Cowgirls to host Lobos

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming coach Joe Legerski talks things over with his team during a recent home game.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

When the Wyoming Cowgirls don’t shoot the ball well … they don’t play well, even at home.

That has been the case in their last two home games -- losses against UNLV and BYU. They’ll close the first half of Mountain West Conference play with one more try at a home win when they host New Mexico Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

In the 13-point loss to BYU on Saturday, the Cowgirl shot 26 percent from the field, 19 percent in the first half. On the season, Wyoming is shooting 38 percent from the field, averaging 61.5 points a game. In conference play, Wyoming, 2-5, 10-10, is shooting 35 percent and scoring just 56.1 points a game.

At times, Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski is puzzled as to why they struggle offensively, especially from their leading scorers.

“One of the concerns that I have, when you take a look back at the film, was that Megan McGuffey (11.0 ppg.) only took three shots in the game,” Legerski said. “When you’re the leading scorer, you have to find more than three shots, even if you have to create shots. That is something that we addressed. The inconsistency of Kristen Scheffler (11.0 ppg.) is not something that we are unaware of, but I wish she could find a little more consistency of shooting the basketball.”

Scheffler hit five 3-pointers on the road in the win against Air Force, but was 1-of-6 against BYU. The freshman from Lovell has missed some practices this week with an illness.

“Some nights, and the difficult part is that it seems to be as a group, we don’t shoot the basketball,” he said. “I give BYU a great deal of credit, they push you out of your comfort zone, they are going to make every shot challenged and New Mexico is going to do the same thing. As I mentioned to the players, good teams do that, they make you uncomfortable. You have to find a way to overcome that and shoot the basketball.”

Legerski said it is all about somebody stepping up offensively to make shots and make other players feel comfortable.

“That is a problem with this team is they are always looking for somebody else to step up and make that happen,” he said. “What we challenged them to do is collectively, somebody has to make some plays. We can’t just sit and look at Megan or Hillary (Carlson) or Kristen and say, it’s on you. In the BYU game, we got to the point where nobody really wanted to shoot the basketball. We have to get the ball up from our leading scorers and they are the ones who have to take the bulk of the responsibility.

About New Mexico
New Mexico comes into the game with a 16-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the conference. Amy Beggin leads the way with 15.5 points and five rebounds, while Angela Hartill is adding 11.8 points and five boards.

“They have just a tremendous team,” Legerski said. “You take a look at scoring, they are led by Beggin and Hartill. Those are two seniors who have been through Mountain West Conference play at a very high level. After that, they have five more players who can score between five to eight points a game. They are going to get you with depth, but they also have some superstars out there that can make it happen for them.”
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Wyoming Cowgirls (10-10 overall, 2-5 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
3 Randi Richardson G 5-7 RSo. TR Arlington, Wash. 2.8 ppg, 2.6 aspg
10 Rebecca Vanderjagt F 6-3 Sr. 3L Townsville, Australia 2.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.1 aspg
12 Kristen Scheffl er G 5-11 Fr. HS Lovell, Wyo. 11.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.6 aspg
24 Megan McGuffey G 5-11 Sr. 3L Cheyenne, Wyo. 11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 aspg
41 Hillary Carlson F 6-3 So. 1L Cheyenne, Wyo. 10.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg
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 2.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg
14 Jade Kennedy F 6-1 So. 1L Cairns, Australia 4.4 ppg, 5.3 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, 2.7 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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New Mexico Lobos (16-4 overall, 5-2 in the MWC)
Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown 2008-09 Stats
3 Eileen Weissmann G/F 6-0 Jr. 2L Chicago, Ill. 6.0ppg, 4.0 rpg
10 Amy Beggin G 5-6 Jr. 2L Maplewood, Minn. 15.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg
15 Amanda Adamson G 6-0 Sr. 1L Littleton, Colo. 8.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg
32 Amanda Best G/F 6-0 So. 1L Snohomish, Wash. 5.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg
44 Angela Hartill C 6-3 Sr. 3L Deer Park, Wash. 11.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Off The Bench
11 Lauren Taylor G 6-0 Fr. HS Brownsburg, Ind. 2.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg
12 Nikki Nelson G 5-5 Fr. RS Chewelah, Wash. 3.4 ppg, 0.4 rpg
20 Sara Halasz G 6-0 Fr. HS Fort Lewis, Wash. 5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
22 Georonika Jackson G 5-11 Jr. 2L Sugar Land, Texas 2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg
34 Valerie Kast C 6-6 Jr. 2L Tallinn, Estonia 4.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg
52 Jessica Kielpinski F 6-1 So. 1L Mandan, N.D. 4.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Head Coach: Don Flanagan (Fort Lewis, ‘71), 14th Year
Associate Head Coach: Yvonne Sanchez (U.S. International, ‘89)
Assistant Coaches: Dave Shoemate (New Mexico, ‘82), Shane Flanagan (New Mexico, ‘06)