[su_heading size=”17″]The Cowgirls’ offense contributed to their last-minute loss against the Spartans[/su_heading]
The University of Wyoming women’s basketball team fell to the San Jose State Spartans 74-68 Saturday in San Jose, Calif. The Cowgirls are now 2-2 in conference play and 11-4 on the season.
Ta’Rea Cunnigan, a junior guard, carried the bulk of the scoring load for the Spartans with 27 points.
Junior forward Kayla Woodward led the Pokes with 24 points and 14 rebounds, her third double double of the season. Senior guard Fallon Lewis also recorded a double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Unfortunately for the Cowgirls, the one-dimensional nature of their offense may have ultimately cost them.
“At halftime, I
was concerned with only having scoring from just two players and knew that others had to step up and contribute,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “We also knew that we had to score 80 points tonight, which was also a concern. When you rely on two players to carry the load that wasn’t going to happen because they’re not going to have 40 a piece.”
Woodward set the tone for her team-leading performance early, scoring the Cowgirls first points of the game on a three-pointer. Both teams managed to stay relatively close throughout the first half.
The Spartans’ Cunnigan tied things up at 32 apiece late in the first half before junior guard Kaitlyn Mileto hit a three-point field goal in the final seconds of the half to give the Cowgirls a 35-32 lead going into halftime.
The Cowgirls came out slow in the first half, allowing the Spartans to spark a 7-0 run. After that, both teams exchanged the lead numerous times until things were tied at 65 with fewer than three minutes to play.
From there the Spartans managed to execute when the Cowgirls could not. They scored the next four points, which proved to be an insurmountable deficit for the Wyoming squad. After a couple of attempts to stop the clock, the Pokes eventually lost 74-68.
In the end what cost the Cowgirls was a low shooting percentage, particularly from beyond the arc.
“Out of the half, they slowed down and we had some other players pick up,” said Legerski. “Fallon played better, Jordan Sibrel hit some baskets, Chelan made plays, but we went 1-12 from the three-point line in the second half which was the difference in the game.”
The Cowgirls next matchup is slated for Wednesday when they take on the Air Force Falcons in the Arena Auditorium at 7:00 p.m.
