FORT COLLINS — All they do is win.

Ever since Ellen Nystrom and Elin Gustavsson came to Colorado State, the Rams have enjoyed an unprecedented level of success in the Mountain West.

On Wednesday night the senior duo helped their CSU women’s team make history, beating visiting New Mexico 58-55 to clinch at least a share of a fourth straight MW regular season title, something no other hoops team — men’s or women’s — has ever done in league’s 18-year history.

Both Swedes have played a major role in all four championships, so naturally, they were critical in earning ring No. 4. Each recorded a double-double, Nystrom totaling 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Gustavsson going for 11 points and 11 boards.

Neither wanted to compare the four titles, saying each means something. different. Their coach, however, was happy to say what makes this one stand out.

“These two have a lot more responsibility with this one,” Ryun Williams said. “They had a ton of responsibility for all four, but let’s face it: we play through these two right here. They are our heartbeat. So this is their championship.”

The Rams have three chances to secure the title outright, which they’ve done the past two seasons. And they have no intention of sharing it again this year.

“I think we’re just so stubborn,” Gustavsson said. “Who doesn’t want to win every game you can?”

With the win, Gustavsson and Nystrom improved their career record in MW play to 61-8, a dominant win percentage of 89.7. Although this one, like many this season, was anything but easy.

After holding the Lobos (15-12, 10-6) to five points in the second quarter to take a 27-17 halftime lead, the Rams (21-6, 13-2) had their lead cut to three heading to the fourth thanks to a pair of UNM 3-pointers in the final minute of the third. New Mexico then tied it at 41-all in the first minute of the fourth before going up 52-51 on a 3 by Cherise Beynon with 2:37 to play.

The Lobos didn’t enjoy their lead for long. A corner 3 by Myanne Hamm quickly put the Rams back on top, the first of several huge plays by the Fort Collins native down the stretch. A minute later, Hamm came up with the first of two steals in the span of 28 seconds, the second of which she took the other way for a basket to give her team a four-point lead with 47 seconds left.

“We’ve said it before, the golden hands came through again,” Williams said of Hamm. “But also she put some golden hands on that shot from the corner. It took some courage to take that shot. They took the lead there late with 2 minutes to go, so we could’ve easily squeezed that game and not won it. I love the fact we made plays late on both ends of the floor, and Myanne was a part of it seems like every one of them.”

The Lobos didn’t go down easily, answering Hamm’s layup with a 3 by Laneah Bryan to make it 56-55 with 37 seconds to go. That’s when Nystrom took matters into her own hands.

With UNM’s 6-foot-5 Richelle van der Keijl guarding her at the top of the key with just a few seconds separating the game clock and shot clock, Nystrom took her time and then made her move, easily beating van der Keijl off the dribble for a layup to stretch the lead. Nystrom then showed why she’s the defending MW defensive player of the year, emphatically blocking a potential game-tying 3 by UNM’s Alex Lapeyrolerie to help clinch the win.

“I really wanted to win this game, and I was not going to lose it. So that was my mindset,” Nystrom said of taking over the game in the final half-minute.

Having grown up not familiar with college basketball in the United States, Nystrom and Gustavsson admitted they weren’t fully aware of what it meant to win a regular season title back when they were freshmen in 2014. But ever since, they’ve grown to fully appreciate just how hard it is.

“Coach always says ‘People circle Colorado State on the schedule.’ So it’s tougher every year,” Gustavsson said. “Which is a challenge for us, but we have loved that challenge. I think that’s helped us get maybe a little more aggressive and just want it more.”

Sean Star: 970-669-5402, sstar@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/seanvstar

Rams 58, Lobos 55

At Moby Arena

New Mexico (15-12, 10-6 MW)

Beynon 5-21 3-4 14, Lapeyrolerie 6-16 2-2 16, Van Der Keijl 2-8 2-2 6, Bryan 4-7 0-0 12, Keller 0-4 1-2 1, Sjerven 1-4 0-0 3, Bovero 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 19-63 8-10 55.

Colorado State (21-6, 13-2 MW)

Austgulen 3-8 0-0 8, Tyggedsson 0-1 1-2 1, Tvrdy 2-6 1-2 6, Nystrom 9-16 2-2 22, Gustavssson 4-15 2-2 11, Kaiser 0-1 0-0 0, Hamm 4-6 0-0 10, Kantzy 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 6-8 58.

Score by quarters:

New Mexico 12 5 21 17 — 55