Breann Lujan-Halcon
blujanha@uwyo.edu
Cowgirls basketball came within striking distance of snapping the 24-1 CSU Rams’ winning streak but were unable to seal the deal, falling 62-57.
“It was a highly entertaining game today from a fan, coach and player perspective. Really proud of the effort that the team stepped up with tonight,” Cowgirls head coach Joe Legerski said. “We executed from a game plan standpoint and in the end CSU’s maturity was the difference in the game. They made some plays down the stretch when we broke down and at times we didn’t break down and they made plays.”
Sophomore guard Liv Roberts led the Cowgirls with 14 points and eight defensive rebounds. Senior guard Marquelle Dent and junior guard Hailey Ligocki each had 13 points. Dent had an additional five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Ligocki had six boards for the game. Sophomore forward Natalie Baker put up 12 points and seven rebounds.
CSU leading scorer of the night was junior forward Elin Gustavsson who had 21 points. Gustavsson alongside senior guard Keyora Wharry put up a combined 20 points in the second half against the Cowgirls.
Wyoming emphasized their man-to-man defense, which kept the game within a single digit margin.
The Cowgirls entered the second half down five, 20-25 and bounced back with a 13-3 run to close out the third on top, 40-37.
The fourth quarter swayed in the Rams favor, who immediately tied the game and pulled ahead by six before the Cowgirls could come up with an answer. That answer came from Dent with a layup four minutes into the fourth. Roberts followed up Dent’s bucket with consecutive made free throws pulling Wyoming within four points. Roberts working the boards made a layup to make it a two-point game.
The Rams and the Cowgirls exchanged baskets for the remaining four minutes bringing the game down to the wire. The Rams worked back up to a six-point lead, which the Cowgirls were shaving down in the final two minutes. Both Ligocki and Dent pulled the Cowgirls within three in the last minutes but the Rams free throw shooting put the Cowgirls out of the match in the final
seconds.
“I was really happy that we were in the game,” Coach Legerski said. “Colorado State beat its last four opponents by 30 and I thought at the end of the third quarter we were in it. They came out as a veteran group and scored eight straight. Wyoming came back and made it a game down to the final ten seconds.”
The Cowgirls will be back in action Wednesday, travelling to Viejas Arena to face the 10-15 San Diego Aztecs. The Aztecs are on a four-game win-streak following a conference win over San Jose State. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. MT
