Cowgirls open with Utes

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

At this time last year, the Wyoming Cowgirls were riding high off of the WNIT title the previous year and recent big road wins over Wisconsin and Iowa.

They would go on to a 24-7 overall record (12-4 in Mountain West Conference play) and advance to the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament.

What’s in store regains to be seen, but it is a much different look for the Cowgirls this season as they begin MWC play, hosting Utah Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium. The game will be broadcast on The Mtn. Sports Network (Channel 412 in Laramie, 616 on DirecTV).

Gone are four seniors who helped build the Cowgirl program under head coach Joe Legerski, and also gone is their top returner, junior Aubrey Vandiver, who is out for the season with mononucleosis.

Instead, a new and very young Cowgirl team will be looking to make its mark.

“We open with Utah and San Diego State, the two teams that have been picked to win the conference,” Legerski said. “Utah had some big wins this past week over Oregon and USC -- the Oregon team that beat us. San Diego State beats No. 5 Texas. That really shows what the Mountain West Conference is all about and how good this league is.

“We were the team last year that did all that and got off to a great start, got ranked in the Top 20 in the country. We were the team that could carry the banner. This year we have some other teams that are going to carry that banner while we’re trying to improve and get some of these young kids to grow up.”

With wins over Adams State and San Francisco, the Cowgirls head into conference play with an 8-5 mark. If you would have asked Legerski at the start of the season if he would be happy with that record, he would have emphatically said yes.

“Anytime in a preseason, you take a look and there are some games that you let slip away. But there are always some games where you snuck in a win that maybe you shouldn’t have won,” he said. “To sit here and be 8-5 and have some positive momentum going … we got the win against Adams State, but I don’t know how happy the coaching staff or the team was with the effort.

“Now, we have a lot of happy members of the coaching staff and players. That’s a part of what we are trying to get done. But now, 8-5 and knowing that Aubrey is not going to be around, it is a great accomplishment for this group. Now, we have to find as many conference wins as we can. Believe me, it doesn’t escape me to where we have been picked with how strong this league is. We have to find some ways to get some victories. That will be a big challenge.”

On Saturday in the 82-60 win over San Francisco, senior Megan McGuffey scored a season-high 22 points, with sophomore center Hillary Carlson adding a career-high 22 points. With no Hanna Zavecz or Justyna Podziemska to turn to offensively this season, Legerski was pleased with season two players step up in that role. He said that has to continue in league play for them to be successful.

“I have asked (seniors) Megan, Elisabeth (Dissen) and Rebecca (Vanderjagt) to step up and be leaders on and off the court,“ Legerski said. “Sometimes that is easier for me to ask than to actually have accomplished. One of the things I thought Megan showed us was she can go out and get us that big game -- 22 points -- that is huge for us and we’ve been looking for that from somebody, to take over and do that from an upperclassman.”

McGuffey, however, is suffering from the flu and is a game-time decision.

The Utes come in to the game with a 7-6 record while riding a three-game winning streak. Morgan Warburton leads the way averaging 19.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Kalee Whipple is adding 17 points and 6.3 boards.

They return three starters and nine letterwinners to a team that went 27-5 overall and 16-0 in the Mountain West Conference a year ago. This is the 64th meeting between the two teams. Utah leads the series 55-8, and has a current two game winning streak.

“Utah is exceptional,” said Legerski, a longtime former assistant under head coach Elaine Elliott.
The Cowgirls will return to action next Wednesday at San Diego State.

Legerski said he is pleased to get on the semi-regular conference schedule for the rest of the year.

“Now we will get on a Wednesday Saturday schedule and that makes life a lot easier on us as we go about practicing and preparing for games,” Legerski said.
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Wyoming Cowgirls (8-5 overall, 0-0 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
3 Randi Richardson G 5-7 RSo. TR Arlington, Wash. 3.0 ppg, 2.3 aspg
12 Kristen Scheffl er G 5-11 Fr. HS Lovell, Wyo. 10.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 aspg
24 Megan McGuffey G 5-11 Sr. 3L Cheyenne, Wyo. 12.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.8 aspg
33 Elisabeth Dissen C 6-1 Sr. 3L Hillsboro, Ore. 8.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg
21 Emma Langford F 6-2 Fr. HS Arthurton, Australia 12.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.3 aspg
Off The Bench
4 Gemma Koehler F 6-1 Jr. 1L Geelong, Australia Has played in one game
10 Rebecca Vanderjagt F 6-3 Sr. 3L Townsville, Australia 2.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 aspg
13 Ashley Sickles F 6-1 Fr. HS Cresco, Iowa 2.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg
14 Jade Kennedy F 6-1 So. 1L Cairns, Australia 4.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg
15 Leah Fitzgerald C 6-2 Fr. HS Colorado Springs, Colo. Has played in three 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. 2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg
41 Hillary Carlson F 6-3 So. 1L Cheyenne, Wyo. 7.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg
45 Mallory Cline C 6-4 Jr. 2L McClave, Colo. Has played in two games
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; Katie Kern (New Mexico, ‘99), Third Year
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Utah Utes (7-6 overall, 0-0 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
2 Kalee Whipple F 6-0 Jr. 2L Hiko, Nev. 17.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg
5 Hannah Stephens G 5-8 Fr. HS San Mateo, Calif. 3.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg
15 Morgan Warburton G 5-11 Sr. 3L Helper, Utah 19.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg
22 Halie Sawyer F 6-1 Jr. 2L Panguitch, Utah 8.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg
31 Katie King F 6-1 Sr. 1L Layton, Utah 10.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg
Off The Bench
1 Janita Badon G 5-6 Fr. HS Portland, Ore. 2.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg
3 Iwalani Rodrigues G 5-9 Fr. HS Ewa Beach, Hawaii Has not played this season
10 Josi McDermott G 6-0 Fr. RS Ashland, Ore. Has played in one game
12 Cydney Knight G/F 6-1 So. 1L Pasco, Wash. 2.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg
14 Hennasea Tokumura G 5-4 Jr. 2L Honolulu, Hawaii Has not played this season
20 Sasha McKinnon G 6-0 Jr. 2L Langley, B.C. Has not played this season
23 Deanne Stevenson C 6-3 Sr. 2L Draper, Utah Has played in one game
42 Mandy Munns C 6-3 Fr. HS Brigham City, Utah 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Head Coach: Elaine Elliott (Boise State, '77), 26th Year
Assistant Coaches: Matt Legerski, Anthony Levrets, Lana Sitterud
Dir. of BB Operations: Sarah Levrets