Cowgirls fall to Rebels

Richard Anderson photo

Wyoming freshman guard Kristen Scheffler moves the ball down the court Saturday against UNLV.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The large enthusiastic crowds are still there; the rims are the same and the lighting is what they are used to. But the home court advantage has not been kind as of late for the young Wyoming Cowgirls.

Wyoming has now dropped two straight games in the friendly confines of the Arena-Auditorium and four of eight on the season. The latest came on Saturday, as previously struggling UNLV pulled away for a 71-64 win.

“It’s difficult because we cannot defend our home court right now," Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. “That is confidence and confidence is instilled. Yet, you have to have success somewhere to improve in confidence.”

The Cowgirls (0-3 MWC, 8-8) had every chance in the world to use its home court to its advantage after falling behind by 11 with 12 minutes to play. Wyoming scored 13 straight points, including nine from senior Megan McGuffey, and led by two. That momentum, however, was fleeting, as the Rebels (1-3, 8-9) had the last push.

Shannon Oberg broke a 60-60 tie with a 3-pointer at the 3-minute mark and the Rebels never looked back. UNLV outscored Wyoming 8-4 to pick up the win.

Just when the momentum seemed to be on their side, the Cowgirls gave it back.

“There are major swings that go back and forth throughout a game,” Legerski said. “One of the things is, you have to have a couple of players who are defensive stoppers. They have to be able to make a play when we need a play. They have to pull a rebound when we need a rebound. That has been one of the things that has been difficult, and that is why you see the swings in games.”

Much of Wyoming’s problems this season have also been offensively, with several stretches of poor shooting. Not only are the Cowgirls cold at times, they are missing close-range attempts.
That was evident early and then late at crunch time.

“We felt like we spotted them seven points,” Wyoming senior Megan McGuffey said. “We felt like we had some good looks at the basket, we were just missing those close layups. I don’t know if it is a focus thing or what, but we have to start hitting those easy shots.”

Legerski said that at crunch time should be their time in the A-A.

“When we got to the final four minutes and you are on your home court, you should be able to step up,” Legerski said. “We made a mistake and gave up a 3. They answered it and we couldn’t respond. That was as big of a shot as any.”

UNLV coach Kathy Oliver said her team was able to stay patient after the Cowgirls made their run.

“I thought we kept our poise and did a good job,” Oliver said.

UNLV’s Erica Helms led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 8-of-10 from the field and 4 of 6 3-pointers. Her running 40-footer at the halftime buzzer gave the Rebels a 33-30 lead. Hunt scored 15 points in the second half and hit two straight 3-pointers to help UNLV gain the momentum.

“I thought Helms changed her game with her 3s,” Legerski said. “She hit two of them that we were just huge. The biggest one may have been at the end of the first half. It is something that we have addressed and we have talked about. Maybe it is a little bit lack of experience. You don’t let somebody just dribble up and have a good look at the basket -- and we did that. That is some of the growing that we have to learn. As to how many more times that happens tells me how quickly we pick things up.”

Sophomore center Hillary Carlson came off the bench and led the Cowgirls with 20 points, followed by McGuffey with 18 and freshman Kristen Scheffler with 15.

Shamela Hampton and Dominique Harris scored 11 and 10 respectively for the Rebels, who fell to Colorado State on their home court on Wednesday.

The Cowgirls will stay home on Wednesday when they host TCU.