FORT COLLINS — Now, that was a rivalry game.

Ellen Nystrom made not one, but two go-ahead baskets in the final 14 seconds to send her Colorado State women’s basketball team to a thrilling 64-63 win over in-state rival Colorado on Wednesday night at Moby Arena.

Nystrom struggled to find her shooting touch for much of the night, but the junior guard was absolutely clutch in the final minute, making an off-balance running layup with 14 seconds left to give the Rams (6-1) a one-point lead after they had let a 10-point second-half advantage slip.

That wasn’t enough, though.

CU freshman guard Kennedy Leonard answered right back with a scooping layin at the other end with 3.6 seconds on the clock to put the Buffs (3-3) back on top.

But there was no way the Rams were losing this one, as Nystrom proclaimed afterward.

Following a timeout, the Rams were able to advance the ball to half court thanks to new rules implemented in women’s college basketball this season.

Receiving an inbounds pass from Emilie Hesseldal, Nystrom turned and calmly drained a short-corner jumper, hitting nothing but net with just 1.7 seconds left.

Leonard heaved the ensuing inbounds all the way to the other end of the court toward teammate Jamee Swan, but Nystrom (who else?) was there to knock it away, sending the Rams into a frenzied celebration after beating the Buffs for the first time since 2009.

Nystrom may have hit the two most memorable shots for her team all night in a game that won’t soon be forgotten, but she was quick to point out the win was about more than just those final frantic moments.

“It just felt like we were fighting the whole game. I didn’t feel like it was the last shot that made the win. It was the whole game, the whole team, we were just fighting for each other,” said Nystrom, who was just 2-of-11 shooting before making those final two buckets to finish with 14 points. “We wanted this win so bad, so we went and took it from them.”

The win snapped a five-game losing streak in the series for CSU, marking the first over CU in four tries for coach Ryun Williams and his staff.

“We have 29 other games on our schedule, and they are all really big games. This one is just more fun than the others, I think,” he said. “I think it just shows in our four years we’ve gotten better.”

For the third time in as many years, Elin Gustavsson went off against the Buffs. The junior forward led all players with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with a team-best seven rebounds. That followed a 21-point performance against CU as a freshman and a career-best 28-point game against the Buffs last year, a double-overtime loss in Boulder.

“Can we play CU every time, please?” Gustavsson said jokingly. “They just bring something out of me.”

The Rams also saw 11 points from Jamie Patrick and eight off the bench from Alana Arias — all of which CSU needed on a night its leading scorer coming in, Keyora Wharry, was held scoreless in 12 minutes before fouling out.

Leonard led the Buffs with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Swan finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in just 17 minutes as she was limited all game with foul trouble.

The win not only snapped the Rams’ skid in the series, it also gave the program its best start to a season through seven games since 2001-02.

“Obviously it’s fun to beat a rival school,” Williams said. “I think this is a big game for our kids confidence-wise.”

Sean Star: 970-669-5050, sstar@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/seanvstar

Rams 64, Buffs 63

At Moby Arena

COLORADO (3-3)

Swan 3-10 6-8 12, Correal 0-2 0-0 0, Leonard 7-13 4-5 21, Smith 3-7 0-0 6, Huggins 4-7 0-0 11, Ellis 1-1 0-0 2, Robinson 3-6 0-0 7, Watts 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 23-53 10-13 63.

COLORADO STATE (6-1)

Hesseldal 0-1 0-0 0, Gustavsson 8-13 4-6 22, Wharry 0-2 0-0 0, Nystrom 4-13 6-6 14, Patrick 4-8 1-2 11, Austgulen 0-2 0-0 0, Tvrdy 2-5 2-2 7, Kaiser 0-1 0-0 0, Kantzy 1-2 0-0 2, Arias 3-10 2-2 8. Totals 22-57 15-18 64.

Score by quarters:

Colorado 18 13 10 22 — 63

Colorado State 19 14 15 16 — 64

3-point field goals — Colorado 7-15 (Leonard 3-6, Huggins 3-5, Robinson 1-2); Colorado St. 5-10 (Gustavsson 2-2, Patrick 2-4, Austgulen 0-1, Tvrdy 1-2, Kantzy 0-1). Rebounds — Colorado 37 (Swan 9); Colorado St. 32 (Gustavsson 7). Assists— Colorado 12 (Leonard 4); Colorado St. 16 (Nystrom). Attendance — 2,049.