The Cowgirls brought an end to a two game losing slide with a win against the Boise State Broncos Wednesday night, finishing the evening 61-47.
The first quarter flew by after the Cowgirls broke away from the Broncos tie-holding in the first five minutes.
By the end of the following five minutes the first quarter was over and the Cowgirls were up 16-13.
Despite leading in the second quarter, the Cowgirls were unable to pull far enough ahead of their opponents to write off the game.
The second quarter featured a lengthy review period of a possible foul made against Boise, which was eventually declined.
During the second quarter the Cowgirls were struggling to break past the Broncos’ defense and the Broncos were struggling to score in the Cowgirls’ basket.
Both teams increased their scores by roughly double later in the quarter, with the Cowgirls finishing at 31 and the Broncos finishing at 27.
While the first half saw the two teams evenly matched in both three-pointers, and free throws, with three from both sides, and three opportunities for each team respectively.
The second half of the game was where the Cowgirls really buckled down and learned to tame the Broncos.
The Cowgirls spent most of the third quarter in and around the 10 point lead range, thanks to three strong drives by freshman guard Emily Mellema.
The quarter ended with a 12 point lead for the Cowgirls, at 50-38.
The fourth quarter continued strong for the home team, with the Cowgirls defense holding the Broncos to a streak of making only 1 of 13 shots towards the end of the final quarter.
In the closing minutes of the game, Alba Sanchez Ramos scored the fourth and final three-pointer for the Cowgirls (4-16), tieing them with the Broncos (4-18) for points made from outside the arc.
The Cowgirls ended the game confidently, with only one point being scored in the last minute of playtime. The point was made by Mellema from the free-throw line, who was one of three Cowgirls who scored in the double digits Wednesday night.
Mellema had 10 points and trailed Paula Salazar and Sanchez Ramos who both finished with 15 points total. Salazar’s 15 was a career-high and six of Sanchez Ramos’ were three-pointers.
The Cowgirls hope to bring this momentum to their next matchup, also a Mountain West conference game, at home against Nevada on Saturday, Jan. 29.
