Kendyll Ferrall
Kerral1@uwyo.edu
Coming off of an identical loss to Gonzaga (5-3) last Thursday in Spokane, Washington, Wyoming fell to the University of Idaho 61-57 on Saturday afternoon in Moscow, Idaho.
Despite clawing their way back from a 12-point deficit with a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Cowgirls basketball team (3-3) wasn’t able to muster up enough of a comeback to take down the Vandals (7-1).
The Cowgirls fell behind almost immediately to begin the game, as Wyoming saw missed three-point shots from senior guard Marquelle Dent and freshman forward Marta Gomez. A matching pair of three’s by Dent and sophomore guard Liv Roberts sparked a run that led the Cowgirls on a run to finish the first period behind by one.
Heading into the second period, the Cowgirls saw a 20-second lead that was cut short by a three-pointer from Idaho post Geraldine McCorkell. Idaho went on to score nine unanswered points to boost the Vandals lead up to eight points with one minute left in the half. A three-point shot from Idaho post Tayla Corrigan brought Idaho’s lead up to 11 to close out the first half.
Coming out of the locker room, the Cowgirls quickly found the basket with a pair of jumpers from sophomore forward Bailee Cotton and a three by sophomore guard Skylar Snodgrass. Cotton recorded eight points to matcher her eight rebounds during her 25-minutes on the court. Snodgrass put up three points and one offensive rebound for the Cowgirls.
“I think the biggest thing is that we started to attack the zone,” Cowgirls head coach Joe Legerski said. “The second half we went back to our motion game, got the ball to the free throw and made good decisions.”
Two-points from the charity stripe and a layup by senior guard Jordan Kelley brought the score within five points, but six-missed baskets by Dent closed out the third period with the Cowgirls down by seven.
An appearance at the line by sophomore forward Natalie Baker improved the point deficit to five. Points from Dent, Kelley and Jordan brought the game within two-points, but a turnover by Dent and a flubbed rebound on a missed shot from outside the paint by Gomez swung the momentum back into the Vandals’ favor.
“The game swung when we got to within two and gave up four offensive rebounds. We had some momentum, got our transition going and missed a three, which was a difference. It seemed like we were battling up hill,” Legerski said. “Once again, I challenged some of them. Whether you are in there to rebound, defend, we can’t have just two or three people contributing. Bailee (Cotton) stepped up and played well for us.”
After falling behind by six-point, the Cowgirl’s cut the Vandal’s lead to two-points again with ten seconds left in the game, but a pair of points from the line by Idaho guard Connie Ballestero secured the win for the home team.
Wyoming faced difficulty from outside the paint, making 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) shots from beyond the arc. The Cowgirls shot 20-for-66 (30.3 percent) from outside the paint. Slightly edging out Idaho from the line, the Cowgirls recorded 13-points from free throws, shooting 76.4 percent from the line.
Dent led her team with 22 points and seven rebounds, playing all 40-minutes of the game. Kelley followed Dent in scoring; recording the team’s only double-double with 14-points and 12 rebounds. Cotton added seven points to the Cowgirls’ score and eight rebounds.
The Cowgirls face off against the Denver Pioneers today at Magness Arena in Denver. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.
