The Cowgirls came up short 58-46 in their second meeting against the Colorado State Rams last Friday at the Moby Arena. The six-point loss marks the first time Wyoming has lost three consecutive conference games this season.
The Cowgirls ended their regular season 19-10 overall and 10-8 in conference play.
Sophomore guard Marquelle Dent led Wyoming with 15 points, scoring 10 in the first half. The Colorado native was the first player on either team to put points up on the board and went on a quick-paced four-point run to give the Cowgirls an early 4-0 lead.
A steal followed by a turnover from Dent would cut her run short and result in a Colorado State three-pointer and layup to give them their first lead of the night.
The Rams began to pull away during the last 10 minutes of the first half, building up a 10-point advantage with less than five minutes to play. The Cowgirls chipped away at the 28-18 lead in the final minutes of the half with contributions from Dent, junior guard Kaitlyn Mileto and senior guard Fallon Lewis.
A three by Mileto would close out the first half with the Cowgirls down 28-25 after their 8-point run.
“Colorado State is a very long defensive team out there and they create a lot of issues for a team,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “In the first half, I felt like Marquelle Dent was all of our energy. The issue I addressed at halftime was that she was pushing the ball and it seemed like no one wanted to run with her. We needed to fill the passing lanes. When you do, Marquelle becomes that much better in getting people the ball.”
The second half got off to a slow start for the Cowgirls, scoring a mere five points in the half’s first five minutes.
Two free throws by Lewis, a jumper from Mileto and a layup by junior forward Jordan Sibrel put the teams even at 32-32.
Sibrel ended the night with five points and seven boards. Mileto finished with seven points and two boards.
The tie did not last long, the Rams scored 11 points within the next four minutes to reclaim the lead 43-35. The Cowgirls cut Colorado State’s lead to four points after layups from Dent and Lewis brought the score to 47-43, but that was the closest they would come for the rest of the game.
Senior guard Kaylie Hoffman and Lewis both scored the final three points for the Cowgirls. Lewis finished the night with her 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior forward Kayla Woodward was absent from the scoreboard Friday night, scoring no points but ending the night with seven rebounds.
Colorado State went on to score eight more points to end the game in their 58-46 advantage, closing out the season in the Mountain West’s number one position.
Wyoming shot 34.7 percent from the field (17-for-49) and 10 percent from beyond the arc (1-for-10). The Cowgirls committed 19 turnovers throughout the night, resulting in 20 Colorado State points.
The Cowgirls will be in Las Vegas this week for the Mountain West Tournament. Their first game is against Boise on Tuesday, March 11. Tipoff is set for 3:30 pm.
