Cowgirls host San Francisco

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski talks to an official while associate head coach Gerald Matinson prepares for a time out in a recent home game.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

You can look at it as one final tune-up before Mountain West Conference play begins. Wyoming Cowgirls coach Joe Legerski looks at it as one more opportunity to get better.

The Cowgirls will close their non-conference schedule Saturday when they host San Francisco. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

“It will be a good ballgame for us just before we begin conference play,” Legerski said. “When you open against Utah and San Diego State, the two teams that are picked to win the league, we need all of the games we can get just to get ready for what is going to happen in the Mountain West Conference.”

Fresh off their first NCAA Tournament in school history, off of the WNIT title two years ago, the Cowgirls are in a transition, and it has shown on the court with a 7-5 mark.

Legerski said the biggest thing that he looks at is just trying to get better tomorrow. At times this year, he said the Cowgirls have gone away from that.

“I thought that with this group, that we really had a chance to be very good and start looking down the road and see where we could get games, what we could try to do,” he said. “What has brought me back is our youth. There is no looking ahead. I just know what is ahead with this league. We’ll go out and there will be nights where we are very good, and there will be times where we will take some lumps. That’s understandable, but we’re going to get better. That’s all we’re trying to do.”

San Francisco, 4-9, brings a different challenge than what the Cowgirls faced last Tuesday when they beat a much smaller Adams State team 58-48. San Francisco is a bigger threat underneath the basket.

While 6-foot-3 senior Rebecca Vanderjagt and 6-3 sophomore Hillary Carlson didn’t get much court time against Adams State, their roles will increase on Saturday.

“San Francisco will create some problems for us on the inside,” Legerski said. “They attack the basket well and they shoot the ball well. Once again, it is another challenge for this group. I’ve got a feeling every night out will be a challenge for us.”

It has been a different season for the Cowgirls in the sense that Legerski has gone with a few different starting lineups this season, something he had never done much of in the past.

“I’m a coach who really sticks to a lineup,” Legerski said. “You look back through the years and there was not many changes made, and I usually played seven or eight players. This year, I’m trying to expand that, trying to play eight, nine, sometimes 10 players. What we are starting to find out is that we are pretty flexible and we have to make some adjustments, and it gives us the best opportunity to win.”

The Cowgirls will open league play Wednesday at home against Utah.
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Wyoming Cowgirls (7-5 overall)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
3 Randi Richardson G 5-7 RSo. TR Arlington, Wash. 3.1 ppg, 2.0 aspg
24 Megan McGuffey G 5-11 Sr. 3L Cheyenne, Wyo. 11.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 aspg
33 Elisabeth Dissen C 6-1 Sr. 3L Hillsboro, Ore. 8.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg
10 Rebecca Vanderjagt F 6-3 Sr. 3L Townsville, Australia 2.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 aspg
21 Emma Langford F 6-2 Fr. HS Arthurton, Australia 13.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 aspg
Reserves
4 Gemma Koehler F 6-1 Jr. 1L Geelong, Australia Has not played this season
12 Kristen Scheffl er G 5-11 Fr. HS Lovell, Wyo. 10.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 aspg
13 Ashley Sickles F 6-1 Fr. HS Cresco, Iowa 2.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg
14 Jade Kennedy F 6-1 So. 1L Cairns, Australia 4.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg
15 Leah Fitzgerald C 6-2 Fr. HS Colorado Springs, Colo. Has played in two games
20 Aubrey Vandiver G 5-11 Jr. 2L Laramie, Wyo. Has not played this season
22 Brenna Freeze G 5-11 Fr. HS Albuquerque, N.M. Has played in three games
41 Hillary Carlson F 6-3 So. 1L Cheyenne, Wyo. 6.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg
45 Mallory Cline C 6-4 Jr. 2L McClave, Colo. Has played in one game
Head Coach: Joe Legerski (Wyoming, ‘79), Sixth Year
Assoc. Head Coach: Gerald Mattinson (Weber State, '81), Sixth Year
Assistant Coaches: Kristin Becker (Vanderbilt, ‘90), Third Year and Katie Kern (New Mexico, ‘99), Third Year
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San Francisco Dons (4-9 overall)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
1 Rheina Ale G 5-8 Fr. HS Carson, Calif. 11.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg
3 Danesha Wright G 5-2 Jr. TR Oakland, Calif. 10.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
11 Shay Rollins G 5-4 Sr. 3L Encinal, Calif. 17.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
22 Katy Keating F 6-0 Fr. HS Santa Monica, Calif. 3.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg
50 Necolia Simmons F 6-0 Sr. 1L Deer Valley, Calif. 14.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg
Reserves
0 Alexis Musante G 5-9 Sr. 1L Oakland, Calif. 1.6 ppg, 0.7 rpg
2 Leslie Walker G 5-10 Sr. 2L Seattle, Wash. 0.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
5 Jakkie Boka-Timmerberg C 6-3 So. 1L San Francisco, Calif. 0.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg
12 Heidi Anton G 5-9 Fr. HS Santa Rosa, Calif. 0.7 rpg
20 Donnisha Taylor F 5-10 So. HS Oakland, Calif. 1.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
21 Nnenna Okereke G/F 5-10 Jr. TR Berkeley, Calif. 1.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg
32 Vania Singleterry G 5-11 Fr. HS Murrieta, Calif. 3.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg
33 Kim Crandell F 6-0 Fr. HS Redding, Calif. Has not played this season
Head Coach: Tanya Haave (Tennessee, 1984), Third Year
Assistant Coaches: Abby Conklin (Tennessee, '97), Molly Marrin, (Regis, '03), Marta Menuez, Fourth Year (San Diego, 2004)