Colorado State University Women’s Basketball
Lincoln's Kloe Froebe impressive in Rams exhibition game

 

[October 29, 2024] 

Lincoln’s very own Kloe Froebe, wearing the no. 1 jersey for the Colorado State Rams, had an impressive college debut at Moby Arena in Fort Collins on Tuesday night as the Rams took on the Regis University Rangers from Denver in an exhibition matchup.

Froebe checked into the game with 5:15 showing on the clock in the first period. She ran to the scorer’s table waiting for a dead ball along with her teammate, Jadyn Fife, who wears the no. 5 jersey.

After Froebe hit the court on defense, the Rams stole the ball and were off and running, with Hannah Simental scoring a layup on the fastbreak. Froebe did not have a hand in that play, but after a missed shot by the Rangers in the next possession, she was quick to get a defensive rebound, her first touch of the game ball.

That was followed by her first basket of her college career.

Here’s how those first two points came to be:

Froebe pulled down the board, tossed the ball to Simental, who after bringing the ball up the court, returned the pass to Froebe. Froebe collected the pass on the wing and did what Lincoln fans saw her do her entire life: she took the ball to the hoop and scored in a matter of seconds.

Kloe Froebe - she drives, she spins, she causes her defender to miss a step and after four quick dribbles, she kisses that ball off the glass and in for two points!

From the time she touched the ball on offense til the time she scored, it was literally about three seconds. Her layup in the paint fell through the net at the 4:28 mark and it gave the Rams an 8-5 lead in the first period.

At the end of the first period the Rangers led the Rams 13-10.

Froebe drove the lane for a layup in the second period, scoring at the 4:15 mark and making the score 20-18, with CSU trailing.

The Rams would trail the Rangers 25-24 at the half.

Froebe dropped in two more baskets in the third period.

Her first layup early in the third period gave her team a 26-25 lead. Later in the third period she kept her team on top 36-32 with another layup.

The third period ended with the Rams finally on top 43-37.

In the fourth period, over a stretch of three minutes, Froebe had two more layups and a free throw. Her five points contributed to the Rams keeping the lead and eventually stretching it to a 68-57 win.

It was in the final period that Froebe went to the free throw line and missed the first one and sank the second one. The first free throw fell short and the entire west side of Lincoln could probably hear “Use your legs!” coming from the Froebe house. Can’t you just picture Kari yelling at her phone?!

Froebe also picked up her first foul in the fourth period, but not until the 3:37 mark. However, it was a shooting foul and the Rangers player was shooting a three. That player went on to make all three free throws and by this time the folks on the east side of Lincoln could probably hear both Kent and Kari Froebe hollering.

There had to be plenty of hooping and hollering all over Lincoln as fans could listen to the game on the Varsity Network, audio only for the exhibition game.

Moving forward to the regular season opener on Monday, November 4, 2024 fans can download the Varsity Network App or the Mountain West App and watch the games for free. No doubt a lot of fans from the 217 will be tuning in.

As for the postgame interview with Rams coach Ryun Williams, he was quick to address the team’s rough first half, scoring only 24 points, and he was not overly excited about the 31 of 71 shots made from the field. The team FG% was 44 percent and the team shot 23 percent from 3-point range. The Rams made a three in each of the third and fourth periods. So lots of room for improvement.

However, Lincoln fans, the first and only player Coach Williams talked about in the postgame interview was Kloe Froebe. He mentioned that for a 5’8 guard she has “inner strength” and a “strong mind and strong body.”

He addressed Kloe’s mentality that Railer Nation and the fans at West Lincoln Broadwell have been familiar with all along and that is “I want the ball more than you do!”

Williams also said, “Kloe is somebody who’s gonna be a tremendous Ram.”

“She’s a winner,” Williams concluded. “She knows how to win.”

Our new favorite no. 1 Ram was then the only player interviewed on the postgame show. She is, of course, the preseason pick to be the Freshman of the Year in the Mountain West Conference. She’s Koko to her family and she’s Kloe to the rest of us.

When the interviewer noted immediately that Froebe really seemed to be aggressive going after the ball, she said that growing up she was always rebounding for her older siblings.

It was then mentioned that she played a ton of minutes on the court as a freshman in the exhibition game and she offered, “It was an amazing feeling. It was nice to get out there and play a real game.”

Froebe also said, “I’m really looking forward to the next four years playing here.”

She also talked about her new teammates and the bond that they are forming. She mentioned how competitive everyone is on the team.

Finally Froebe said, “We don’t wanna lose.”

Does that sound familiar to the fans of the Lady Wolverines and the Lady Railers?!

Can’t you just picture the dimples here now, as Froebe probably ended the interview with a smile!

Froebe’s final stat line for the game:

13 points
7 rebounds
6-10 FG
0-1 3FG
1-2 FT
2 steals
1 assist
1 personal foul
29 minutes on the court

Final score

Rangers 57
Rams 68

Colorado State scoring

Emma Ronsiek 17 and 11 rebounds
Kloe Froebe 13
Marta Leimane 12
Hannah Simental 9
Brooke Carlson 8 (Batavia IL standout)
Hannah Ronsiek 5
Joseana Vaz 2
Kaylee Headrick 2

[Teena Lowery]