Coach Joe Legerski’s advice was simple. After coming off of their first conference loss to the New Mexico Lobos, ending their six game winning streak, the Head Coach reminded his players to utilize their skills.
“Hang your hat on what you do well and we can win a lot of games with that,”Legerski said.
Which is exactly what the Cowgirls did on Saturday when they defeated the Boise State Broncos 55-48 at the Arena Auditorium. The Cowgirls advanced to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The win came from a combined effort on both the defensive and the offensive end.
“We went from giving up somewhere in the 70 point range on Wednesday (to New Mexico) to giving up 48 points tonight,” said coach Legerski. “We’re starting to find different ways to win basketball games.”
The Broncos put points on the board first but the Cowgirls responded quickly, scoring six unanswered points to take the lead that they would hold onto for most of the first half. Throughout the first half, the teams tied four times. As they headed into the locker room the Cowgirls were able to hold onto their small 28-26 lead, despite being outscored in the final minutes of the first half. Junior guard Kaitlyn Mileto lead the Cowgirl’s scoring in the first half with eight points, followed by junior forward Kayla Woodward with seven points and four rebounds.
Coach Legerski knew the Cowgirl’s free throw percentage needed to improve in order to remain ahead of the broncos.
“At halftime, probably the biggest thing I thought about is, out on the playground when a foul is called, you get your choice whether you want to take the ball out or shoot a free throw. The way we shot free throws in the first half, I was hoping for a rule change that would allow us to take the ball out of bounds,” explained Legerski. “In the second half, when it really mattered, we stepped up and made some big free throws.”
The Cowgirls’ free throw percentage improved from 33.3 percent at the end of the first half to 78.6 percent at the end of the game. Sophomore guard Marquelle Dent lead the Cowgirls’ free throw scoring making seven of twelve shots and senior guard Fallow Lewis went three for three, including two crucial free throws at the end of the game to would secure the Cowgirls’ 55-48 victory.
At the end of the game, Mileto led the Cowgirls’ overall scoring with 18 points, followed by Dent with 12 points, and Lewis and Woodward who both scored nine points.
“The biggest thing was defending home court,” said Legerski, “Everything seems a little brighter when you get a victory.”
