Young Cowgirls growing up

From left, Emma Langford, Hillary Carlson and Kristen Scheffler

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Eventually, young players have to grow up, despite their inexperience.

Wyoming fans are beginning to see the ongoing maturation process of three young players -- freshmen Kristen Scheffler and Emma Langford and sophomore Hillary Carlson.

All three, along with senior Megan McGuffey, are scoring in double figures. The average can be somewhat deceptive at times because as Wyoming coach Joe Legerski recently put it, “some games they get 20 points, the next game they get two, so they are averaging 11 points a game.”

On Sunday, Carlson, Scheffler and Langford showed -- whether they were scoring or not -- that their future as Cowgirls looks bright as Wyoming held off San Diego State 64-61.

Carlson, at 6-foot-3, led the way with 18 points and stepped outside twice to nail 3-pointers. Going into the game, she was 0-for-2 from beyond 3-point land.

“I was open, so I just let it fly,” Carlson said with a laugh.

It wasn’t as if Carlson was seeking to become a 3-pointer shooter all of the sudden. Her range came from the necessity of drawing San Diego State’s 6-4 Paris Johnson from the basket had a lot to do with it.

“Hillary Carlson really stepped up,” Legerski said. “Eighteen and nine and none were bigger than her two 3s. Hillary worked hard this summer to be able to shoot the basketball from 3. We haven’t stepped her outside much, but today we had to because Johnson was blocking everything we were taking to the basket. Hillary stepped out and made some plays.”

Legerski said that Carson has the ability to be a good long-range shooter. When the Cowgirls recruited her out of Cheyenne, the plan was to play her at the four sport.

“We wanted to put her on the outside. Her frame was slight and I didn’t want to have to sit her on the block all night long and take the physicalness of what the game requires,” he said. “Hillary has worked really hard to shoot the basketball, but she plays tremendous on the block. She can rebound, she can score on the inside and she shoots well from 12-15 feet.”

Scheffler is the best shooter on the team. Yet, not only she has been hot and cold at times this season, she has been reluctant to take some shots at crunch time. But when Scheffler brings the ball up the court and Legerski flashes the “three-game” sign, she becomes a different player.

“The three-game forces her to put the ball in her hands and make a play,” Legerski said. “I think if we stay with the motion, she is going to defer. A year ago, she is playing for Lovell, trying to make some plays. Now, she is playing against some of the best competition in the country, and that is hard for her. That’s why we ended up going to it. She has that ability to take over a game. We’re just trying to convince her that she has that ability.”

Langford looked early this season to be a lock in the MWC Newcomer of the Year voting, scoring nearly 20 points a game during one stretch.

In league play, it has been a different story, although Langford has shown signs recently of breaking out of a horrendous shooting slump. On Sunday, she struggled shooting (1-of-12 from the field), but the Australian native is now beginning to do other things when her shooting touch is off.

She grabbed eight rebounds against the Aztecs and none was bigger than the offensive board she took away on a Randi Richardson miss with about five seconds left and the Cowgirls protecting a two-point lead. She backed away and was fouled, hitting 1-of-2 free throws.

“I think that is the growth you are seeing in Emma,” Legerski said. “She started out tremendously and was just making shot after shot and she was believing it would be easy. I knew how difficult conference play was going to become. We talked to Emma that she is more than just a shooter or a scorer. You see that tonight with her line. She had more assists than turnovers, having a blocked shot, having a steal, having rebounds. We’re going to get her to shoot the ball better, but I like how she is starting to do other things for us.”

With two wins in their last three games, the Cowgirls are showing some signs of life. It won’t be easy this week as they return to the road at UNLV and TCU.

Legerski, however, likes the direction his young players are heading.

“I know there is going to be some hard days for us. I was asked the other day, ‘do you look at this group as no longer being freshmen because they have played 22-23 games?’” he said. “They are still freshmen; they don’t know what is still ahead. They have never experienced what it is like to finish out a season, like playing at people’s homes on Senior Night, go to the Mountain West Conference Tournament. I’m just happy with how we are continuing to grow as a group.”