Richard Anderson photo
Utah coach Elaine Elliott has won 551 games in her 26 years with the Utes.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Momentum can often be short-lived. The Wyoming Cowgirls didn’t get a ton of time to really enjoy Wednesday’s thrilling come-from behind win over New Mexico.
Especially when you have to go back out on the road to face Mountain West Conference-leading Utah in the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
The Cowgirls will face the red-hot Utes Sunday at 3 p.m. in a game that will be nationally televised on CBS College Sports (channel 27 on Bresnan Cable in Laramie, 613 on DirecTV).
The Cowgirls finished 3-5 in the first half of league play (11-10 overall), thanks to a big 52-50 win over Utah on a last-second shot by sophomore Hillary Carlson.
At the midpoint part of the conference season, Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said the first eight in the league have been extremely difficult for his young team.
“The Mountain West Conference is one of the top leagues in the country," Legerski said. “We’re a team that was picked in the bottom half of the league, we’re in the bottom half of the league. Every night out is where we have to be at our best to be able to compete. It doesn’t get any easier with Utah and San Diego State, with us turning this thing right back around.”
With that said, Wednesday’s win over the talented Lobos was a nice shot in the arm for a team that had been struggling at home this season.
“Over the last three years, we only lost one league game at home,“ Legerski said. “We get into this conference season and we drop four at home. We have to try to get that back. The home court advantages in the Mountain West Conference are huge. With us going on the road for five of eight, we have our work cut out for us, there is no doubt about that.”
The Utes come in to the game with a 15-6 record overall and 8-0 mark in the MWC this season, riding an eight-game winning streak. Morgan Warburton leads the way, averaging 18.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while Kalee Whipple is adding 16.7 points and 6.5 boards.
The Utes beat the Cowgirls 70-52 earlier this season in Laramie.
Four Cowgirls are scoring in double-figures, led by Carlson, who is averaging 11 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Freshman guard Kristen Scheffler is close behind with 10.9 points per game, while senior Megan McGuffey and Frshman Emma Langford follow with 10.6 and 10.1 points per game respectively. McGuffey also leads the way with six rebounds per contest.
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Wyoming Cowgirls (11-10 overall, 3-5 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, 2.6 aspg
10 Rebecca Vanderjagt F 6-3 Sr. 3L Townsville, Australia 2.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 aspg
12 Kristen Scheffl er G 5-11 Fr. HS Lovell, Wyo. 10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 aspg
24 Megan McGuffey G 5-11 Sr. 3L Cheyenne, Wyo. 10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.7 aspg
41 Hillary Carlson F 6-3 So. 1L Cheyenne, Wyo. 11.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.8 bpg
Off The Bench
4 Gemma Koehler F 6-1 Jr. 1L Geelong, Australia Has played in one game
13 Ashley Sickles F 6-1 Fr. HS Cresco, Iowa 2.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg
14 Jade Kennedy F 6-1 So. 1L Cairns, Australia 4.2 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
21 Emma Langford F 6-2 Fr. HS Arthurton, Australia 10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 aspg
22 Brenna Freeze G 5-11 Fr. HS Albuquerque, N.M. 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
33 Elisabeth Dissen C 6-1 Sr. 3L Hillsboro, Ore. 7.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg
45 Mallory Cline C 6-4 Jr. 2L McClave, Colo. Has played in two games
Head Coach: Joe Legerski (Wyoming, ‘79), Sixth Year
Associate 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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Utah Utes (15-6 overall, 8-0 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
2 Kalee Whipple F 6-0 Jr. 2L Hiko, Nev. 16.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg
5 Hannah Stephens G 5-8 Fr. HS San Mateo, Calif. 3.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg
15 Morgan Warburton G 5-11 Sr. 3L Helper, Utah 18.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg
22 Halie Sawyer F 6-1 Jr. 2L Panguitch, Utah 8.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg
31 Katie King F 6-1 Sr. 1L Layton, Utah 11.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Off The Bench
1 Janita Badon G 5-6 Fr. HS Portland, Ore. 3.4 ppg, 2.2 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 seven games
12 Cydney Knight G/F 6-1 So. 1L Pasco, Wash. 1.8 ppg, 0.9 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 played in two games
23 Deanne Stevenson C 6-3 Sr. 2L Draper, Utah Has played in four games
42 Mandy Munns C 6-3 Fr. HS Brigham City, Utah 1.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Head Coach: Elaine Elliott (Boise State, '77), 26th Year
Assistant Coaches: Matt Legerski, Anthony Levrets, Lana Sitterud
Dir. of BB Operations: Sarah Levrets
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