The Wyoming Cowgirls were in the perfect position late in the game to pull off a huge upset against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at home. Up eight points with just a little under four minutes to go in the game, the Cowgirls were rolling, finding open shots right under the basket in the flow of their offense.
The Cowgirls wouldn’t find the bottom of the net for the rest of regulation though, as the Rebels would burst out on an 8-0 run to end regulation and tie things up where they’d ultimately take the game in overtime.
This game had much bigger implications than just a big upset for the Cowgirls, as they were looking to avenge a two game losing skid and get back on track in conference play, as just a few weeks ago they were tied with UNLV for first place. Now, the Cowgirls are locked into a three way tie for second place with New Mexico and Boise State after their third straight loss.
“We couldn’t knock down shots when we really needed them. We needed somebody to make that big shot and [we] had some great looks, just unfortunately didn’t get one to go,” head coach Heather Ezell said postgame.
Both teams would open the game trading three point shots, but it would be Emily Mellema who would knock down a pair early as she’d give the Cowgirls an early 8-3 lead. Both teams would battle back and forth for most of the half, as both offenses somewhat struggled. Mellema would not, though, as she’d have eight first quarter points and McKinley Dickerson would knock down a three in the half as well as the Cowgirls would take 15-12 lead after the first frame of action.
Both offenses would have a sluggish start to the second quarter, as neither team could score for about the first four minutes of play. The Rebels would finally cash in a pair of free throws to open the scoring, as Dickerson would continue to play well offensively making a layup and her second three pointer of the game. Neither team could pull away, though, as a last second shot at the buzzer headed into halftime would award the Rebels with only a two point 26-24 deficit to the Cowgirls at halftime, as the Cowgirls would cling onto their slight lead.
The third quarter opened up with much more scoring, as both teams would trade baskets back and forth. The Cowgirls would open up a seven point lead midway through the quarter, though an Ola Ustowska three paired with a Malene Pederson lay-in would help extend their lead. The Rebels would chip into the lead but the Cowgirls would double down, opening up their largest lead to that point at 41-33 with Tess Barnes’s first triple of the game. The Rebels wouldn’t go away though, as they’d end the half with a bucket of their own to make it 41-35.
The Cowgirls would hang onto their eight point margin for a majority of the fourth quarter, as a Pederson lay-in would make it 53-45 with 3:41 left. The Cowgirls wouldn’t muster a single point in regulation past this point, though, as they seemingly fell in love with the three late in the quarter as the Rebels defense wouldn’t allow them in the paint and the Rebels would end the half on an 8-0 run to force overtime.
The Cowgirls still couldn’t muster up much offense in the overtime frame, as they had missed 10 straight three point attempts until Dickerson would finally knock one down, but the Cowgirls still found themselves down 58-56. The Rebels would maintain their lead late, but would miss some integral free throws down the stretch as the Cowgirls had a chance to tie the game late on a decent look from deep, but they couldn’t connect as they’d lose by a final of 63-60.
The Cowgirls were led offensively by Dickerson and Mellema, both of which netted 14 points on the night. Allyson Fertig paced them with 12 points to go alone with 12 rebounds for a double-double.
The Cowgirls three point shooting struggles of late continued in this contest, as they only shot the ball at 23.3% from deep in the contest. The Cowgirls were also heavily outmatched on the glass, being outrebounded by 11. The Cowgirls were proficient in sharing the ball though, as they had a total of 18 assists compared to the Rebels’ four assists.
The Cowgirls continue their homestand with another pivotal matchup against New Mexico on Saturday, the game set to tip off at 2 p.m.
