Cowgirls to host talented TCU

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowgirls have seen a little of everything so far in Mountain West Conference play.

They’ve played good teams close and they’ve struggled. What they haven’t done yet in league play is win. It won’t get any easier as Wyoming hosts another strong team in TCU Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

It has been exasperating for the Cowgirls, the coaches and their fans, Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said.

“Over the last three years we have made a great run. You get used to winning,” Legerski said. “I think there is some frustration with our coaching staff because we know what level we want to play at. Unfortunately, we’re not at that level. It is going to take some time to get there.”

While the Cowgirls (0-3, 8-8) have struggled as of late, Legerski said that all he and his team can do is roll up their sleeves and get back to work.

“We don’t know when that first conference victory is going to come,” he said. “It may be this week or it may no be for another month. But we’re going to go to work every day.”

The Cowgirls have also had a tough time on their home court, splitting the eight games they have played in the A-A, losing three of their last four at home.

“One of the things that I have always talked about that we needed to build here at Wyoming was to defend our home court,” Legerski said. “That is something that we have not been able to do this season. When I look at the games that we have lost here, against Gonzaga, what I consider a Top 25 team, having Utah come in here, which is a very tough team, we need to find wins. We have to get back to doing that now. Playing TCU is not an easy task. They have had great wins over Maryland and California (both rated in the Top 5 at the time). They play at an extremely high level. We just have to make sure that once again we’re looking at Wyoming improving and the focus that we have for us.”

TCU, 3-1 and 11-6, is led by TK LaFleur at 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds, while Helena Sverrisdottir is adding 15.1 points and 6.7 boards.

The Lady Frogs are the top scoring team in the conference this season (72.8 ppg) and Legerski said they will have to make sure they get back defensively and also recognize the TCU shooters.

“Once again, we’re facing one of the teams that is very much picked to be in the mix of things in the Mountain West Conference and we know the challenges that are ahead for us,“ he said. “We’re just trying to place this in order where we are as a team and where we are moving in that direction.”

The Cowgirls also need to shoot the ball a little better and get out of the gates a little quicker. In Saturday’s loss to UNLV, Wyoming missed its first 11 shots from the field.

“We have to have a good start and that would go a long way to build some confidence with this group,” Legerski said.

After Saturday’s loss, Legerski said that he is going to have to change some things around, as he can’t play both of his point guards -- freshman Kristen Scheffler and sophomore Randi Richardson -- 40 minutes each.

One change he might make is put struggling freshman Emma Langford back at the two guard and giving little-used freshman Brenna Freeze some minutes.

“We just cannot expect Kristen and Randi to play 40 minutes every night,” he said. “They are not ready for that physically or mentally. So what happens is they have to take breaks throughout the game. When you take a break, that may be the basket that we need or we don’t get on the other end, so it is very important to be able t find time to put them on the bench.”

Three Cowgirls are scoring in double figures, led by senior Megan McGuffey with 11.9 points per game. Scheffler follows with 10.8 points, while Langford is adding 10.3 points per game. Langford, however, had made just 6-of-60 field goal attempts in her last seven games.

“We have to find a way to get Emma going again and we need Kristen Scheffler to shoot the ball a little better,” Legerski said.
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Wyoming Cowgirls (8-8 overall, 0-3 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
3 Randi Richardson G 5-7 RSo. TR Arlington, Wash. 2.8 ppg, 2.7 aspg
12 Kristen Scheffl er G 5-11 Fr. HS Lovell, Wyo. 10.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.4 aspg
24 Megan McGuffey G 5-11 Sr. 3L Cheyenne, Wyo. 11.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.8 aspg
33 Elisabeth Dissen C 6-1 Sr. 3L Hillsboro, Ore. 8.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg
21 Emma Langford F 6-2 Fr. HS Arthurton, Australia 10.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.9 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 2.1 ppg, 3.1 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 4.1 ppg, 4.9 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. 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
41 Hillary Carlson F 6-3 So. 1L Cheyenne, Wyo. 9.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg
45 Mallory Cline C 6-4 Jr. 2L McClave, Colo. Has played in two games
Head Coach: Joe Legerski (Wyoming, ‘79), Sixth Year
Associate 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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TCU Lady Frogs (11-6 overall, 3-1 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
4 Helena Sverrisdottir G/F 6-1 So. 1L Hafnarfjordur, Iceland 15.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg
12 TK LaFleur G 5-8 Jr. RS Houston, Texas 15.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg
15 Emily Carter G 6-1 So. 1L Bossier City, La. 10.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg
41 Rachel Rentschler F 6-2 So. TR Fort Worth, Texas 9.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg
42 Micah Garoutte F 6-2 So. 1L Plano, Texas 6.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Off The Bench
1 Antoinette Thompson G 5-7 Fr. HS Fort Worth, Texas 1.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg
3 Amanda Sims G 5-10 Fr. HS Fullerton, Calif. Has played in fi ve games
21 Shayla Moore G 5-6 Jr. 2L Denison, Texas 5.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg
22 Tolu Omotola F 6-3 Fr. HS Sugar Land, Texas 2.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg
24 Eboni Mangum G 5-8 Jr. RS Houston, Texas 6.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
44 Chantelle John F 6-2 Jr. RS Scarborough, Ont. 3.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg
55 Micaela Younger C 6-3 Sr. 3L Dover, Del. 1.2 pg, 1.1 rpg
Head Coach: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western, ’89), Tenth Year
Associate Head Coach: Brian Ostermann (Wisconsin La Crosse, ’88),
Assistant Coaches: Tonya Benton (Baylor, ’99), Tricia Payne (TCU, ’02)