Cowgirls rally past Bison

FARGO N.D. -- The Wyoming Cowgirls battled back again to post another impressive road win, stopping North Dakota State Friday night to remain unbeaten on the season.

The Cowgirls, 4-0, trailed by as much as nine in the first half and were down by five with about six minutes left in the contest before taking control with a strong defense and outstanding outside shooting.

“In tonight’s game, I thought North Dakota State was the aggressor out on the floor,” UW head coach Joe Legerski said. “We started taking some ill advised shots, they had our offense pushed out a bit and we had to gain some composure, get more focused. That’s due to a young team and being on the road for several days.

“We talked going into the locker room that we out scored them in the last four minutes. Even though we were down, it showed that we were getting better and it carried over into the second half. This was a heck of a ball game. North Dakota State is improved and very aggressive."

Wyoming was led by sophomore Kristen Scheffler with a team-high 17 points and four steals, while shooting 6-of-11 (.545) from the field and 4-of-7 (.571) from beyond the arc. She was followed by junior Aubrey Vandiver with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Jade Kennedy recorded 12 points and three assists. The Cowgirls shot 25-of-58 (.431) from the field and 11-of--22 (.500) from beyond the arc. They out-rebounded the Bison 41-30.

"I thought we got some big play especially from Kristen Scheffler," Legerski said. "She has become an all-around player. Aubrey also showed her leadership by stepping up down the stretch at the end with hitting free throws. As a group, we didn’t shoot the ball extremely well, but I thought we found a way to win.”

The Bison were led by 6-foot-5 Janae Birch with 19 points and six rebounds, while Katie Birkel chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds. North Dakota State went 23-of-53 (.415) from the field and 11-of-18 (.611) from the free-throw line.

North Dakota State quickly jumped out and took a 7-0 lead to begin the game and were up 21-12 before the Cowgirls slowly chipped away, cutting the halftime lead to 28-27.

Wyoming took its first lead at 42-40 on a three-point play by Scheffler with 13 minutes left. The two teams traded leads for the next few minutes before North Dakota went back up 55-50

The Cowgirls answered right back with three straight3-point field goals to regain a four-point lead and never looked back. Vandiver hit four free throws down the stretch to close the scoring and hold off the Bison.

Wyoming returns home for the next two games, facing Black Hills State University on Tuesday and Idaho State on Nov. 30. Both games bwegin at 7 p.m.