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Despite a career-high 17 points off the bench from Colorado State sophomore Callie Kaiser, the Rams fell to the 18th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes, 74-56, on Thursday night from the Coors Events Center.
Thursday night’s matchup marked the Rams’ (5-4) third game played against a current AP top-20 opponent on the road in 2016-17, the most of any team in the nation to this point in the season. The Rams shot an impressive 60.9 percent (13-of-24) in the first half, but struggled to control turnovers (11). CSU got its turnovers under control in the second half (4), but only shot 9-of-31 (29 percent) over that span and were unable to catch up to the Buffaloes (9-0). CSU outshot CU for the game, 42.6 percent to 38.8 percent.
“We’ve all seen those kids when big games come around – they want to show off a little bit. For us tonight, it was Callie Kaiser,” Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams said postgame. “She was big-time. This stage was important to her, and it wasn’t too big for her. I was really pleased with her performance, especially after playing only four minutes against Northern Colorado. That shows a great, great mental toughness. She stayed prepared and when she got her call, she made the most of it.”
Kaiser shot 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) en route to her career-best scoring night and added a pair of assists and steals. CSU senior Elin Gustavsson recorded 12 points with five rebounds, while senior Ellen Nystrom added 10 points with seven rebounds and five assists. CU’s individual standout was Kennedy Leonard, who scored 31 points with seven assists.
The Rams only trailed by four at 25-21 after one of the highest-scoring quarters of the season, but opened the second quarter with four turnovers in two minutes to fall into a 31-21 hole. The Rams shot 60.9 percent for the first half (14-of-23) and cut the deficit down to three at 37-34 with two minutes left in the first half, but eventually trailed at halftime, 43-36.
CSU struggled over a crucial first five minutes of the third quarter, as the Rams shot just 1-of-9 during a 7-0 CU run. The Rams ultimately shot 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) in that period and trailed by 12 heading to the fourth quarter. CSU improved to 5-of-13 (34.8 percent) shooting in the final period, but were unable to make up the deficit.
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