Kylee Harless
Staff Writer
Before March Madness, there is Mountain West Madness. The Mountain West Championship is held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Air Force Reserves. Every team from the Mountain West conference is invited to come play in the postseason tournament. For the girls side we have:
- #1 Fresno State
- #2 Boise State
- #3 Wyoming
- #4 San Jose State
- #5 UNLV
- #6 San Diego State
- #7 Air Force
- #8 Nevada
- #9 New Mexico
- #10 Colorado State
- #11 Utah State
The Cowgirls started the tournament with a first round bye and played. This first game in the second round was against No. 11 Utah State. The Cowgirls were down by 16 points in the second half and came back to win the game 64-59. The Cowgirls outscored Utah State in the third quarter 17-5 and then again in the fourth 22-15.
“Well, I take my hat’s off to our women. We got down early. Utah State played very well…We were able to come back and battle our way back into it in the second half. And I’m so proud of the way these guys responded at halftime and the defensive effort we had in the second half,” said Coach Gerald Mattinson in an interview in Las Vegas with WyoSports. “You hold a team to five points in the third quarter and 20 for a half, that’s — we held them the second half to fewer points than we gave up in the first quarter but that’s a credit to these guys and our team.”
The following night the Cowgirls played Boise State. This game was a re-match of last year when the Cowgirls lost to Boise State in the Championship game. However, this game was a repeat to a certain extent. The Cowgirls hung with the Broncos all night, even outscoring Boise in the third quarter 25-19. It was not enough for the win, however, as the Cowgirls lost 79-71, but this game was closer than last year when the Cowgirls lost 68-51. Although the Cowgirls lost, they still could get a Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) bid or another post season tournament.
“I’d say that getting a bid again would be really good for the Cowgirls, since they’ve been doing so well this season. It would be pretty exciting,” said Katelyn Moorman, a member of the Western Thunder pep band. If the games keep happening, Katelyn said she gets to keep playing her clarinet.
The Cowboys followed in the Cowgirls steps and headed to Las Vegas and for the men’s side the teams include:
- #1 San Diego State
- #2 Utah State
- #3 Nevada
- #4 UNLV
- #5 Boise State
- #6 Colorado State
- #7 New Mexico
- #8 Fresno State
- #9 Air Force
- #10 San Jose State
- #11 Wyoming
The Cowboys started their tournament with Colorado State. The last time the two teams met it was not pretty. The Cowboys were up by 20 points and ended up losing 77-70. In Las Vegas though, we saw a different Cowboys team. The men got it together and came out with a win, 80-74. The win advanced them to playing the University of Nevada. The Cowboys have not beat Nevada this year but magical things can happen, and they could beat Nevada if they play well.
The Cowboys play Nevada next and if they win, they move onto the third round of the tournament. If they lose them come home and are done for the year. The Cowboys are not projected to have a postseason bid for another tournament.
The Branding Iron will keep the public up to date on the Cowboys and Cowgirls, stay tuned for a Cowgirl post season tournament bid and a recap of the Cowboys season. Go Pokes!
