In Fort Collins on Wednesday night, the Cowgirls lost 61-54 to Mountain West Conference leader and Border War rival Colorado State on Wednesday.
Following the win, CSU raised to 20-6 overall and 12-2 in the conference and increased its lead in the Mountain West to two games over UW, who dropped to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in the conference.
“I thought it was a great game between two of the top teams in the league,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “Nobody was going to give in. We did a better job defensively in the second half, but the game came down to the fourth quarter.”
The Cowgirls shot fairly well on the night, sinking 22 of their 49 shots for an overall shooting percentage of about 45%. They also shot 5-16 and 31% from the three-point line. CSU shot a slightly better 50% on the night, but sank only three three-pointers out of their 14 attempted. Both teams tied at 28 rebounds, but the Rams won the turnover battle with eight to UW’s 12,
Guard Liv Roberts, who is the season leader in both points and rebounds, scored 20 points and pulled down six boards. Forward Natalie Baker was the next top scorer for the Pokes with 11 points and six rebounds. Guard Hailey Ligocki also hit double digits, scoring ten points on the night.
The first couple minutes of the game started out well for UW and they took a quick five-point lead, but that would be the last lead they’d see until almost the fourth quarter. The Cowgirls outscored the Rams in both the second and the third quarters to finally gained the lead back with 2:22 left in the period. Colorado State managed to keep the game close and didn’t let UW run away with the game, and snatched the lead back at around 8:30 in the final period. CSU would keep this lead, and despite efforts from UW, ended up winning by seven points.
“When you take a look at it they went 7-12 and we went 3-8 and missed some easy shots,” Legerski said. “I told the group, everybody needs to step up, needs to play at their best. We move on, the games keep coming and we will have to get back to work tomorrow.”
The Cowgirls’ next game will be this Saturday, Feb. 18 when they will host the Boise State Broncos at 2:00 p.m. in the Arena Auditorium. Boise is currently ranked 5th in the conference with a 7-6 record in the MWC and a 17-7 record overall.
Before the game against Boise, the UW Athletics Department will host the 13th Annual Walk for Women at the War Memorial Fieldhouse. This event’s registration will take place an hour before the walk, which starts at 11:30 a.m.
