Cowgirls basketball team will go to San Antonio, Texas for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament after winning their first ever Mountain West Conference Tournament against Fresno State Bulldogs 59-56.
Keith Kelley, speaker for the Cowgirls basketball games from the Cowboy State News Network, said the Cowgirls leave everything on the court. They have now won four games in a row.
Head coach for the Cowgirls basketball team, Gerald Mattinson, said Fresno State has a very good offensive team and can put points up in a variety of ways. Defense is important for the Cowgirls to work on during the championship game.
Mattinson said the Cowgirls have been practicing many plays and resting a lot this season.
Kelley said the Cowgirls’ defense was great this game holding the Bulldogs back in the last quarter of the game.
Fresno scored 22 points in the first quarter with the Cowgirls trailing behind and eventually gaining a lead in the second quarter with sophomore McKinley Bradshaw bringing the score to 25-24 Cowgirls.
Junior Quinn Weidemann and junior Tommi Olson each scored three points in the first quarter. Junior Alba Sanchez Ramos scored four points and senior Dagny Davidsdottir scored six points in the first quarter.
The Cowgirls scored seven points in a row in the second quarter of the game not allowing the Bulldogs to score for four minutes by the halfway mark in the second quarter.
Weidemann and Bradshaw both score in the last minute and a half of the second quarter bringing the score to 31-24 Cowgirls.
Davidsdottir scores one point bringing the score to 32-24 with UW scoring the last 16 points of the second quarter. Davidsdottir has scored 69% of her throws this season.
Sanchez Ramos scores two points in the first minute of the third quarter.
Cavinder and Gamez with Fresno score in the third quarter after the Cowgirls held the Bulldogs for a whole quarter bringing the score to 34-29 Cowgirls.
Senior Jaye Johnson scores two points for 36-29 Cowgirls after two minutes of no scoring.
Weidemann scores for Cowgirls and Gamez scores for Fresno to bring 39-31 Cowgirls with 5:16 to go in the third quarter.
Both teams pick up their scoring in the third quarter. Cowgirls hold a lead against Fresno ending the third quarter 47-41. The last score was by Fresno’s Motta in the last 20 seconds of the third quarter.
Weidemann scores to lead 45-39 Cowgirls and Ellis to 47-39 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
Johnson scores for 50-41 in first minute of the fourth quarter
With six minutes left in the game, the Cowgirls were going on three minutes without scoring until Weidemann shoots a free-throw bringing the score to 52-48 Cowgirls. Weidemann has made 88% of her free-throws for this season.
Freshman Grace Ellis and Bradshaw score to 57-50 Cowgirls with 3:15 left in the game.
Cavinder from Fresno scores in the last 31 seconds of game bringing the score to 57-56 Cowgirls.
Ellis misses two free-throws in last 16 seconds of the final quarter after a foul keeping the score at 57-56.
Ellis makes two other free-throws later in the game advancing the Cowgirls 59-56 with 3 seconds left in the game.
The final score was 59-56 Cowgirls after Sanchez Ramos blocked Fresno’s Cavinder in the last second of the tournament.
