Cowgirls to host Rebels

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowgirls will look to earn their first conference victory as they return home to host UNLV on Saturday.

The game is set to tip off at 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on The Mountain Sports Network.

The Cowgirls, 0-2 in Mountain West Conference and 8-7 overall, battled back but fell to a strong San Diego State team on Wednesday, 49-42.

UNLV comes into the game with a 7-9 record overall and 0-3 in conference play this season, falling at home on Wednesday to Colorado State 70-69.

Shamela Hampton leads the Rebels with 14.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while Erica Helms is adding 11.1 points and 2.3 boards.

UNLV is coached by Kathy Oliver, who is in her first season with the program.

“Right now UNLV has a new head coach, a very successful head coach at UCLA,” Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. “Once again, they have a great inside presence. Defensively, that is where you have to stat your scout at, understanding where the basketball is going and how you can help your post kids out, or do you need to help your post kids out?"

Three Cowgirls are scoring in double-figures so far this season, led by senior Megan McGuffey at 11.5 points per game. Freshman Emma Langford is averaging 10.8 points, while Kristen Scheffler is adding 10.4 points per game. McGuffey also leads the way with 6.4 rebounds per contest.

McGuffey ranks 11th in rebounding and 14th in scoring in the league. Langford, who currently leads the team in assists and steals, ranks in the Top 15 in each of those categories in the Mountain West Conference, while Scheffler leads the league in 3-point field goals made (2.53 tpfgm), while being ranked 20th in scoring.

"It will be nice to be back at home," Legerski said. "The thing that we like is being able to once a week know we’re going to be home, so it is nice to get our fans back out.”
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Wyoming Cowgirls (8-7 overall, 0-2 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
3 Randi Richardson G 5-7 RSo. TR Arlington, Wash. 2.9 ppg, 2.5 aspg
12 Kristen Scheffl er G 5-11 Fr. HS Lovell, Wyo. 10.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.4 aspg
24 Megan McGuffey G 5-11 Sr. 3L Cheyenne, Wyo. 11.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.7 aspg
33 Elisabeth Dissen C 6-1 Sr. 3L Hillsboro, Ore. 8.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg
21 Emma Langford F 6-2 Fr. HS Arthurton, Australia 10.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.0 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, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 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 4.0 ppg, 5.0 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. 2.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg
41 Hillary Carlson F 6-3 So. 1L Cheyenne, Wyo. 8.7 ppg, 3.6 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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UNLV Lady Rebels (7-9 overall, 0-3 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
5 Brittany Halberg G 5-7 Sr. 3L Lake Oswego, Ore. 8.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg
11 Jamie Smith G/F 6-0 Fr. HS Kailua, Hawaii 11.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg
15 Erica Helms G 5-7 So. 1L Antioch, Calif. 11.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg
24 Shamela Hampton C 6-3 Sr. 3L Colorado Springs, Colo. 14.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg
32 India Chaney G 5-10 So. 1L New Orleans, La. 8.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Off The Bench
1 Dominique Harris G 5-10 Sr. 1L Los Angeles, Calif. 5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg
10 Allison Holiday G 5-6 Jr. 2L Kayenta, Ariz. 1.9 ppg, 0.6 rpg
20 Kalie Scanlon G 5-9 So. 1L Salem, Ore. 0.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg
23 Latoya Hunt C 6-3 RJr. 2L Fresno, Calif. 1.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
25 Raquel Jupiter F 6-1 Sr. 1L Los Angeles, Calif. 3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg
33 Shannon Oberg F 6-0 Sr. 1L Islip, N.Y. 2.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg
42 Karla Gergelová F 6-1 So. 1L Zlin, Czech Republic 0.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg
Head Coach: Kathy Olivier (UNLV ‘82), First Year
Assistant Coaches: Caitlin Collier (UC Davis ’93), Kari Duperron (Cal Poly ’03),
Nikki Blue (UCLA ’06)
Dir. of BB Operations: Elizabeth Linkous