- Avery Hjelmstad scored 22 points leading Utah to a 70-58 victory.
- Utah hit 13 three-pointers with Hjelmstad making five against Colorado State.
- Utah faces Boise State at home on Dec. 10 after their road win.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Facing a 3-point deficit late in the third quarter, freshman Avery Hjelmstad spotted up in the corner and drained a quick 3-pointer to tie up the game against Colorado State.
On the ensuing Utah possession, Hjelmstad hit a transition 3-pointer to reclaim a Utah lead it had for much of the game. Maty Wilke and Grace Foster then added triples of their own on back-to-back possessions to build upon the lead to end the quarter.
But Hjelmstad wasn't done there and hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minute of the final quarter to give the road Utes a 14-point lead and forcing Colorado State into a timeout.
The damage was already done, though, and Utah held serve over the final nine minutes of action to leave Fort Collins with a 70-58 win over the Rams, who suffer just their second loss of the young season.
Colorado State (7-2) cut the double-digit lead to as low as 8 late in the fourth quarter, but the Rams could never get any closer.
Hjelmstad finished the night as Utah's leading scorer with 22 points, including going 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and two rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Of her 83 points scored this season, 51 have come in the fourth quarter, where she is shooting 61.4% in the final frame.
The freshman's accuracy from distance (and all around) was just part of Utah's 13 total 3-pointers on the night on 25 attempts. Wilke added three 3-pointers, and Reese Ross and LA Sneed added a pair of triples of their own.
Sneed, who got her first start Thursday night, finished with 16 points, six assists and one rebound to bolster Gavin Petersen's freshman class. Ross added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win.
Ross opened up the game with a 3-pointer to start the scoring for Utah, who built up as much as a 7-point lead before Colorado State made it a one-possession game. The two teams traded buckets for much of the night, with the Rams periodically taking as much as a 3-point lead.
But Utah (6-3) never gave in, even when the team went on a three-minute stretch without a bucket from the field.
Colorado State had three players finish in double-digit scoring, with Lexus Bargesser leading the team with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while supplying two assists, as well.
Hannah Ronsiek hit three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points and five rebounds, while Brooke Carlson added an additional 10 points, three assists and two rebounds in the first home loss of the season for the Rams.
Utah gets a week off before returning to action at home against another Mountain West opponent in Boise State on Dec. 10 (7 p.m. MST).
