The University of Wyoming women’s basketball team earned its first conference road win on Wednesday, beating the San Diego State Aztecs 69-60 after building a 20-point second-half lead.
The win brings the Cowgirls to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in conference play.
Three of the Cowgirls five starters scored in double-digits in the contest, led by junior guard Kaitlyn Mileto who recorded 20 points while shooting 47 percent (7-of-15) from the field.
Junior forward Kayla Woodward contributed 17 points to the Cowgirls’ winning effort followed by senior guard Fallon Lewis who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, just short of a double-double.
Junior forward Jordan Sibrel finished the game with a career-high, 11 rebounds.
The Cowgirls went to a zone defense for the majority of the game to counteract the Aztecs’ size advantage.
“We are not a team that normally plays a zone defense. We took a look at the film and knew it would be difficult to handle San Diego State’s inside game,” said Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski. “We didn’t want to put anyone in a one on one situation, so it was easier to zone up. We also knew that we had to do a good job rebounding. The Aztecs lead the league in offensive rebounds and we talked about keep them to about 15. Finally, we also had to hit some three and we did.”
Mileto started the second half of the game with a bang, hitting two three-pointers to extend the Cowgirl lead to 18, 41-23.
Following a SDSU basket, the Cowgirls launched into a 9-4 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 50-30 with 11 minutes to play.
The Aztecs would not go quietly, though, and managed to get back to within five, 63-58. Wyoming eventually held off the SDSU comeback attempt with field goals from Woodward and sophomore guard Marquelle Dent, and won 69-60.
The Cowgirls started off the game on a 5-2 run, before the first half turned into a highly contested affair, with both teams trading baskets consistently. Wyoming gradually pushed their way to a nine-point lead, 24-15 before a pair of SDSU free throws.
After that the Cowgirls ran away with the remainder of the first half with an 11-4 run to take a 35-21 lead into the break.
Mileto and Woodward led all scorers in the first half, scoring 12 apiece.
Wyoming managed to out-rebound the Aztecs, 36-34.
The Cowgirls will return to the floor on Saturday at home against the San Jose State Spartans. The game is slated for 2 p.m. in the Arena Auditorium and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game as part of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund’s breast cancer awareness effort.
