The Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team fell to the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque on Saturday by score of 60-54. The Cowgirls had a 12-point lead going into the half, but watched it slip away in the end.
“A tough environment to play in and our team responded. We got a big lift from freshmen Liv Roberts and Natalie Baker. Both young player represented themselves very well. Kayla stepped up again tonight with a double-double,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “We need to regroup because we have another difficult contest on Wednesday night with Utah State.”
Roberts had seven points along with three steals and Baker had four points coming off the bench as well. Senior forward Kayla Woodward led all scorers with 19 points and had 10 rebounds as well. Junior guard Marquelle Dent followed with 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Wyoming started the game on a 9-2 run with Dent scoring six of those points. New Mexico brought it within five, but was not able to close the gap. Wyoming built their lead to 12 through 3-pointers from Roberts, Woodward and senior guard Kaitlyn Mileto. New Mexico went on a 7-4 run to close out the first half and was able to cut the Wyoming lead to nine.
Wyoming went 5-9 from 3-point range in the first half and made all of their free-throws. The Cowgirls held the Lobos 28.1 percent shooting in the first half, and did not allow them to make a from beyond the arc.
The second half began with the Lobos going on a 6-2 run to bring the score within five. Woodward scored the next five Cowgirls points to bring their lead to 35-27. The Lobos then began a run by scoring the next nine points and gained a 1-point lead. After a timeout, Wyoming got the lead back, but it was not for long. The Cowgirls eventually lost the game with a final score of 60-54.
New Mexico shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and hit a couple of 3-pointers as well. Wyoming shot 14.3 percent from beyond the arc in the second half, and only made half of their free throws. Wyoming scored 22 points in the paint compared to the 28 for New Mexico.
Wyoming’s record fell to 7-10 overall and to 2-5 in the Mountain West. This was the Cowgirls third loss in a row and was their sixth of six points or less.
The Cowgirls will be back in action tonight in the Dome of Doom at 7 p.m. against Utah State.
