The Cowgirls and the Broncos found themselves deadlocked in the fourth quarter of their quarterfinal matchup in the Mountain West tournament, as the game was in the air for much of its duration as both teams were battling back and forth.
Unfortunately for the Cowgirls, the Broncos, who are the best defensive team in the league, turned up their intensity defensively in the latter portion of the second half and held the Cowgirls to just four points for the last six minutes of the fourth quarter. They went on a 14-0 run to seal the deal as the Cowgirls leave the Mountain West tournament heartbroken in quarterfinals after making the finals in two out of the last three years.
The Cowgirls would come out strong out of the gates, jumping out to a 6-2 lead early on the Broncos. The Broncos would answer, nailing a pair of triples to take a 10-8 lead over the Cowgirls. The Cowgirls would respond to that with a 9-0 run, with Emily Mellema hitting her first triple and a trio of other Cowgirls would find their mark at the rim. The Broncos would only muster a pair of free throws late, as Allyson Fertig would give the Cowgirls a 19-12 lead after the first quarter of play.
The Cowgirls would keep their foot on the pedal in the second quarter, as a Tess Barnes triple would maintain their lead at 25-18. The Broncos offense would suddenly explode, most in part to their defense as they’d turn the Cowgirls over on their way to their own 9-0 run, taking back the lead at 27-25. Malene Pederson and Marta Savic would spark the Cowgirl offense late, though, as they’d carry the Cowgirls through to a 29-27 lead at halftime.
Fertig would start the third quarter hot, finishing through contact on two straight plays to extend the Cowgirls’ lead to 34-29. The Cowgirls would further that lead as Ola Ustowska would notch her first three to make it 49-41 for the Cowgirls. The Broncos would keep it close, though, as they’d nail a pair of triples on their way to a 7-0 run to make it a one point game. Pederson would score five straight points including her first triple late as she was perfect 6/6 from the field to this point to give the Cowgirls a 44-40 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Cowgirls and Broncos would trade buckets early in the fourth, as the Broncos would take a one point 47-46 lead off a three. Fertig would answer to retake the lead and Mellema would hit a pair of free throws to extend that lead out to 50-47 at the 5:49 mark. It was from this point, though, that the Cowgirl offense would run ice cold as the Broncos would take the lead back at 51-50. At the 2:48 mark the Broncos would begin to shut the door on the Cowgirls, as they’d hit back to back threes and a layup to make it 59-50 as the Cowgirls couldn’t hit anything. The Broncos would eventually gain their largest lead at 61-50 before Fertig would score the Cowgirls first points since the 5:49 mark by way of a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left. Ustowska would also hit a jumper late but it would be all for not as the Broncos would eliminate the Cowgirls by a score of 62-54.
The Cowgirls struggled offensively, especially in the second half. They shot better from the field than the Broncos, shooting 42.3% from the field but struggled from deep at just 23.5%. The Cowgirls struggled to take care of the ball, turning it over 15 times as the Broncos turned those turnovers into 23 points. The Cowgirls were also bested on the glass, being outrebounded 34 to 30.
The Cowgirls were outscored 22-10 in the final quarter of play, an issue that has plagued this team in many of their conference losses this season. In their regular season final against San Diego State, the team they would have played in the semifinals had they won, but were outscored 25-12. This let the Aztecs go on a 15-0 run late in that game as well after maintaining an 11 point lead midway through the fourth quarter. A similar story played out against Boise just a week later.
The Cowgirls were led by Fertig with 16 points, as she also had a team-high nine rebounds and seven blocks. Pederson rounded out the scorers in double figures with 13 points. Ustowska dished out a team-high five assists.
The Cowgirls season will likely end with this loss, unless they are picked to play in a postseason tournament such as the NIT or the CBI. The Cowgirls finish with a 16-14 overall record and an 11-7 record in Mountain West play.
