The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball squad secured a final victory in Arena-Auditorium on senior night against the Colorado State Rams, winning 69 to 63.
“What a great win and to have a scenario that you want to end the season with, you know. You got your rival at home and you go into overtime and figure a way to do it,” Head Coach Gerald Mattison said.
“Like I’ve said, it’s one game. So we’re 1-0 for now, tomorrow we turn 0-0 just like everybody else, and start all over again.”
The Cowgirls were led in scoring by Tommi Olson, who recorded a career-high 5 three-pointers in her 17 point showing.
The Cowgirls found scorers from a variety of players with Junior McKinley Bradshaw and Senior Quinn Weidemann scoring 15 points each.
Senior Alba Sanchez-Ramos also scored 10 points for the Cowgirls.
Sanchez-Ramos and Freshman forward Grace Ellis also tallied 11 rebounds each.
Poke fans honored the three seniors on the Cowgirl squad; Seniors Tommi Olson, Quinn Weidemann, and Alba Sanchez-Ramos.
The Rams took control of the game early in the first quarter, gaining a 13-8 lead on the Cowgirls. But in the dying minutes of the first quarter, the Cowgirls went on a 10-0 run, regaining the lead at 18-13.
A 14-0 run for the Rams at the beginning of the second quarter allowed the Rams to retake the lead with a score of 27-18.
It wasn’t until McKinley Bradshaw found Grace Ellis in the post that the Cowgirls finally broke the drought, scoring two points on the play and tallying the score at 20-29.
The Cowgirls managed to score another field goal before the end of the half, score 22-29 CSU.
While the Cowgirls got off to a slow start at the beginning of the third quarter, a series of scoring possessions saw the Cowgirls snatch the lead from the Rams, at 36-35.
The Poke squad benefitted from Junior guard McKinley Bradshaw coming alive scoring seven points in the third quarter, including a three-pointer at the beginning of the quarter.
In the last meaningful possession of the quarter, Tommi Olson not only secured a steal for the Pokes but also bagged a three-pointer giving the Cowgirls the lead at 41-40 going into the fourth quarter.
While the fourth quarter saw just as many lead changes, a series of threes from Tommi Olson, Quinn Weidemann, and McKinley Bradshaw spread the lead out five points in the opening minutes of the fourth, score 53-48 Cowgirls.
With a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, the score had been tied up at 55. A botched play by CSU gave the Cowgirls an opportunity to take the lead with a little over 30 seconds remaining in the fourth.
With seconds remaining in the fourth, the Rams threw up a prayer with no luck, leading the game into overtime.
The first scoring possessions by each team were from behind the arc, including back-to-back three-pointers from Tommi Olson.
A foul on McKinley Bradshaw on her three-point attempt with just 26 seconds left resulted in two made free throws out of three, giving the Cowgirls the lead 65-60.
As the remaining seconds of the quarter ended, the Cowgirls secured the victory 69-63.
