The Cowgirls finally got a win over a power 5 opponent this Tuesday with a big victory over the BYU Cougars. It was the first time they overcame the Cougars in their fourth meeting.
The Cougars opened the scoring in the contest, as the Cowgirls struggled to finish at the rim on their first two shot attempts until Malene Pederson finished through contact and completed the three point play for the Cowgirls first points of the night. Ola Ustowska would also score down low and Emily Mellema and Allyson Fertig would chip in to give the Cowgirls an early 9-6 lead. McKinley Dickerson would complete her own three point play as the Cowgirls would go on a 7-0 run to make it 12-6 before the Cougars would respond with two free throws. Tess Barnes would respond as the Cowgirls would use their balanced scoring to maintain their lead midway through the first quarter.
Pederson would complete her second and-one of the quarter and Kati Ollilainen would score her first basket as the Cowgirl lead would extend to 25-14 late in the first quarter. Dickerson would cash in the first three for the Cowgirls, but the Cougars would shoot well from the free throw line, though as they’d make it a 28-19 game to end the first quarter.
The second quarter started as a defensive slugfest, as neither team could score for the first 2 and a half minutes until the Cougars would break the ice with two. The Cowgirl scoring drought, however, would extend for 4 minutes until Pederson would knock down a three. Ollilainen would knock down a crafty turnaround jumper as the shot clock would expire and Maren McKenna would score midway through the second quarter. McKenna would then find Marta Savic with a nice dish as Savic would score her first two as the Cowgirls would hold onto a 37-25 lead late in the second quarter. Fertig would score 4 in a row as the Cowgirls would finish the second quarter with a 41-28 lead over the Cougars.
The Cougars would open the scoring with 5 straight in the third quarter and forced some early Cowgirl turnovers to quickly make it a 8 point game before Pederson would once again open things up for the Cowgirls as it was 43-35 early in the third quarter. Pederson would continue to hold off the surging Cougars, as she had all the points early for the Cowgirls. The Cougars would cut it down to 45-39 before a Mellema jumper and Savic lay in would extend the lead back to 10. Savic and Dickerson would score to make the lead 12 before a Cougars’ three would bring it back down to 53-44 late in the third quarter. Savic would continue to impress, however, as she’d continue to show off her craftiness on the block scoring down low. Despite her best efforts, the Cougars still only trailed by 8 as the score was 55-47 headed into the fourth quarter.
Ustowska would open up the fourth quarter with a big three but the Cougars would answer, keeping it within 9. Barnes would also cash in her first three of the night, but once again the Cougars would answer, hitting a three of their own to be within 7. The Cougars would then hit another three, as they were suddenly within 4 as the score was 61-57 midway through the fourth quarter. Fertig would hit two free throws to extend the lead back to six, but that was quickly answered by another Cougar three plus two more as it was 63-62 with 5 minutes left in the game.
The Cougars would take their first lead since 6-5 at 63-62 with 4:11 left in the contest. Dickerson would lift the Cowgirls back up by 1 and the Cowgirl defense would force a turnover that would lead to a Barnes three and Dickerson would score again as the Cowgirls would regain a 70-64 lead with 2:30 left on the clock. The Cougars would cut it down to 4 again before Dickerson and Barnes would both hit threes that would prove to be the dagger to make it 76-66. The Cowgirls would hit their free throws late as well and they’d win 86-74.
The Cowgirls were effective from the field in the contest, as they went 53.2% from the field and 31.8% from three and only missed one free throw. The Cougars, however, were actually more effective as they converted 53.8% of their shots and 46.2% from three. The Cowgirls held a slight advantage on the boards, out rebounding the Cougars 28 to 27. The Cowgirls also took good care of the ball, having only 8 turnovers.
The Cowgirls were extremely balanced, as 9 different players scored in the contest. They were led by Pederson with 19 and Dickerson with 17. Tess Barnes led the way behind the arc with 3 threes, most of which came in clutch late in the game. Both her and Fertig would round out the Cowgirls in double figures. The Cowgirls were spread even on the glass as well, with Fertig and McKenna leading the way with 5 rebounds a piece.
The Cowgirls hit the road on Sunday to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater, OK with the game set to tip off at 12 p.m.
