The University of Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team lost to the Air Force Falcons 57-47 this Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
With the Cowgirls’ leading scorer, senior Liv Roberts, out due to illness; the Cowgirls were forced to adapt and make some changes to their lineup, but it was not enough. Junior Clara Tapia and sophomore Taylor Rusk led the Cowgirls in scoring with 10 points each.
“We knew Air Force would come out and get after us,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “You have to make strong cuts, get to the basket and score points. I thought Taylor (Rusk) played really well tonight. We had to play her 38 minutes because we were short Liv (Roberts), which had a big effect on us as anything.”
Senior Natalie Baker had the second most points for the Cowgirls, putting nine of the Cowgirls’ 47. Junior Bailee Cotton had a team-high of 10 rebounds. Despite an impressive game from many of the Cowgirls, they could not pull it together in the end.
A slow start to the game left the Cowgirls and Falcons tied 6-6 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams picked up the pace in the second quarter, with the Cowgirls scoring twelve points and the Falcons scoring 13, leaving the Cowgirls down 19-18 going into halftime.
The third quarter was very competitive, with both teams putting up 16 points. Going into the fourth quarter the Cowgirls were still only down by one point and were looking to take over the lead.
“When I look at it, we were 2-of-10 from three and had two good looks down the stretch, executed and just didn’t make the shots,” Legerski said. “It’s disappointing to me that we’ve made those shots all year long. We did try but you have to produce when your number is called. There were some missed opportunities that we missed what I call easy baskets. Give Air Force credit they came out and got after us.”
In the fourth quarter the Cowgirls fell off the pace and only scored 13 points, whereas the Falcons put up 22. The final score was 57-47 Air Force.
The Cowgirls will take on Boise State this Friday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Arena Auditorium in Laramie. This is the Cowgirls’ last game of the regular season and their chance to win the Mountain West regular season championship.
