After one half of play, the Cowgirls found themselves in a situation they hadn’t found themselves in once through their domination of their first two games in the WNIT. They were trailing at the half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The Cowgirl offense struggled immensely, only scoring 24 points in the first half, the same amount of points they were able to score in just one quarter of play versus South Dakota in the previous round.
Still, the Cowgirls were able to find a spark out of the locker room, eventually gaining their largest lead of six over the Golden Gophers at the 3:24 mark of the third quarter.
Unfortunately for the Cowgirls, their fourth quarter scoring woes that plagued them towards the end of the regular season would strike again, as they’d allow the Golden Gophers to outscore them by 11 points in the final quarter of play to eventually lose by the same margin.
The Cowgirls would have a dreadful first quarter offensively, as they’d have a four and a half minute scoring drought midway in the half. Still, the Cowgirl defense had held strong as McKinley Dickerson’s drought breaking and-one layup would tie the game up at 7-7. The Golden Gophers’ offense would find their footing in the last two minutes of the quarter, though, as they’d go on a quick 10-0 swing to end the quarter as the Cowgirls found themselves down 17-7 early.
The second quarter was one of little success for every Cowgirl but Allyson Fertig, as she would will the Cowgirls back into the game and score eight straight points along with a Maren McKenna three that would make the game 25-20. The Cowgirls still couldn’t quite find their footing, as the Golden Gophers would maintain their lead at 29-24 at halftime.
The Cowgirls came out swinging on both ends of the ball early in the third quarter, as they’d find themselves with a 32-29 lead after a 8-0 run to start the quarter while holding the Golden Gophers scoreless for the first four minutes. The Golden Gophers would answer with a three to tie, but the Cowgirls would respond by taking their largest lead of the night at 40-34 late in the third quarter. The Cowgirls would run cold, though, allowing the Golden Gophers to tie things up heading into the final quarter of play.
The Cowgirls would take back a three point lead at the start of the final quarter, as it looked to be a back and forth affair and the Golden Gophers would answer by taking a one point lead. The Cowgirls weren’t able to contain the Golden Gophers’ Amaya Battle late, as she had 29 points leading all scorers in the game. The Golden Gophers earned their largest lead of the night at 11 late in the fourth quarter and would eventually win by the same margin at 65-54, ending the Cowgirls season.
The Cowgirls were led by a solid performance from Fertig, who had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. No other Cowgirl could manage double figures, as Dickerson was the closest with 9 points. Emily Mellema dished out a team high five assists as well.
The Cowgirls season comes to a close in the Great 8 of the WNIT, and their run put them at a final overall record of 18-15.
