The Rams first led at the beginning of the overtime period, when the Rams opened the decisive period with four points on a Hamm jumper and two Gustavsson free throws. The lead remained in the Rams’ favor for nearly three minutes, but Faz Davalos converted on a free throw and White made two baskets to take the lead back.
Trailing 64-63, junior guard Hannah Tvrdy and Hamm combined on the offensive and defensive ends to set up Nystrom’s heroics. Tvrdy converted on one of two free throw attempts to tie the game before Hamm forced a jump ball to give the Rams the ball back with 11 seconds to play. On the final possession, Nystrom rose up over Faz Davalos from the free throw line and sunk the decisive jumper to give CSU a 66-64 win.
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