The University of Wyoming Cowgirls faced off against the San Diego State University (SDSU) Aztecs in a conference game at The Dome of Doom on Saturday, Jan. 22, where they lost 73-66.
Throughout all four quarters, the Aztecs remained ahead, never allowing the Cowgirls to catch up.
“I’m not sure what our issues are in the first and third quarters right now. We’re capable of more. We have not performed the last two games up to our capabilities. It’s a lot of simple things to correct,” Assistant Head Coach Ryan Larsen said.
Larsen is filling in for head coach Heather Enzell while she is on maternity leave.
During the first quarter, UW scored its first point of the game when Sophomore and center (C) Alyson Fertig made a free throw. Fertig ended the game with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Cowgirls ended the first quarter trailing the Aztecs by ten, the ending being 19-9.
Going into the second quarter, the Brown and Gold scored more points than the Black and Red, with the home team shooting 22 points in ten minutes and the away team only lobbying 15.
UW scored seven straight baskets, but then, with just over six minutes left in the game, SDSU and WYO went back and forth with shots leading SDSU to win the first half of the game, ending with a total of 34 points. WYO ended with 31.
The game fell apart during the third quarter, with the Aztecs scoring 22 points, doubling how many UW had during that time.
UW ended the quarter trailing behind SDSU by 14 points, the score reading 56-42.
Hope returned during the fourth quarter when UW scored 24 points, as compared to SDSU’s 17. But then, when the last three minutes of the game approached, the Cowgirls failed to score.
With only 24.3 seconds remaining, graduate student and guard (G) Quinn Weidemann scored a three-pointer for her team. After that, the Cowgirls got the chance for a free throw but missed, allowing SDSU to steal the ball and win the game.
Weidemann, the lead scorer during Saturday’s game, recorded 19 points throughout the night. Emily Mellema, a sophomore and guard, helped the cowgirls out by scoring 11 points and helping her teammates out with three assists.
Also helping out, despite only playing for 16 minutes, was junior and forward (F) Marta Savic, who provided the team with six points, three boards, and three assists.
Despite all these plays, it still wasn’t enough for the WYO Cowgirls to beat the SDSU Aztecs.
SDSU is currently ranked second, and they are 6-2 in the conference and 16-5 overall. UWYO is ranked fourth and is 5-3 in the conference and 12-7 overall.
UW will have a chance to boost its ranking and statistics when they face off against Utah State at Utah State next Thursday, Jan. 26.
